Writer Quotes by Claire Messud

Carmiel Banasky, a writer like no other, is a talent to watch.

— Claire Messud

Yes, writing is essential to me. It's my way of living in the world.

— Claire Messud

The people who don't read - who are they? How do they make sense of things?

— Claire Messud

“Her self, then, was represented in her books.”

— Claire Messud

In midlife, I feel that my tendency to acquire books is rather like someone smoking two packs a day: it's a terrible…

— Claire Messud

When I finish a book, I always fear that I'll never write again. It takes a lot of time. You always think…

— Claire Messud

I digress a lot - it's how I experience the world. I would like to write in a way that will convey…

— Claire Messud

Henry James and Edith Wharton are huge for me because they gave me a way to understand America while still respecting the…

— Claire Messud

Especially since having children, a lot of the time if you ask me, 'Have you read that book?' the answer would be…

— Claire Messud

If I had to summarize, most broadly, my concerns as a writer, I'd say the question 'How then must we live?' is…

— Claire Messud

At the end of the day, what would be a Canadian sensibility? Is it Michael Ondaatje? Alice Munro? Is Margaret Atwood more…

— Claire Messud

I love my books, and with all their dog-ears and under-linings they are irreplaceable, but I sometimes wish they'd just vanish.

— Claire Messud

I was in my senior year of high school when I read 'Notes From Underground' by Dostoyevsky, and it was an exhilarating…

— Claire Messud

The apartment was entirely, was only, for her: a wall of books, both read and unread, all of them dear to her…

— Claire Messud

Obstruction can be caused by so many factors - perfectionism, distraction, faltering confidence, external demands and pressures. At some point, of course,…

— Claire Messud

When I am teaching, I first give out Tolstoy's 'Childhood,' his first published book. It is so transparent. It gives you exactly…

— Claire Messud

If you're rich, you can leave a library, a building, or a hospital wing. But writing leaves behind a visceral sense of…

— Claire Messud

“The apartment was entirely, was only, for her; a wall of books, both read and unread, all of them dear to her…

— Claire Messud

“The apartment was entirely, was only, for her: a wall of books, both read and unread, all of them dear to her…

— Claire Messud

I believe that, in an ideal world, writers would feel free to write what matters to them without having to consider success,…

— Claire Messud