---
title: "1 Gave Things Quotes By Laila Lalami"
description: "1 Gave Things quotes by Laila Lalami. Plus more from Laila Lalami and more Gave Things sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/laila-lalami-25030_fairness_the-universe-had-an-odd-sense-of-fairnes_3059197.png"
---

> [The universe had an odd sense of fairness; it took away things one did not want to give up, and then gave things one did not ask for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/the-universe-had-an-odd-sense-of-fairness-it-took-away-things-one-did/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/laila-lalami-25030_fairness_the-universe-had-an-odd-sense-of-fairnes_3059197.png)

## More by Laila Lalami

> [There is a insularity within American fiction even for adults. It's very tough for books in translation in the US.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/there-is-a-insularity-within-american-fiction-even-for-adults-it-s/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [ I \[read\] "The Book of Unknown Americans," which is by a friend of mine, Cristina Henriquez, and is about two Latino, immigrant families who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/i-read-the-book-of-unknown-americans-which-is-by-a-friend-of-mine/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were books like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, which is based on a historical fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/the-ones-that-were-relevant-while-i-wrote-my-book-were-books-like/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [“He needed time to adjust to real life, where heroes and villains could not be told apart by their looks or their accents, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/he-needed-time-to-adjust-to-real-life-where-heroes-and-villains-could/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [Every book leaves its mark on you. It might leave you hungry for that kind of book or you may be satiated, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/every-book-leaves-its-mark-on-you-it-might-leave-you-hungry-for-that/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [A name is precious; it carries inside it a language, a history, a set of traditions, a particular way of looking at the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/a-name-is-precious-it-carries-inside-it-a-language-a-history-a-set-of/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [In some ways, I think it's the closest that we come to the truth — is in the form of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/in-some-ways-i-think-it-s-the-closest-that-we-come-to-the-truth-is-in/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [“His anger took many shapes: sometimes soft and familiar, like a round stone he had caressed for so long that is was perfectly smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/his-anger-took-many-shapes-sometimes-soft-and-familiar-like-a-round/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [When I was a child, I was reading books filled with people different from me, all French, all foreigners. There was a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/when-i-was-a-child-i-was-reading-books-filled-with-people-different/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [“It was a communion of pain, and no one in the city could pretend not to have heard it. The women had made witnesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/it-was-a-communion-of-pain-and-no-one-in-the-city-could-pretend-not/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [“know now that these conquerors, like many others before them, and no doubt like others after, gave speeches not to voice the truth, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/know-now-that-these-conquerors-like-many-others-before-them-and-no/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [There are writers I return to no matter what I'm working on, writers like the South African J.M. Coetzee. He has an ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/there-are-writers-i-return-to-no-matter-what-i-m-working-on-writers/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [No one wrote better about the sin of pride, the corruption of power and the redemption of love. I will miss you, Gabriel García…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/no-one-wrote-better-about-the-sin-of-pride-the-corruption-of-power/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [ Few \[books\] get translated and the ones that do have trouble making it into the mainstream. It's more likely that Americans will discover another… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/few-books-get-translated-and-the-ones-that-do-have-trouble-making-it/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

> [Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is-that-an-american-child-s/)

[Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/)

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