“A great novel is concerned primarily with the interior lives of its characters, as they respond to the inconvenient narratives that fate imposes on them. Movie adaptations of these monumental fictions often fail because they become mere exercises in interior decoration.” CharacterFictionNovelFateFailingExerciseConcernedMereNarrativeInteriorsAdaptationDecorationInconvenientGreat Novels Author:Richard Schickel
“Great, big, serious novels always get awards. If it's a battle between a great, big, serious novel and a funny novel, the funny novel is doomed.” IfsWritingBigsFunnyLiteratureNovelFateSeriousBattleAwardsDoomedAward WinningWinning Awards Author:Neil Gaiman
“You say fate is almost indispensable to literature - I think it's completely indispensable, at least in a novel, because a novel always has a plot. Even if nothing happens, even if someone just spends a day walking around Dublin, or whatever, there's still something going on.” IfsThinkingStillsHappensLiteratureNovelFateWalkingThings HappenPlotIndispensableDublin Author:Daniel Kehlmann
“When I look at life I try to be as agnostic and unmetaphysical as possible. So I have to admit that, most probably, we do not have a fate. But I think that's something that draws us to novels - that the characters always have a fate. Even if it's a terrible fate, at least they have one.” IfsThinkingTryingLooksCharacterNovelFateTerribleDrawsAgnostic Author:Daniel Kehlmann