---
title: "5 Contracts Quotes By Barbara Kingsolver"
description: "5 Contracts quotes by Barbara Kingsolver. Plus more from Barbara Kingsolver and more Contracts sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/barbara-kingsolver-200_accessibility_a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-f_284166.png"
---

> [A novel can educate to some extent, but first a novel has to entertain. That's the contract with the reader: you give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-first-a-novel-has-to-entertain/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/barbara-kingsolver-200_accessibility_a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-f_284166.png)

> [Being a novelist and being a mother have exactly coincided in my life: the call from my agent saying that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/being-a-novelist-and-being-a-mother-have-exactly-coincided-in-my-life/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/barbara-kingsolver-200_agents_being-a-novelist-and-being-a-mother-have_1981215.png)

> [On the day I swore to uphold the Hippocratic oath, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/on-the-day-i-swore-to-uphold-the-hippocratic-oath-the-small-hairs-on/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/barbara-kingsolver-200_accepting_on-the-day-i-swore-to-uphold-the-hippocr_2334062.jpg)

> [I believe with all my heart in delivering on my contract with my readers. They've got plenty of other things to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-believe-with-all-my-heart-in-delivering-on-my-contract-with-my/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/barbara-kingsolver-200_believe_i-believe-with-all-my-heart-in-deliverin_2449618.png)

> [“A creature with a big enough head to make a contract should have the sense to make one it can keep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-creature-with-a-big-enough-head-to-make-a-contract-should-have-the/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/barbara-kingsolver-200_big-head_a-creature-with-a-big-enough-head-to-mak_2851244.png)

## Other authors on Contracts

## More by Barbara Kingsolver

> [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/#itemlist",
            "name": "5 Contracts Quotes By Barbara Kingsolver",
            "numberOfItems": 5,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "A novel can educate to some extent, but first a novel has to entertain. That's the contract with the reader: you give me ten hours and I'll give you a reason to turn every page. I have a commitment to accessibility. I believe in plot. I want an English professor to understand the symbolism while at the same time I want the people I grew up with - who may not often read anything but the Sears catalog - to read my books.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Barbara Kingsolver"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-first-a-novel-has-to-entertain/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/barbara-kingsolver-200_accessibility_a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-f_284166.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/barbara-kingsolver-200_accessibility_a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-f_284166.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/barbara-kingsolver-200_accessibility_a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-f_284166.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“A novel can educate to some extent, but first a novel has to entertain. That's the contract with the reader…” — Barbara Kingsolver",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Being a novelist and being a mother have exactly coincided in my life: the call from my agent saying that I had a contract for my first novel - that was on my answering phone message when I got back from the hospital with my first child.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Barbara Kingsolver"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/being-a-novelist-and-being-a-mother-have-exactly-coincided-in-my-life/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/barbara-kingsolver-200_agents_being-a-novelist-and-being-a-mother-have_1981215.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/barbara-kingsolver-200_agents_being-a-novelist-and-being-a-mother-have_1981215.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/barbara-kingsolver-200_agents_being-a-novelist-and-being-a-mother-have_1981215.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Being a novelist and being a mother have exactly coincided in my life: the call from my agent saying that I…” — Barbara Kingsolver",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "On the day I swore to uphold the Hippocratic oath, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I waited for lightning to strike. Who was I, vowing calmly among all these necktied young men to steal life out of nature's jaws, every old time we got half a chance and a paycheck?... I could not accept the contract: that every child born human upon this earth comes with a guarantee of perfect health and old age clutched in its small fist.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Barbara Kingsolver"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/on-the-day-i-swore-to-uphold-the-hippocratic-oath-the-small-hairs-on/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/barbara-kingsolver-200_accepting_on-the-day-i-swore-to-uphold-the-hippocr_2334062.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/barbara-kingsolver-200_accepting_on-the-day-i-swore-to-uphold-the-hippocr_2334062.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/barbara-kingsolver-200_accepting_on-the-day-i-swore-to-uphold-the-hippocr_2334062.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“On the day I swore to uphold the Hippocratic oath, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I…” — Barbara Kingsolver",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I believe with all my heart in delivering on my contract with my readers. They've got plenty of other things to do, so I had better give them a reason to turn every one of these 550 pages. This is my promise: I solemnly swear I'll make you laugh out loud at least once, cry a little in private, and burn whatever you left on the stove.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Barbara Kingsolver"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-believe-with-all-my-heart-in-delivering-on-my-contract-with-my/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/barbara-kingsolver-200_believe_i-believe-with-all-my-heart-in-deliverin_2449618.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/barbara-kingsolver-200_believe_i-believe-with-all-my-heart-in-deliverin_2449618.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/barbara-kingsolver-200_believe_i-believe-with-all-my-heart-in-deliverin_2449618.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I believe with all my heart in delivering on my contract with my readers. They've got plenty of other things…” — Barbara Kingsolver",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“A creature with a big enough head to make a contract should have the sense to make one it can keep.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Barbara Kingsolver"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-creature-with-a-big-enough-head-to-make-a-contract-should-have-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/barbara-kingsolver-200_big-head_a-creature-with-a-big-enough-head-to-mak_2851244.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/barbara-kingsolver-200_big-head_a-creature-with-a-big-enough-head-to-mak_2851244.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/barbara-kingsolver-200_big-head_a-creature-with-a-big-enough-head-to-mak_2851244.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“A creature with a big enough head to make a contract should have the sense to make one it can keep.” — Barbara Kingsolver",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/",
            "name": "Contracts Quotes by Barbara Kingsolver",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/barbara-kingsolver-200_accessibility_a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-f_284166.png"
            },
            "description": "5 Contracts quotes by Barbara Kingsolver. Plus more from Barbara Kingsolver and more Contracts sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Contracts",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Barbara Kingsolver",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/barbara-kingsolver/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
