--- title: "20 Valeria Luiselli Quotes" description: "Valeria Luiselli has 20 quotes on SMS4Smile. Browse their most insightful sayings." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/valeria-luiselli-27018_biology_genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sa_2134.jpg" --- # Valeria Luiselli **20** quotes in **46** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Quotes by Valeria Luiselli > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/valeria-luiselli-27018_biology_genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sa_2134.jpg) > [I can always, quite easily, put myself in other people's shoes, so to speak, and look at the world through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-can-always-quite-easily-put-myself-in-other-people-s-shoes-so-to/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easily/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/valeria-luiselli-27018_easily_i-can-always-quite-easily-put-myself-in_2809781.jpg) > [I like reading the world through a writer's eyes, rather than seeing a writer looking at him or herself as if at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-like-reading-the-world-through-a-writer-s-eyes-rather-than-seeing-a/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/valeria-luiselli-27018_eye_i-like-reading-the-world-through-a-write_1042492.jpg) > [I learned to keep at a certain distance from things - and to make myself a little bit invisible while I observed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-learned-to-keep-at-a-certain-distance-from-things-and-to-make/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/valeria-luiselli-27018_distance_i-learned-to-keep-at-a-certain-distance_251914.jpg) > [“Writer and former Border Patrol officer Francisco Cantú has written poignantly about these death maps and all the “clearly marked ghosts” that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/writer-and-former-border-patrol-officer-francisco-cant-has-written/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Border patrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/border-patrol/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/valeria-luiselli-27018_border-patrol_writer-and-former-border-patrol-officer_451468.jpg) > [“Rapes: eighty percent of the women and girls who cross Mexico to get to the U.S. border are raped on the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/rapes-eighty-percent-of-the-women-and-girls-who-cross-mexico-to-get/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Raped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raped/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29f/valeria-luiselli-27018_quote_rapes-eighty-percent-of-the-women-and-gi_1861031.jpg) > [“Perhaps it's right that words contain nothing, or almost nothing. That their content is, at the very least, variable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/perhaps-it-s-right-that-words-contain-nothing-or-almost-nothing-that/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Contain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/valeria-luiselli-27018_happiness_perhaps-it-s-right-that-words-contain-no_1820497.jpg) > [“Some compare La Bestia to a demon, others to a kind of vacuum that sucks distracted riders down into its metal entrails.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/some-compare-la-bestia-to-a-demon-others-to-a-kind-of-vacuum-that/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/valeria-luiselli-27018_train_some-compare-la-bestia-to-a-demon-others_215025.jpg) > [“Because being aware of what is happening in our era and choosing to do nothing about it has become unacceptable. Because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/because-being-aware-of-what-is-happening-in-our-era-and-choosing-to/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Unacceptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unacceptable/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/valeria-luiselli-27018_unacceptable_because-being-aware-of-what-is-happening_3027768.jpg) > [Writers tend to think they occupy a much more relevant place in society than we actually do. But we really are closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/writers-tend-to-think-they-occupy-a-much-more-relevant-place-in/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/valeria-luiselli-27018_accepting_writers-tend-to-think-they-occupy-a-much_589540.jpg) > [“Everyone says they're empty. Everyone says – vast and flat. Everyone – mesmerizing. Nabokov probably said somewhere – indomitable. But no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/everyone-says-they-re-empty-everyone-says-vast-and-flat-everyone/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/valeria-luiselli-27018_imagery_everyone-says-they-re-empty-everyone-say_707322.jpg) > [“However differently we spoke the language, as Spanish speakers, our close ties with Latin and Greek gave us a sense of superiority:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/however-differently-we-spoke-the-language-as-spanish-speakers-our/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/valeria-luiselli-27018_language_however-differently-we-spoke-the-languag_2398905.jpg) > [“He fell into a solemn silence, which he only eventually broke to say, “I think I’ve become a terrible person. