--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was very influenced by The Magic…" description: "\"I was very influenced by The Magic Mountain. It's a book that had a huge impact on me. I loved that as a shape for a novel: put a bunch of people in a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/ann-patchett-670_bags_i-was-very-influenced-by-the-magic-mount_2022667.jpg" --- # I was very influenced by The Magic Mountain. It's a book… ![“I was very influenced by The Magic Mountain. It's a book that had a huge impact on me. I loved that as a shape for a novel: put a bunch of people in a beautiful place, give them all tuberculosis, make them all stay in a fur sleeping bag for several years and see what happens.” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/ann-patchett-670_bags_i-was-very-influenced-by-the-magic-mount_2022667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/ann-patchett-670_bags_i-was-very-influenced-by-the-magic-mount_2022667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/ann-patchett-670_bags_i-was-very-influenced-by-the-magic-mount_2022667.jpg) > “I was very influenced by The Magic Mountain. It's a book that had a huge impact on me. I loved that as a shape for a novel: put a bunch of people in a beautiful place, give them all tuberculosis, make them all stay in a fur sleeping bag for several years and see what happens.” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novel uses an isolated setting and illness to explore how people change over time under shared hardship. **In simple terms:** Isolation and illness reveal character growth. Key Takeaway Observe how shared challenges shape behavior. Themes isolation illness growth community Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary analytical When to use this quote - long‑term projects - health crises - group retreats Key Concepts existentialism social dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does a confined setting reveal about human nature? - How does shared adversity affect relationships? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex social interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-place/) [Beautiful places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-places/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“I’d loved the satin lining of the box. I’d loved the shape, and the twilight act of rising from the dead. But no more … ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-d-loved-the-satin-lining-of-the-box-i-d-loved-the-shape-and-the/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/novels-usually-evolve-out-of-character-characters-generate-stories/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I always think I know the way a novel will go. I write maps on oversized art pads like the kind I carried around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-always-think-i-know-the-way-a-novel-will-go-i-write-maps-on/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I like shape very much. A novel has to have shape, and life doesn't have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/i-like-shape-very-much-a-novel-has-to-have-shape-and-life-doesn-t/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [I had my first real kiss at Magic Mountain on a park bench. Not the most romantic thing ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/i-had-my-first-real-kiss-at-magic-mountain-on-a-park-bench-not-the/) [Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/) > [My idea of a real treat is Magic Mountain without standing in line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-rickman/my-idea-of-a-real-treat-is-magic-mountain-without-standing-in-line/) [Alan Rickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-rickman/) > [“The natural, proper, fitting shape of the novel might be that of a sack, a bag. A book holds words. Words hold things. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-natural-proper-fitting-shape-of-the-novel-might-be-that-of-a-sack/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I love roller coasters. I don't get a chance often, but I've gone to Magic Mountain and gone on the rides. I love roller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/i-love-roller-coasters-i-don-t-get-a-chance-often-but-i-ve-gone-to/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [I came up with the idea of a daredevil who's going to go upside down, in a metal car, at 90 mph, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-einstein/i-came-up-with-the-idea-of-a-daredevil-who-s-going-to-go-upside-down/) [Bob Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-einstein/) > [No more children should be born when the parents, though healthy themselves, find that their children are physically or mentally defective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/no-more-children-should-be-born-when-the-parents-though-healthy/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [My 94-year-old grandmother has always been so inspiring to me. She is kind, smart, brave, and independent. After graduating number one in her medical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-chow/my-94-year-old-grandmother-has-always-been-so-inspiring-to-me-she-is/) [Kelsey Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-chow/) > [Every 10 seconds we lose a child to hunger. This is more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josette-sheeran/every-10-seconds-we-lose-a-child-to-hunger-this-is-more-than-hiv-aids/) [Josette Sheeran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josette-sheeran/) > [I've overcome tuberculosis and my life was at risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiago-silva/i-ve-overcome-tuberculosis-and-my-life-was-at-risk/) [Thiago Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiago-silva/) > [To prove that tuberculosis is caused by the invasion of bacilli, and that it is a parasitic disease primarily caused by the growth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-koch/to-prove-that-tuberculosis-is-caused-by-the-invasion-of-bacilli-and/) [Robert Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-koch/) > [Tuberculosis, starvation, fatigue, and there are many who have no desire to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/tuberculosis-starvation-fatigue-and-there-are-many-who-have-no-desire/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Bags quotes > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I love Christopher Bailey and Burberry, Mulberry for bags, and Hudson for jeans. 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(Simon) 'Cool,' said Kyle, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder and heading for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-have-a-dress-fitting-to-get-to-at-three-simon-cool-said-kyle/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Never bet with anyone you meet on the first tee who has a deep suntan, a 1-iron in his bag, and squinty eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-marr/never-bet-with-anyone-you-meet-on-the-first-tee-who-has-a-deep-suntan/) Dave Marr > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Politics is not bean bags. 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I bring my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-d-orsay/i-drive-a-prius-i-always-turn-my-faucets-off-i-never-use-plastic/) Brooke D'Orsay > [Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/then-there-are-some-minor-points-that-strike-me-as-suggestive-for/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [It was a mind-blowing experience, it really was-absolutely an awesome thing. . . . As I got to the top I released a bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-a-mind-blowing-experience-it-really-was-absolutely-an-awesome/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know the best thing about aeroplanes? Apart from the peanuts in little silver bags, I mean. 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