|

|

Advertisements

Mohsin Hamid Quotes

I did not grow up in poverty. But I did grow up with a poor boy’s sense of longing, in my case not for what my family had never had, but for what we had had and lost Picture Quote #1

Islamophobia, in all its guises, seeks to minimise the importance of the individual and maximise the importance of the group. Yet our instinctive stance ought to be one of suspicion towards such endeavours. For individuals are undeniably real. Groups, on the other hand, are assertions of opinion Picture Quote #1

As a writer, I am constantly aware that I take my life in my hands with everything I do and say. It’s just a fact of life. For me it always has been Picture Quote #1

If it takes you seven years to write each novel, you need a patron. And I would rather have my corporate self as my patron than any arts council or bestower of grants Picture Quote #1

Capitalism is like the law of the jungle with a few rules. There isn’t another system that works for our society but left unchecked, capitalism can have a dehumanising effect Picture Quote #1

Maybe we are all prospective migrants. The lines of national borders on maps are artificial constructs, as unnatural to us as they are to birds flying overhead. Our first impulse is to ignore them Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

We need a self because the complexity of the chemical processes that make up our individual humanities exceeds the processing power of our brains Picture Quote #1

Pakistan hasn’t been cast in the role of... interesting cultural place or, you know, land of great comedians Picture Quote #1

For me, writing a novel is like solving a puzzle. But I don’t intend my novels as puzzles. I intend them as invitations to dance Picture Quote #1

I think there’s a natural link between the fact that our self is a story that we make up and that we’re drawn to stories. It resonates, in a way Picture Quote #1

I take six or seven years to write really small books. There is a kind of aesthetic of leanness, of brevity Picture Quote #1

I don’t listen to music when I write. I need silence so I can hear the sound of the words Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

Childbirth changed my perception of my wife. She was now the bloodied special forces soldier who had fought and risked everything for our family Picture Quote #1

I am a strong believer in the intertwined nature of the personal and the political; I think they move together Picture Quote #1

It is the effect of scarcity; one’s rules of propriety make one thirst for the improper Picture Quote #1

The fruits of labor are delicious, but individually they’re not particularly fattening. So don’t share yours, and munch on those of others whenever you can Picture Quote #1

I think the most effective forms of critique are ones that establish a common ground for people to occupy, and then appeal to the best nature of people on that common ground Picture Quote #1

Lived religion is a very different thing from strict textual analysis. Very few people of any faith live their lives as literalist interpretations of scripture Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

Farmers and people who make a living from the land are finding it impossible to survive. So the first step is to get out of that place. Come to the city where there are opportunities Picture Quote #1

Only in novels can we take another human being into our head and create something jointly Picture Quote #1

When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image Picture Quote #1

Novel writing is the slowest art form in the world. It is not a sprint. It is not even a marathon. It is a series of marathons that stretch over and over across a continent Picture Quote #1

When people talk about the death of the novel, they are speaking of the need for the birth of something different Picture Quote #1

One ought not to encourage beggars, and yes, you are right, it is far better to donate to charities that address the causes of poverty rather than to him, a creature who is merely its symptom Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

Many boys, probably most boys, have a first love before they fall in love with a woman. It begins the moment two boys realize they’d die for one another, that each cares more for the other than he does for himself, and it lasts usually until a second love comes on the scene, because most hearts aren’t big enough to love more than one person like that Picture Quote #1

As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away Picture Quote #1

It’s in being read that a book becomes a book, and in each of a million different readings a book become one of a million different books Picture Quote #1

It is remarkable indeed how we human beings are capable of delighting in the mating call of a flower while we are surrounded by the charred carcasses of our fellow animals Picture Quote #1

We are all refugees from our childhoods. And so we turn, among other things, to stories. To write a story, to read a story, is to be a refugee from the state of refugees. Writers and readers seek a solution to the problem that time passes, that those who have gone are gone and those who will go, which is to say every one of us, will go. For there was a moment when anything was possible. And there will be a moment when nothing is possible. But in between we can create Picture Quote #1

