--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write what I call 'novels of…" description: "\"I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.\" — Alan Furst" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png" --- # I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who… ![“I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.” quote by Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png) > “I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.” [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He writes stories aimed at educated readers, offering comfort through narrative depth. **In simple terms:** Stories meant to soothe cultured readers. Key Takeaway Create empathetic, thoughtful works. Themes comfort literature intellectual audience Mood thoughtful reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - reading clubs - therapy sessions - personal reflection Key Concepts novel consolation psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can narrative provide solace? - What makes a story consoling? A Different Perspective May not reach those seeking practical advice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Actually, it's the other way round. In a poor country, the only consolation people can have is the one that comes from their beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/actually-it-s-the-other-way-round-in-a-poor-country-the-only/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I have sympathy for anyone who finds consolation anywhere we can. And many people do find it in religious tradition as it has been.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-consolation-anywhere-we-can-and/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [The funniest novel you've never read. . . . Afternoon Men is a revelation to sophisticated readers of every stripe, but especially to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/the-funniest-novel-you-ve-never-read-afternoon-men-is-a-revelation-to/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/i-have-the-consolation-of-leaving-your-kingdom-in-the-highest-degree/) [Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/) > [Solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solitude-was-my-only-consolation-deep-dark-deathlike-solitude/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seek and possess holiness, and consolation will follow, as assuredly as warmth follows the dispensation of the rays of the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cogswell-upham/seek-and-possess-holiness-and-consolation-will-follow-as-assuredly-as/) [Thomas Cogswell Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cogswell-upham/) > [The day has the color and the sound of winter. Thoughts turn to chowder...chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-paddleford/the-day-has-the-color-and-the-sound-of-winter-thoughts-turn-to/) [Clementine Paddleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-paddleford/) > [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Perhaps the greatest consolation of the oppressed is to consider themselves superior to their tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/perhaps-the-greatest-consolation-of-the-oppressed-is-to-consider/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [I had thought that growing up's consolation was that you could escape from the arbitrariness of things, that somehow one acquired more control. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-galloway/i-had-thought-that-growing-up-s-consolation-was-that-you-could-escape/) [Janice Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-galloway/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) ## More by Alan Furst > [“It was dawn by the time the detective showed up; tired and weary. Tired because he’d been called from his bed before dawn, weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/it-was-dawn-by-the-time-the-detective-showed-up-tired-and-weary-tired/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“Luftmenschen were also eternal students, lost souls, young people who spent their lives arguing politics in cafés and drifting through the student communities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/luftmenschen-were-also-eternal-students-lost-souls-young-people-who/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [Live today, for tomorrow we die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/live-today-for-tomorrow-we-die/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“There's a French saying, ‘Où le Dieu a vous semé, il faut savoir fleurir.’ Let's see, ‘Wherever God has planted you, you must know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/there-s-a-french-saying-o-le-dieu-a-vous-sem-il-faut-savoir-fleurir/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [I don't just want my books to be about the '30s and '40s. I want them to read as if they had been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-don-t-just-want-my-books-to-be-about-the-30s-and-40s-i-want-them-to/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“Home at that moment was a starless night, a steady wind, not a human to be seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/home-at-that-moment-was-a-starless-night-a-steady-wind-not-a-human-to/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“when at last they’d had to admit to themselves that they’d made all the love they could, had been a last meal. Like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/when-at-last-they-d-had-to-admit-to-themselves-that-they-d-made-all/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“This year, of course, being 1936, there would be no figs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/this-year-of-course-being-1936-there-would-be-no-figs/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [It takes me three months of research and nine months of work to produce a book. When I start writing, I do two pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/it-takes-me-three-months-of-research-and-nine-months-of-work-to/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [Politicians were like talking dogs in a circus: the fact that they existed was uncommonly interesting, but no sane person would actually believe what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/politicians-were-like-talking-dogs-in-a-circus-the-fact-that-they/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-have-a-very-serious-censorship-office-inside-my-head-it-censors/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [If you're a writer, you're always working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/if-you-re-a-writer-you-re-always-working/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“When a diplomat says ‘yes’ he means ‘maybe.’ When a diplomat says ‘maybe’ he means ‘no.’ But if a diplomat says ‘no’ he’s no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/when-a-diplomat-says-yes-he-means-maybe-when-a-diplomat-says-maybe-he/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [My novels are about the European reality, not about chases. You want chases, get somebody else's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/my-novels-are-about-the-european-reality-not-about-chases-you-want/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“In return for their faithful service, they would receive Red Army food rations, which amounted to a generous ladle, twice daily, from a cauldron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/in-return-for-their-faithful-service-they-would-receive-red-army-food/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) [Explore all 43 Alan Furst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Furst" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolation-for-people-who-are-bright/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolation-for-people-who-are-bright/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/alan-furst-15100_books_i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolatio_411338.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.” — Alan Furst", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Alan Furst", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I write what I call 'novels...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolation-for-people-who-are-bright/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-write-what-i-call-novels-of-consolation-for-people-who-are-bright/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```