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/he-fell-into-a-solemn-silence-which-he-only-eventually-broke-to-say-i/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/valeria-luiselli-27018_fear_he-fell-into-a-solemn-silence-which-he-o_239010.jpg) > [“I know I need to generate a structure full of holes so that I can always find a place for myself on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-know-i-need-to-generate-a-structure-full-of-holes-so-that-i-can/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/valeria-luiselli-27018_architecture_i-know-i-need-to-generate-a-structure-fu_1408660.jpg) > [“And perhaps the only way to grant any justice—were that even possible—is by hearing and recording those stories over and over again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/and-perhaps-the-only-way-to-grant-any-justice-were-that-even-possible/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Held Accountable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/held-accountable/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/484/valeria-luiselli-27018_held-accountable_and-perhaps-the-only-way-to-grant-any-ju_2303930.jpg) > [“Because—how do you explain that it is never inspiration that drives you to tell a story, but rather a combination of anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/because-how-do-you-explain-that-it-is-never-inspiration-that-drives/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/valeria-luiselli-27018_inspiration_because-how-do-you-explain-that-it-is-ne_478126.jpg) > [“Our penultimate lot, ladies and gentlemen, exudes an air of mystical melancholy. The tooth itself is crocodilian, but its aura is almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/our-penultimate-lot-ladies-and-gentlemen-exudes-an-air-of-mystical/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borges/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/valeria-luiselli-27018_borges_our-penultimate-lot-ladies-and-gentlemen_3047220.jpg) > [Cities have often been compared to language: you can read a city, it's said, as you read a book. But the metaphor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/cities-have-often-been-compared-to-language-you-can-read-a-city-it-s/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/valeria-luiselli-27018_book_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_1424264.jpg) > [“Cities have often been compared to language: you can read a city, it’s said, as you read a book. But the metaphor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/cities-have-often-been-compared-to-language-you-can-read-a-city-it-s-2/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/valeria-luiselli-27018_books_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_2369706.jpg) > [“Before the immigration crisis was declared in the summer of 2014, minors seeking immigration relief were given approximately twelve months to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/before-the-immigration-crisis-was-declared-in-the-summer-of-2014/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/valeria-luiselli-27018_point-of-view_before-the-immigration-crisis-was-declar_2166404.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/#itemlist", "name": "Valeria Luiselli Quotes", "numberOfItems": 20, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/valeria-luiselli-27018_biology_genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sa_2134.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/valeria-luiselli-27018_biology_genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sa_2134.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/valeria-luiselli-27018_biology_genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sa_2134.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can always, quite easily, put myself in other people's shoes, so to speak, and look at the world through them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-can-always-quite-easily-put-myself-in-other-people-s-shoes-so-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/valeria-luiselli-27018_easily_i-can-always-quite-easily-put-myself-in_2809781.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/valeria-luiselli-27018_easily_i-can-always-quite-easily-put-myself-in_2809781.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/valeria-luiselli-27018_easily_i-can-always-quite-easily-put-myself-in_2809781.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can always, quite easily, put myself in other people's shoes, so to speak, and look at the world through…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like reading the world through a writer's eyes, rather than seeing a writer looking at him or herself as if at the center of gravity of the world around them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-like-reading-the-world-through-a-writer-s-eyes-rather-than-seeing-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/valeria-luiselli-27018_eye_i-like-reading-the-world-through-a-write_1042492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/valeria-luiselli-27018_eye_i-like-reading-the-world-through-a-write_1042492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/valeria-luiselli-27018_eye_i-like-reading-the-world-through-a-write_1042492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I like reading the world through a writer's eyes, rather than seeing a writer looking at him or herself as…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I learned to keep at a certain distance from things - and to make myself a little bit invisible while I observed and understood them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-learned-to-keep-at-a-certain-distance-from-things-and-to-make/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/valeria-luiselli-27018_distance_i-learned-to-keep-at-a-certain-distance_251914.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/valeria-luiselli-27018_distance_i-learned-to-keep-at-a-certain-distance_251914.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/valeria-luiselli-27018_distance_i-learned-to-keep-at-a-certain-distance_251914.