Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by John Lanchester

Quote by John Lanchester

Work

The Debt to Pleasure

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

John Lanchester
John Lanchester

John Lanchester is a British journalist born on February 25, 1962. Known for his insightful observations of contemporary society and culture, his work spans across novels, criticism, and reporting. more

You May Also Like

“It may be said, in broad-brush terms, that the primary purpose of life is the continuation of life. A deep program for survival and reproduction underwrites the complex cycles of life, in which death is the grand equalizer. There is, however, a peculiar novelty: human awareness of the cycle of life and a capacity to anticipate our own, individual death.”

“Samsa looked down in dismay at his naked body. How ill-formed it was! Worse than ill-formed. It possessed no means of self-defense. Smooth white skin (covered by only a perfunctory amount of hair) with fragile blue blood vessels visible through it; a soft, unprotected belly; ludicrous, impossibly shaped genitals; gangly arms and legs (just two of each!); a scrawny, breakable neck; an enormous, misshapen head with a tangle of stiff hair on its crown; two absurd ears, jutting out like a pair of seashells. Was this thing really him? Could a body so preposterous, so easy to destroy (no shell for protection, no weapons for attack), survive in the world?”

“In Islam, you can know God is with you through signs like feeling a sense of ease and guidance in performing righteous deeds, a strong connection to worship, a heart filled with compassion and mercy, and by observing His signs in creation. The clearest sign is a consistent and complete adherence to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (Sunnah).”