---
title: "3 Ordinary things Quotes By Arundhati Roy"
description: "3 Ordinary things quotes by Arundhati Roy. Plus more from Arundhati Roy and more Ordinary things sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/arundhati-roy-346_bones_perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change_57987.jpg"
---

> [“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change-in-a-day-that-a-few-dozen/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/arundhati-roy-346_bones_perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change_57987.jpg)

> [“History’s smell. Like old roses on a breeze. It would lurk forever in ordinary things. In coat hangers. Tomatoes. In the tar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/history-s-smell-like-old-roses-on-a-breeze-it-would-lurk-forever-in/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/arundhati-roy-346_history_history-s-smell-like-old-roses-on-a-bree_1537272.png)

> [Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Suddenly, they become the bleached bones of a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/little-events-ordinary-things-smashed-and-reconstituted-suddenly-they/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/arundhati-roy-346_bones_little-events-ordinary-things-smashed-an_3198726.png)

## Other authors on Ordinary things

## More by Arundhati Roy

> [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Poverty is a crime and the poor are terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/poverty-is-a-crime-and-the-poor-are-terrorists/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [NGOs have a complicated space in neoliberal politics. They are supposed to mop up the anger. Even when they are doing good work, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/ngos-have-a-complicated-space-in-neoliberal-politics-they-are/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Truly, there's no alternative to stupidity. Cretinism is the mother of fascism. I have no defence against it, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/truly-there-s-no-alternative-to-stupidity-cretinism-is-the-mother-of/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-secret-of-the-great-stories-is-that-they-have-no-secrets-the/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [“stilts, the ground floors given over to parking. It’s a good idea in this car-maddened city,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/stilts-the-ground-floors-given-over-to-parking-it-s-a-good-idea-in/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change-in-a-day-that-a-few-dozen/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/#itemlist",
            "name": "3 Ordinary things Quotes By Arundhati Roy",
            "numberOfItems": 3,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the salvaged remains of a burned house—the charred clock, the singed photograph, the scorched furniture—must be resurrected from the ruins and examined. Preserved. Accounted for. Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Imbued with new meaning. Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Arundhati Roy"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change-in-a-day-that-a-few-dozen/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/arundhati-roy-346_bones_perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change_57987.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/arundhati-roy-346_bones_perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change_57987.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/arundhati-roy-346_bones_perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change_57987.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole…” — Arundhati Roy",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“History’s smell. Like old roses on a breeze. It would lurk forever in ordinary things. In coat hangers. Tomatoes. In the tar on roads. In certain colours. In the plates at a restaurant. In the absence of words. And the emptiness in eyes.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Arundhati Roy"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/history-s-smell-like-old-roses-on-a-breeze-it-would-lurk-forever-in/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/arundhati-roy-346_history_history-s-smell-like-old-roses-on-a-bree_1537272.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/arundhati-roy-346_history_history-s-smell-like-old-roses-on-a-bree_1537272.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/arundhati-roy-346_history_history-s-smell-like-old-roses-on-a-bree_1537272.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“History’s smell. Like old roses on a breeze. It would lurk forever in ordinary things. In coat hangers…” — Arundhati Roy",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Suddenly, they become the bleached bones of a story.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Arundhati Roy"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/little-events-ordinary-things-smashed-and-reconstituted-suddenly-they/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/arundhati-roy-346_bones_little-events-ordinary-things-smashed-an_3198726.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/arundhati-roy-346_bones_little-events-ordinary-things-smashed-an_3198726.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/arundhati-roy-346_bones_little-events-ordinary-things-smashed-an_3198726.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Suddenly, they become the bleached bones of a…” — Arundhati Roy",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/",
            "name": "Ordinary things Quotes by Arundhati Roy",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/arundhati-roy-346_bones_perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change_57987.jpg"
            },
            "description": "3 Ordinary things quotes by Arundhati Roy. Plus more from Arundhati Roy and more Ordinary things sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/#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": "Ordinary Things",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Arundhati Roy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/arundhati-roy/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```