--- title: "3 Fascinating Quotes By Jane Smiley" description: "3 Fascinating quotes by Jane Smiley. Plus more from Jane Smiley and more Fascinating sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/jane-smiley-2120_children_even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and_306452.png" --- > [Even if my marriage is falling apart and my children are unhappy, there is still a part of me that says, 'God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and-my-children-are-unhappy/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/jane-smiley-2120_children_even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and_306452.png) > ['Lean on Pete' is the story of a boy and his horse, but it is never heart-warming - it ranges in tone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/lean-on-pete-is-the-story-of-a-boy-and-his-horse-but-it-is-never/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/jane-smiley-2120_21st-century_lean-on-pete-is-the-story-of-a-boy-and-h_1876828.png) > [The main thing about the novel that is totally fascinating: It's not possessed by the writer; it's possessed by the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-main-thing-about-the-novel-that-is-totally-fascinating-it-s-not/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-main-thing-about-the-novel-that-is-t_2215127.png) ## Other authors on Fascinating ## More by Jane Smiley > [Some novelists are luckier than others in the eras of their formative intellectual years, but all Weltanschauungs return, which means that most novelists have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/some-novelists-are-luckier-than-others-in-the-eras-of-their-formative/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-can-never-be-such-a-thing-as-a-free-market-because-it-is-human/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [How will you know a good farmer when you meet him? He will not ask you for any favors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/how-will-you-know-a-good-farmer-when-you-meet-him-he-will-not-ask-you/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/you-know-what-getting-married-is-it-s-agreeing-to-taking-this-person/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/every-first-draft-is-perfect-because-all-a-first-draft-has-to-do-is/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“We watched the swimmers and sunbathers and I thought about this. Had I faced all the facts? It seemed like I had, but actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/we-watched-the-swimmers-and-sunbathers-and-i-thought-about-this-had-i/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“They throw themselves on the waters of the world, and they know they will be borne up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/they-throw-themselves-on-the-waters-of-the-world-and-they-know-they/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [everything is toxic. That's the point. You can't avoid toxins. Thinking you can is just another symptom of the toxic overload stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/everything-is-toxic-that-s-the-point-you-can-t-avoid-toxins-thinking/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Shame is a distinct feeling. I couldn’t look at my hands around the coffee cup or hear my own laments without feeling appalled, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/shame-is-a-distinct-feeling-i-couldn-t-look-at-my-hands-around-the/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Horse racing is really much more intimidating than anything having to do with literature. When I had horses at the racetrack, I would wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/horse-racing-is-really-much-more-intimidating-than-anything-having-to/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Had I faced all the facts It seemed like I had but actually you never know just by remembering how many there were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/had-i-faced-all-the-facts-it-seemed-like-i-had-but-actually-you-never/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [A theory of creativity is actually just a metaphor. A pool of ideas, a well of memories, a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/a-theory-of-creativity-is-actually-just-a-metaphor-a-pool-of-ideas-a/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There are hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around the United States and in other countries, too. Wright lived into his 90s, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-are-hundreds-of-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-around-the-united/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascinating/jane-smiley/#itemlist", "name": "3 Fascinating Quotes By Jane Smiley", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even if my marriage is falling apart and my children are unhappy, there is still a part of me that says, 'God, this is fascinating!'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Smiley" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and-my-children-are-unhappy/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/jane-smiley-2120_children_even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and_306452.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/jane-smiley-2120_children_even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and_306452.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/jane-smiley-2120_children_even-if-my-marriage-is-falling-apart-and_306452.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even if my marriage is falling apart and my children are unhappy, there is still a part of me that says…” — Jane Smiley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Lean on Pete' is the story of a boy and his horse, but it is never heart-warming - it ranges in tone from desperate to merely painful - and, while fascinating, it is never entertaining or redemptive. 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