Anita Brookner
» Age and Aging » “She was a handsome woman of forty-five and would remain so for many years.”
» Books and Reading » “The lessons taught in great books are misleading. The commerce in life is rarely so simple and never so just.”
» Charm » “A man of such obvious and exemplary charm must be a liar.”
» Confession » “No blame should attach to telling the truth. But it does, it does.”
» Fiction » “Writing novels preserves you in a state of innocence — a lot passes you by — simply because your attention is otherwise diverted.”
» God » “All good fortune is a gift of the gods, and you don’t win the favor of the ancient gods by being good, but by being bold.”
» Introspection » “What is interesting about self-analysis is that it leads nowhere — it is an art form in itself.”
» Judaism and Jews » “You can never betray the people who are dead, so you go on being a public Jew; the dead can’t answer slurs, but I’m here. I would love to think that Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, but he doesn’t.”
» Love » “Real love is a pilgrimage. It happens when there is no strategy, but it is very rare because most people are strategists.”
» Lovers » “A man can go from being a lover to being a stranger in three moves flat but a woman under the guise of friendship will engage in acts of duplicity which come to light very much later. There are different species of self-justification.”
» Philosophers and Philosophy » “Existentialism is about being a saint without God; being your own hero, without all the sanction and support of religion or society.”
» Romance and Romanticism » “Romanticism is not just a mode; it literally eats into every life. Women will never get rid of just waiting for the right man.”
» Romance and Romanticism » “The essence of romantic love is that wonderful beginning, after which sadness and impossibility may become the rule.”
» Thoughts and Thinking » “Like many rich men, he thought in anecdotes; like many simple women, she thought in terms of biography.”
» Women » “Good women always think it is their fault when someone else is being offensive. Bad women never take the blame for anything.”
» Women » “A complete woman is probably not a very admirable creature. She is manipulative, uses other people to get her own way, and works within whatever system she is in.”
» Women » “It will be a pity if women in the more conventional mould are to be phased out, for there will never be anyone to go home to.”
» Writers and Writing » “Great writers are the saints for the godless.”
» Youth » “Time misspent in youth is sometimes all the freedom one ever has.”
