Different Lives Quotes by Tatyana Tolstaya

“And wanting nothing, regretting nothing, Peters smiled gratefully at life—running past, indifferent, ungrateful, treacherous, mocking, meaningless, alien—marvelous, marvelous, marvelous.”

— Tatyana Tolstaya

For us, the best time is always yesterday.

— Tatyana Tolstaya

In Russia, people suffer from the stillness of time.

— Tatyana Tolstaya

“...a book is a delicate friend, a white bird, an exquisite being, afraid of water. Darling things! Afraid of water, of fire, They shiver…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

I have enough energy to insist on saying what I think.

— Tatyana Tolstaya

Already the writers are complaining that there is too much freedom. They need some pressure. The worse your daily life, the better your art.…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

If there is a pattern, it will come back - maybe in Russia more than anywhere else, because it has collapsed so many times.…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

Art has nothing to do with politics. It is the freest thing in the world.

— Tatyana Tolstaya

People know that I am a very good author. But they would rather read what I have to say about the next election.

— Tatyana Tolstaya

“Golbuchiks? Golbuchiks are ashes, entrails, dung, stove smoke, clay, and they’ll all return to clay. They’re full of dirt, candle oil, droppings, dust. You,…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

The best time is always yesterday.

— Tatyana Tolstaya

Politics disappears; it vanishes. What remains constant is human life. So I try to develop a perspective in my writing where politics is just…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

I don't want to deal with big, grand themes in my stories; art has nothing to do with themes. When you deal with themes,…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

You read, move your lips, figure out the words, and it's like you're in two places at the same time: you're sitting or lying…

— Tatyana Tolstaya

“The world may perish, but the meat grinder is indestructible.”

— Tatyana Tolstaya