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I learned to keep at a certain distance from things - and to make myself a little bit invisible while I…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writer and former Border Patrol officer Francisco Cantú has written poignantly about these death maps and all the “clearly marked ghosts” that dot the wide deserts in the southern United States.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/writer-and-former-border-patrol-officer-francisco-cant-has-written/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/valeria-luiselli-27018_border-patrol_writer-and-former-border-patrol-officer_451468.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/valeria-luiselli-27018_border-patrol_writer-and-former-border-patrol-officer_451468.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/valeria-luiselli-27018_border-patrol_writer-and-former-border-patrol-officer_451468.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writer and former Border Patrol officer Francisco Cantú has written poignantly about these death maps and…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Rapes: eighty percent of the women and girls who cross Mexico to get to the U.S. border are raped on the way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/rapes-eighty-percent-of-the-women-and-girls-who-cross-mexico-to-get/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29f/valeria-luiselli-27018_quote_rapes-eighty-percent-of-the-women-and-gi_1861031.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29f/valeria-luiselli-27018_quote_rapes-eighty-percent-of-the-women-and-gi_1861031.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29f/valeria-luiselli-27018_quote_rapes-eighty-percent-of-the-women-and-gi_1861031.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rapes: eighty percent of the women and girls who cross Mexico to get to the U.S. border are raped on the way.” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps it's right that words contain nothing, or almost nothing. That their content is, at the very least, variable.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/perhaps-it-s-right-that-words-contain-nothing-or-almost-nothing-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/valeria-luiselli-27018_happiness_perhaps-it-s-right-that-words-contain-no_1820497.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/valeria-luiselli-27018_happiness_perhaps-it-s-right-that-words-contain-no_1820497.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/valeria-luiselli-27018_happiness_perhaps-it-s-right-that-words-contain-no_1820497.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps it's right that words contain nothing, or almost nothing. That their content is, at the very least…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some compare La Bestia to a demon, others to a kind of vacuum that sucks distracted riders down into its metal entrails. And when the train itself is not the threat, it’s the smugglers, thieves, policemen, or soldiers who frequently threaten, blackmail, or attack the people on board. There is a saying about La Bestia: Go in alive, come out a mummy. But,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/some-compare-la-bestia-to-a-demon-others-to-a-kind-of-vacuum-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/valeria-luiselli-27018_train_some-compare-la-bestia-to-a-demon-others_215025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/valeria-luiselli-27018_train_some-compare-la-bestia-to-a-demon-others_215025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/valeria-luiselli-27018_train_some-compare-la-bestia-to-a-demon-others_215025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some compare La Bestia to a demon, others to a kind of vacuum that sucks distracted riders down into its…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because being aware of what is happening in our era and choosing to do nothing about it has become unacceptable. Because we cannot allow ourselves to go on normalizing horror and violence. Because we can all be held accountable if something happens under our noses and we don’t dare even look.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/because-being-aware-of-what-is-happening-in-our-era-and-choosing-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/valeria-luiselli-27018_unacceptable_because-being-aware-of-what-is-happening_3027768.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/valeria-luiselli-27018_unacceptable_because-being-aware-of-what-is-happening_3027768.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/valeria-luiselli-27018_unacceptable_because-being-aware-of-what-is-happening_3027768.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because being aware of what is happening in our era and choosing to do nothing about it has become…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writers tend to think they occupy a much more relevant place in society than we actually do. But we really are closer to buffoons and jesters than we are to whistle-blowers or moral guides. Accepting our rather insignificant place in society can be depressing - but it's also freeing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/writers-tend-to-think-they-occupy-a-much-more-relevant-place-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/valeria-luiselli-27018_accepting_writers-tend-to-think-they-occupy-a-much_589540.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/valeria-luiselli-27018_accepting_writers-tend-to-think-they-occupy-a-much_589540.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/valeria-luiselli-27018_accepting_writers-tend-to-think-they-occupy-a-much_589540.