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Quote by David Bezmozgis

“When writing dialogue, I hear it in both Russian and English, and try to find a language that combines the two.”

Quote by David Bezmozgis

Author

David Bezmozgis

David Bezmozgis is a Canadian-American writer born on June 2, 1973, in Toronto. The son of Latvian Jewish refugees, his literary work often explores the immigrant experience, family dynamics, and issues of identity among Jewish diaspora communities. His debut short story collection "Natasha" (2001) received critical acclaim and established him as a significant voice in contemporary literature. He has published several acclaimed works including the novel "The Free World" (2011) and "Victoria" (2019). more

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“Language is a personality as well. People are different when they speak different languages.”

People Wells Different Speak Language Personality Different Languages

Author:David Bezmozgis

“I believe I'm very conscious of exactly what I'm doing. I'm auditioning lines of dialogue, and I'm interrogating whether the lines would translate from Russian into English the right way. The English that results can perhaps seem somewhat more formal than colloquial, but not so formal as to feel academic.”

Way Feels Believe Seems I Believe Lines Results Conscious Dialogue Academic Translate Formal Right Way

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“It's not for the writer to say whether the thing is successful or not.”

Author:David Bezmozgis

“I think ex-Soviet or Russian-Jewish women are tougher and that comes through. And if they are more pragmatic than the men, it's because they are obliged to be. They have all the female responsibilities and all the male responsibilities.”

Ifs Thinking Men Responsibility He Man Female Males Soviet Exes Obliged Pragmatic

Author:David Bezmozgis

“In my experience of women, women have a greater capacity. Maybe women, even very pragmatic ones, are less guarded about showing emotions.”

Emotion Greater Capacity Men Women Pragmatic Guarded

Author:David Bezmozgis

“I think there are differences between men and women. There is more of a softness to women than there is to men, especially when it comes to those more intimate emotions: feeling love, feeling familial connections.”

Thinking Men Feelings Differences Emotion Men And Women Connections Intimate Softness Differences Between Man And Woman Love Feeling Emotions Feelings

Author:David Bezmozgis

“I think even with women who come across with a tough exterior, the interior is the same. I think you'll find this with women around the word: some women, because of their circumstances, are forced to be tougher, forced to cultivate tougher exteriors.”

Thinking Circumstances Tough Interiors Exterior

Author:David Bezmozgis

“When you write a book, you want to have fidelity to the character. Characters and their emotions guide the structure of the novel.”

Want Writing Book Character Emotion Novel Structure Guides Fidelity

Author:David Bezmozgis

“If the fidelity [ in a book] isn't maintained, the reader will think your structure is extraneous, or superficial, or that you're trying to curry favor, or live up to the expectations of some sort of genre or structure.”

Ifs Thinking Trying Book Reader Expectations Structure Favors Genre Superficial Fidelity Curry

Author:David Bezmozgis

“I spent seven years writing The Free World. There are a lot of things I accomplished there that I'm very proud of, but I didn't want to spend another seven years writing a book like that.”

World Want Writing Years Book Proud Seven Accomplished Seven Years Writing A Book Free World

Author:David Bezmozgis