I liked the idea of being from 'somewhere else.' I do think that's inherited. My father never had a fixed sense of… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
My tendencies are much more the Henry James thing, where we sit in silence at the table for three minutes, and our… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
If I hear a story or a fact about somebody I don't know and have never met, it's like getting a hollow… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
I've never been very practical or realistic - I've always felt that if a project seems easy, or even attainable, why pursue… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
When you move around a lot, there are little bits of you from everywhere. I mean, my father's French, and I speak… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
We think that we know people from this constellation of points: 'I know that story. I know that girl. I've heard that… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
I have said it somewhere - our literary lived lives are as important as our literally lived lives. — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
“Life is about deciding what matters. It’s about the fantasy that determines the reality. Have you ever asked yourself whether you’d rather fly or… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
Life's funny. You have to find a way to keep going, to keep laughing, even after you realize that none of your dreams will… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
It's the strangest thing about being human: to know so much, to communicate so much, and yet always to fall so drastically short of… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling. — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
“I don't want to sleep,' my mother said. 'I want -- for God's sake, I want to wake up.” — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
“It was supposed to say “Great Artist” on my tombstone, but if I died right now it would say “such a good teacher/daughter/friend” instead;… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
“Live, my dear Nora. Satisfy your hunger. There's food all around you, you know.' 'What kind of food, I'd like to know?' 'Ah'-he smiled-… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
I digress a lot - it's how I experience the world. I would like to write in a way that will convey that to… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
We think that - as kids, you know - that kids make up stories and live in a sort of fictional place, but that,… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
“It makes sense that if you stand almost daily in the middle of a perfect crescent of shore, with a vista open to eternity,… — Claire Messud Copy Share Image