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writers tend to think they occupy a much more relevant place in society than we actually do. But we really…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Everyone says they're empty. Everyone says – vast and flat. Everyone – mesmerizing. Nabokov probably said somewhere – indomitable. But no one had ever told use about the highway storms once you reach the tablelands. You see them from miles away. You fear them, and still you drive straight into them with the dumb tenacity of mosquitoes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/everyone-says-they-re-empty-everyone-says-vast-and-flat-everyone/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/valeria-luiselli-27018_imagery_everyone-says-they-re-empty-everyone-say_707322.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/valeria-luiselli-27018_imagery_everyone-says-they-re-empty-everyone-say_707322.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/valeria-luiselli-27018_imagery_everyone-says-they-re-empty-everyone-say_707322.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everyone says they're empty. Everyone says – vast and flat. Everyone – mesmerizing. Nabokov probably said…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“However differently we spoke the language, as Spanish speakers, our close ties with Latin and Greek gave us a sense of superiority: we were the heirs to a noble linguistic past. English, in contrast, was the barbaric bastard son of Latin, constantly gloating over its discoveries: the demiurgic function of articles, inventing the world by enunciating it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/however-differently-we-spoke-the-language-as-spanish-speakers-our/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/valeria-luiselli-27018_language_however-differently-we-spoke-the-languag_2398905.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/valeria-luiselli-27018_language_however-differently-we-spoke-the-languag_2398905.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/valeria-luiselli-27018_language_however-differently-we-spoke-the-languag_2398905.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“However differently we spoke the language, as Spanish speakers, our close ties with Latin and Greek gave us…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He fell into a solemn silence, which he only eventually broke to say, “I think I’ve become a terrible person. In fact, I’ve become a reptile. Do you know that reptiles are stupid because almost their entire brain capacity is used to feel fear?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/he-fell-into-a-solemn-silence-which-he-only-eventually-broke-to-say-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/valeria-luiselli-27018_fear_he-fell-into-a-solemn-silence-which-he-o_239010.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/valeria-luiselli-27018_fear_he-fell-into-a-solemn-silence-which-he-o_239010.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/valeria-luiselli-27018_fear_he-fell-into-a-solemn-silence-which-he-o_239010.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He fell into a solemn silence, which he only eventually broke to say, “I think I’ve become a terrible…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I know I need to generate a structure full of holes so that I can always find a place for myself on the page, inhabit it; I have to remember never to put in more than is necessary, never overlay, never furnish or adorn.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/i-know-i-need-to-generate-a-structure-full-of-holes-so-that-i-can/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/valeria-luiselli-27018_architecture_i-know-i-need-to-generate-a-structure-fu_1408660.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/valeria-luiselli-27018_architecture_i-know-i-need-to-generate-a-structure-fu_1408660.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/valeria-luiselli-27018_architecture_i-know-i-need-to-generate-a-structure-fu_1408660.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I know I need to generate a structure full of holes so that I can always find a place for myself on the…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And perhaps the only way to grant any justice—were that even possible—is by hearing and recording those stories over and over again so that they come back, always, to haunt and shame us. Because being aware of what is happening in our era and choosing to do nothing about it has become unacceptable. Because we cannot allow ourselves to go on normalizing horror and violence. Because we can all be held accountable if something happens under our noses and we don’t dare even look.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/and-perhaps-the-only-way-to-grant-any-justice-were-that-even-possible/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/484/valeria-luiselli-27018_held-accountable_and-perhaps-the-only-way-to-grant-any-ju_2303930.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/484/valeria-luiselli-27018_held-accountable_and-perhaps-the-only-way-to-grant-any-ju_2303930.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/484/valeria-luiselli-27018_held-accountable_and-perhaps-the-only-way-to-grant-any-ju_2303930.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And perhaps the only way to grant any justice—were that even possible—is by hearing and recording those…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because—how do you explain that it is never inspiration that drives you to tell a story, but rather a combination of anger and clarity? How do you say: No, we do not find inspiration here, but we find a country that is as beautiful as it is broken, and we are somehow now part of it, so we are also broken with it, and feel ashamed, confused, and sometimes hopeless, and are trying to figure out how to do something about all that.