Some of my relatives held on to imagined memories the way homeless people hold onto lottery tickets. Nostalgia was their crack cocaine, if you will, and my childhood was littered with the consequences of their addiction : unserviceable debts, squabbles over inheritances, the odd alcoholic or suicide Picture Quote #1

1 2 3 4

Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

Advertisements

Text Quotes

I did not grow up in poverty. But I did grow up with a poor boy’s sense of longing, in my case not for what my family had never had, but for what we had had and lost (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Islamophobia, in all its guises, seeks to minimise the importance of the individual and maximise the importance of the group. Yet our instinctive stance ought to be one of suspicion towards such endeavours. For individuals are undeniably real. Groups, on the other hand, are assertions of opinion (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) As a writer, I am constantly aware that I take my life in my hands with everything I do and say. It’s just a fact of life. For me it always has been (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) If it takes you seven years to write each novel, you need a patron. And I would rather have my corporate self as my patron than any arts council or bestower of grants (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Capitalism is like the law of the jungle with a few rules. There isn’t another system that works for our society but left unchecked, capitalism can have a dehumanising effect (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Maybe we are all prospective migrants. The lines of national borders on maps are artificial constructs, as unnatural to us as they are to birds flying overhead. Our first impulse is to ignore them (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) We need a self because the complexity of the chemical processes that make up our individual humanities exceeds the processing power of our brains (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Pakistan hasn’t been cast in the role of... interesting cultural place or, you know, land of great comedians (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) For me, writing a novel is like solving a puzzle. But I don’t intend my novels as puzzles. I intend them as invitations to dance (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) I think there’s a natural link between the fact that our self is a story that we make up and that we’re drawn to stories. It resonates, in a way (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) I take six or seven years to write really small books. There is a kind of aesthetic of leanness, of brevity (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) I don’t listen to music when I write. I need silence so I can hear the sound of the words (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Childbirth changed my perception of my wife. She was now the bloodied special forces soldier who had fought and risked everything for our family (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) I am a strong believer in the intertwined nature of the personal and the political; I think they move together (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) It is the effect of scarcity; one’s rules of propriety make one thirst for the improper (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) The fruits of labor are delicious, but individually they’re not particularly fattening. So don’t share yours, and munch on those of others whenever you can (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) I think the most effective forms of critique are ones that establish a common ground for people to occupy, and then appeal to the best nature of people on that common ground (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Lived religion is a very different thing from strict textual analysis. Very few people of any faith live their lives as literalist interpretations of scripture (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Farmers and people who make a living from the land are finding it impossible to survive. So the first step is to get out of that place. Come to the city where there are opportunities (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Only in novels can we take another human being into our head and create something jointly (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Novel writing is the slowest art form in the world. It is not a sprint. It is not even a marathon. It is a series of marathons that stretch over and over across a continent (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) When people talk about the death of the novel, they are speaking of the need for the birth of something different (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) One ought not to encourage beggars, and yes, you are right, it is far better to donate to charities that address the causes of poverty rather than to him, a creature who is merely its symptom (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Many boys, probably most boys, have a first love before they fall in love with a woman. It begins the moment two boys realize they’d die for one another, that each cares more for the other than he does for himself, and it lasts usually until a second love comes on the scene, because most hearts aren’t big enough to love more than one person like that (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) It’s in being read that a book becomes a book, and in each of a million different readings a book become one of a million different books (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) It is remarkable indeed how we human beings are capable of delighting in the mating call of a flower while we are surrounded by the charred carcasses of our fellow animals (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) We are all refugees from our childhoods. And so we turn, among other things, to stories. To write a story, to read a story, is to be a refugee from the state of refugees. Writers and readers seek a solution to the problem that time passes, that those who have gone are gone and those who will go, which is to say every one of us, will go. For there was a moment when anything was possible. And there will be a moment when nothing is possible. But in between we can create (Mohsin Hamid Quotes) Some of my relatives held on to imagined memories the way homeless people hold onto lottery tickets. Nostalgia was their crack cocaine, if you will, and my childhood was littered with the consequences of their addiction : unserviceable debts, squabbles over inheritances, the odd alcoholic or suicide (Mohsin Hamid Quotes)

1 2 3 4