“I think precision in writing goes hand in hand with not trying to say everything. You try and say two-thirds, so the reader will involve himself or herself.” ThinkingWritingTryingTwoHandsReaderThirdsHand In HandPrecision Author:Michael Ondaatje
“You think that you are an iconoclast, but you’re not. You just move, or replace what you cannot have. If you fail at something, you retreat into something else. Nothing changes you.... I left you because I knew I could never change you. You would stand in the room so still sometimes, as if the greatest betrayal of yourself would be to reveal one more inch of your character.” IfsThinkingStillsSometimesCharacterWould BeMovingLeftRoomsFailingBetrayalBreakupInchesRetreatBreak UpNever Change Author:Michael Ondaatje
“How we are almost nothing. We think, in our youth, we are the centre of the universe, but we simply respond, go this way or that by accident, survive or improve by the luck of the draw, with little choice or determination on our part.” ThinkingWayLittlesChoicesUniverseYouthDrawsDeterminationLuckAccidentsCentre Author:Michael Ondaatje
“Could you fall in love with her if she wasn't smarter than you? I mean, she may not be smarter than you. But isn't it important for you to think she is smarter than you in order to fall in love? Think now.” IfsThinkingMayMeanImportantOrderFallFalling In LoveSmarter Author:Michael Ondaatje
“Nowadays he doesn't think of his wife, though he knows he can turn around and evoke every move of her, describe any aspect of her, the weigh of her wrist on his heart during the night.” ThinkingKnowsHeartMovingNightTurnsWifeAspectEvokeWrists Book:The English Patient Source: The English Patient
“Tell me, is it possible to love someone who is not as smart as you are? ...But isn't it important for you to think she is smarter than you in order to fall in love? ...Why is that? Because we want to know things, how the pieces fit. Talkers seduce, words direct us into corners. We want more than anything to grow and change. Brave new world.” ThinkingKnowsWorldWantImportantOrderFallGrowsPiecesFitSmartDirectBraveFalling In LoveCornersNew WorldSmarterLove SomeoneSeducingTalkersBrave New World Author:Michael Ondaatje
“You have to protect yourself from sadness. Sadness is very close to hate. Let me tell you this. This is the thing I learned. If you take in someone else's poison – thinking you can cure them by sharing it – you will instead store it within you. Those men in the desert were smarter than you. They assumed he could be useful. So they saved him, but when he was no longer useful they left him.” IfsThinkingMenHateLeftSadnessProtectLet MeStoresSavedCuresDesertPoisonWithin YouSmarterProtect Yourself Author:Michael Ondaatje
“Read him slowly, dear girl, you must read Kipling slowly. Watch carefully where the commas fall so you can discover the natural pauses. He is a writer who used pen and ink. He looked up from the page a lot, I believe, stared through his window and listened to birds, as most writers who are alone do. Some do not know the names of birds, though he did. Your eye is too quick and North American. Think about the speed of his pen. What an appalling, barnacled old first paragraph it is otherwise.” ThinkingKnowsFirstsBelieveEyeUsedFallGirlNamesI BelieveNaturalWatchesPagesBirdWindowDearSpeedPensPausesInkParagraphKipling Book:The English Patient Source: The English Patient
