--- title: "3 Henry Roth Quotes - Famous Novelist (Call It Sleep)" description: "Henry Roth was an American novelist and short story writer who found success later in life after his 1934 novel Call It Sleep was reissued in paperback ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-roth-41664.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Henry Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-roth-41664.jpg) # Henry Roth (1906–1995) Novelist United States **3** quotes in **24** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Henry Roth was a novelist from the United States, best known for *Call It Sleep*. ## Quick Facts About Henry Roth Born February 8, 1906 Died October 13, 1995 Nationality United States Profession Novelist Notable works Call It Sleep ## About Henry Roth Henry Roth was an American novelist and short story writer who found success later in life after his 1934 novel Call It Sleep was reissued in paperback in 1964. ## Awards & Honors International Nonino Prize ## Quotes by Henry Roth > [“His mother called them his gems and often asked him why he liked things that were worn and old. It would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-often-asked-him-why-he-liked/) [Henry Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1f/henry-roth-76684_parenting_his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-ofte_91761.jpg) > [Detach the writer from the milieu where he has experienced his greatest sense of belonging, and you have created a discontinuity within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where-he-has-experienced-his/) [Henry Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/) [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/henry-roth-76684_belonging_detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where_272942.jpg) > [Life is nothing but an occassional burst of laughter rising above the interminable wail of grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/life-is-nothing-but-an-occassional-burst-of-laughter-rising-above-the/) [Henry Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/henry-roth-76684_death_life-is-nothing-but-an-occassional-burst_1771881.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/#itemlist", "name": "Henry Roth Quotes", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“His mother called them his gems and often asked him why he liked things that were worn and old. It would have been hard to tell her. But there was something about the way in which the link of a chain was worn or the thread on a bolt or a castor-wheel that gave him a vague feeling of pain when he ran his fingers over them. They were like worn shoe-soles or very thin dimes. You never saw them wear, you only knew they were worn, obscurely aching”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Roth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-often-asked-him-why-he-liked/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1f/henry-roth-76684_parenting_his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-ofte_91761.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1f/henry-roth-76684_parenting_his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-ofte_91761.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1f/henry-roth-76684_parenting_his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-ofte_91761.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“His mother called them his gems and often asked him why he liked things that were worn and old. 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He becomes the one-book novelist or the one-trilogy writer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Roth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where-he-has-experienced-his/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/henry-roth-76684_belonging_detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where_272942.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/henry-roth-76684_belonging_detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where_272942.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/henry-roth-76684_belonging_detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where_272942.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Detach the writer from the milieu where he has experienced his greatest sense of belonging, and you have…” — Henry Roth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is nothing but an occassional burst of laughter rising above the interminable wail of grief.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Roth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/life-is-nothing-but-an-occassional-burst-of-laughter-rising-above-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/henry-roth-76684_death_life-is-nothing-but-an-occassional-burst_1771881.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/henry-roth-76684_death_life-is-nothing-but-an-occassional-burst_1771881.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/henry-roth-76684_death_life-is-nothing-but-an-occassional-burst_1771881.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is nothing but an occassional burst of laughter rising above the interminable wail of grief.” — Henry Roth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/#person", "name": "Henry Roth", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/", "image": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-roth-41664.jpg" }, { "@type": "ProfilePage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/", "name": "Henry Roth", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/#person" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1f/henry-roth-76684_parenting_his-mother-called-them-his-gems-and-ofte_91761.jpg" }, "description": "Henry Roth was an American novelist and short story writer who found success later in life after his 1934 novel Call It Sleep was reissued in paperback ...", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/#breadcrumb", "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": "Authors", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/authors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Henry Roth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-roth/" } ] }, { "@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 } } ] } ```