--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels are such mysterious and amorphous…" description: "\"Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things. And here we are with our crash helmets on, with concertina wire all around us.\" — Arundhati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/arundhati-roy-346_books_novels-are-such-mysterious-and-amorphous_237626.png" --- # Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender… ![“Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things. And here we are with our crash helmets on, with concertina wire all around us.” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/arundhati-roy-346_books_novels-are-such-mysterious-and-amorphous_237626.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/arundhati-roy-346_books_novels-are-such-mysterious-and-amorphous_237626.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/arundhati-roy-346_books_novels-are-such-mysterious-and-amorphous_237626.png) > “Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things. And here we are with our crash helmets on, with concertina wire all around us.” [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life's mysteries are fragile, yet we protect ourselves with barriers. **In simple terms:** Life is fragile; we build barriers. Key Takeaway Recognize and soften your defenses. Themes vulnerability society humanity protection Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - social activism - mental health - conflict resolution Key Concepts fragility social constructs Questions to Reflect On - What barriers are you maintaining? - How can you protect without isolating? A Different Perspective Barriers can also protect; they may hinder connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash/) [Helmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helmet/) [Helmets Concertina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helmets-concertina-2391224/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Mysterious Amorphous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious-amorphous-2391225/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-mysterious-2391223/) [Things Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-crash-1750257/) [Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wire/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/novels-are-such-mysterious-and-amorphous-and-tender-things/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Maybe if we keep letting things crash and burn, everything else is bound to fall back in place.” Or maybe the fire will grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/maybe-if-we-keep-letting-things-crash-and-burn-everything-else-is/) [Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/) > [“People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and methods in their brains start missing elementary, very elementary things. Persons in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicated-tricks-and-methods-in/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Elena Ferrante is the author of several novels. There is nothing mysterious about her, given how she manifests herself - perhaps even too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/elena-ferrante-is-the-author-of-several-novels-there-is-nothing/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“PTSD: It's the big game. You're wearing a helmet and pads. You make the big play and jump up into the crowd for praise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-randall-martin/ptsd-it-s-the-big-game-you-re-wearing-a-helmet-and-pads-you-make-the/) [Peggy Randall-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-randall-martin/) > [There are individuals out there who use the body protection as a form of staying power to go on as long as possible. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-richards/there-are-individuals-out-there-who-use-the-body-protection-as-a-form/) [Viv Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-richards/) > [I've put on a helmet more times than I've buckled a seatbelt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraint-thomas/i-ve-put-on-a-helmet-more-times-than-i-ve-buckled-a-seatbelt/) [Geraint Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraint-thomas/) > [The problem is that the internet IS some kid in a basement with an opinion. The fact that David Bowie and Elton John told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/page-hamilton/the-problem-is-that-the-internet-is-some-kid-in-a-basement-with-an/) [Page Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/page-hamilton/) > [Even wrestling, now, I wear the helmet all the time. I'm not going to make that mistake again ever in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gustafsson/even-wrestling-now-i-wear-the-helmet-all-the-time-i-m-not-going-to/) [Alexander Gustafsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gustafsson/) > [Every time I put my helmet on it's a challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-haskins/every-time-i-put-my-helmet-on-it-s-a-challenge/) [Dwayne Haskins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-haskins/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [A helmet is the most important part of any jockey's kit because of the number of falls you take, so I wouldn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-mccoy/a-helmet-is-the-most-important-part-of-any-jockey-s-kit-because-of/) [Tony McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-mccoy/) > [I guess Madden had seen everything with out group, and everybody else had seen everything. (After coming to practice field riding a horse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hendricks/i-guess-madden-had-seen-everything-with-out-group-and-everybody-else/) [Ted Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hendricks/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [In the middle of a play, I go crazy and don't realize what I'm doing. I'll snap back to reality and I realize, 'Hey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-bosworth/in-the-middle-of-a-play-i-go-crazy-and-don-t-realize-what-i-m-doing-i/) [Brian Bosworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-bosworth/) ## 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. 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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. 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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/) [Explore all 628 Arundhati Roy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## 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! 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things. 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