---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have loved works of fiction precisely…"
description: "\"I have loved works of fiction precisely for their illusions, for the author's sleight-of-hand in showing me the magic, what appeared in the right hand ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg"
---

#  I have loved works of fiction precisely for their…

![“I have loved works of fiction precisely for their illusions, for the author's sleight-of-hand in showing me the magic, what appeared in the right hand but not in the left...” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg)

> “I have loved works of fiction precisely for their illusions, for the author's sleight-of-hand in showing me the magic, what appeared in the right hand but not in the left...”

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Fiction creates magical illusions that reveal hidden truths.

**In simple terms:** Fiction shows hidden magic.

Key Takeaway

Appreciate narrative illusion.

Themes

fiction illusion magic

Mood

reflective creative

Type

emotional intellectual

When to use this quote

- reading clubs
- creative writing
- film adaptation
- educational curricula

Key Concepts

storytelling perception creativity interpretation

Questions to Reflect On

- What truths do you discover through story?
- How does illusion affect belief?

A Different Perspective

Illusion can obscure reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Sleight of hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleight-of-hand/)

## Related quotes

> [“In the art of magic, keeping a secret is the greatest sleight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-the-art-of-magic-keeping-a-secret-is-the-greatest-sleight/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The fact is that the camera is literal if anything, which gives it something in common with a thermometer... Often the tension that exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-loengard/the-fact-is-that-the-camera-is-literal-if-anything-which-gives-it/)

[John Loengard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-loengard/)

> [If you do sleight of hand without trying to cheat someone, that's what magic is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-anderson/if-you-do-sleight-of-hand-without-trying-to-cheat-someone-that-s-what/)

[Harry Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-anderson/)

> [Falsehood is a critical element in fiction. Part of the thrill of being told a story is the chance of being hoodwinked. . .The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/falsehood-is-a-critical-element-in-fiction-part-of-the-thrill-of/)

[John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/)

> [Storytelling draws on the magic of language to created Elsewheres. Writers use a linguistic sleight-of-hand to take an attribute, attach them to new objects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-tatar/storytelling-draws-on-the-magic-of-language-to-created-elsewheres/)

[Maria Tatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-tatar/)

> [“A magician may step out without a purse, but he should never step out without a pack of playing cards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-magician-may-step-out-without-a-purse-but-he-should-never-step-out/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [All these wars are similar in the way ideology is being used. It's the ideology of so-called humanitarian intervention. We don't want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/all-these-wars-are-similar-in-the-way-ideology-is-being-used-it-s-the/)

[Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/)

> [The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight-of-hand that was ever invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-stamp/the-modern-banking-system-manufactures-money-out-of-nothing-the/)

[Josiah Stamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-stamp/)

> [Never reveal. The effect is entertaining, the sleight of hand is insulting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-reveal-the-effect-is-entertaining-the-sleight-of-hand-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Susan Straight finds LA's secret heart in Between Heaven and Here and with a sleight of hand only the masters have, she creates an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/susan-straight-finds-la-s-secret-heart-in-between-heaven-and-here-and/)

[Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/)

> [“Kaylee, For over a hundred years, magicians have been pulling objects out of hats. Rabbits, flowers... It's become such a famous trick that rabbits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-mae/kaylee-for-over-a-hundred-years-magicians-have-been-pulling-objects/)

[Cassie Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassie-mae/)

> [Happiness, you see, its just an illusion of Fate, a heavenly sleight of hand designed to make you believe in fairy tales. But there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/happiness-you-see-its-just-an-illusion-of-fate-a-heavenly-sleight-of/)

[Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/)

> [“Mass was like grand opera, a magic show with the most expensive props in town. And faith, a sleight of hand trick, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/mass-was-like-grand-opera-a-magic-show-with-the-most-expensive-props/)

[Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/)

> [Each of the essays in this volume ranges widely across technical and philosophical domains. They examine both familiar automatons from throughout history and delight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/each-of-the-essays-in-this-volume-ranges-widely-across-technical-and/)

[Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/)

## More by Amy Tan

> [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“bad, how likely is it to come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/bad-how-likely-is-it-to-come/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/shanghainese-people-are-good-negotiators-they-re-very-persistent-and/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [You should think about your character. Know where you are changing, how you will be changed, what cannot be changed back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/you-should-think-about-your-character-know-where-you-are-changing-how/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-am-ashamed-she-is-ashamed-because-she-is-my-daughter-and-i-am-proud/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

[Explore all 383 Amy Tan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

## 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 have loved works of fiction precisely for their illusions, for the author's sleight-of-hand in showing me the magic, what appeared in the right hand but not in the left...",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Amy Tan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely-for-their-illusions-for-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely-for-their-illusions-for-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f1/amy-tan-730_books_i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely_2736256.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have loved works of fiction precisely for their illusions, for the author's sleight-of-hand in showing me…” — Amy Tan",
                "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": "Amy Tan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have loved works of fiction...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely-for-their-illusions-for-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-have-loved-works-of-fiction-precisely-for-their-illusions-for-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
