Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Yiyun Li

Quote by Yiyun Li

“I now memorize ancient poems from my mother's books. I reread the romantic stories and never tire of them. They are terrible stories, terribly written, yet they are about fate, a kinder fate that unites one with her lover despite hardships and improbability—and they never fail to give me a momentary hope, as they must have given my mother years ago, as if all will be well in the end.”

Quote by Yiyun Li

Work

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Yiyun Li
Yiyun Li

Yiyun Li, born on November 4, 1972, is a prominent Chinese writer known for her profound character portrayal and unique narrative style. Her works have won wide acclaim from readers. more

You May Also Like

“Because I am not a monster or a goddess; I am not a prophet or a princess, a gorgon or a priestess. I am not Aphrodite or Athena, Arachne or Medusa. I did not emerge from a seashell, or the inside of a head; I do not have to weave my story, over and over again, and it is not--and never should be--told by other people. My fate is not written in time, or sand, or stars, or in a tapestry, or a spider's web, and it never actually was. I am Cassandra: the future was always in me.”

“It would take many reflective hours and long walks and deep readings to come to terms with what had been given to me on that night. That there is no one moment. That my dream of the three white lice had foretold what would happen. Ford's death was already approaching as we lay in our beds the night before the accident, other worlds advancing towards ours, their coming together so deeply rooted in the past that there was no beginning. From before his conception Fordie had been moving towards his death--forgive him that moment of standing behind that truck; forgive that young fellow behind the wheel whose life had brought him to that moment of distraction; forgive the collision of their worlds in that moment that continues living through the lives of others. Forgive. Forgive me my smallness of mind in believing I could have or might have or should have changed the course of a moment that had been careening towards us for thousands of years and forgive God for shaping us all within the confines of the one transcendent moment that stretches through to eternity.”

“You are responsible for your actions, but not always the result of that action. You have the power to make attempts to influence your fate but not always in control of what eventually happens. If you made mistakes on your part, learn from them, but stop blaming yourself for the mistakes you never made. As long as you know in your heart that you did absolutely everything under your control, you are someone worthy of admiration.”