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/because-how-do-you-explain-that-it-is-never-inspiration-that-drives/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/valeria-luiselli-27018_inspiration_because-how-do-you-explain-that-it-is-ne_478126.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/valeria-luiselli-27018_inspiration_because-how-do-you-explain-that-it-is-ne_478126.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/valeria-luiselli-27018_inspiration_because-how-do-you-explain-that-it-is-ne_478126.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because—how do you explain that it is never inspiration that drives you to tell a story, but rather a…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our penultimate lot, ladies and gentlemen, exudes an air of mystical melancholy. The tooth itself is crocodilian, but its aura is almost angelic. Note the curve; it is like a wing in ascent. Its owner, Mr. Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges, was a man of average height. His short, thin legs supported a torso, which was at once solid and svelte. His head was the size of a small coconut, and he had a slender, flexible neck. He was a pantheist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/our-penultimate-lot-ladies-and-gentlemen-exudes-an-air-of-mystical/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/valeria-luiselli-27018_borges_our-penultimate-lot-ladies-and-gentlemen_3047220.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/valeria-luiselli-27018_borges_our-penultimate-lot-ladies-and-gentlemen_3047220.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/valeria-luiselli-27018_borges_our-penultimate-lot-ladies-and-gentlemen_3047220.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our penultimate lot, ladies and gentlemen, exudes an air of mystical melancholy. The tooth itself is…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cities have often been compared to language: you can read a city, it's said, as you read a book. But the metaphor can be inverted. The journeys we make during the reading of a book trace out, in some way, the private spaces we inhabit. There are texts that will always be our dead-end streets; fragments that will be bridges; words that will be like the scaffolding that protects fragile constructions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/cities-have-often-been-compared-to-language-you-can-read-a-city-it-s/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/valeria-luiselli-27018_book_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_1424264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/valeria-luiselli-27018_book_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_1424264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/valeria-luiselli-27018_book_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_1424264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cities have often been compared to language: you can read a city, it's said, as you read a book. But the…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cities have often been compared to language: you can read a city, it’s said, as you read a book. But the metaphor can be inverted. The journeys we make during the reading of a book trace out, in some way, the private spaces we inhabit. There are texts that will always be our dead-end streets; fragments that will be bridges; words that will be like the scaffolding that protects fragile constructions. T.S. Eliot: a plant growing in the debris of a ruined building; Salvador Novo: a tree-lined street transformed into an expressway; Tomas Segovia: a boulevard, a breath of air; Roberto Bolano: a rooftop terrace; Isabel Allende: a (magically real) shopping mall; Gilles Deleuze: a summit; and Jacques Derrida: a pothole. Robert Walser: a chink in the wall, for looking through to the other side; Charles Baudelaire: a waiting room; Hannah Arendt: a tower, an Archimedean point; Martin Heidegger: a cul-de-sac; Walter Benjamin: a one-way street walked down against the flow.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/cities-have-often-been-compared-to-language-you-can-read-a-city-it-s-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/valeria-luiselli-27018_books_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_2369706.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/valeria-luiselli-27018_books_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_2369706.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/valeria-luiselli-27018_books_cities-have-often-been-compared-to-langu_2369706.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cities have often been compared to language: you can read a city, it’s said, as you read a book. But the…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Before the immigration crisis was declared in the summer of 2014, minors seeking immigration relief were given approximately twelve months to find a lawyer to represent their case before their first court hearing. But when the crisis was declared and Obama’s administration created the priority juvenile docket, that window was reduced to twenty-one days. In real and practical terms, what the creation of that priority docket meant was that the cases involving unaccompanied minors from Central America were grouped together and moved to the top of the list of pending cases in immigration court. Being moved to the top of a list, in this context, was the least desirable thing—at least from the point of view of the children involved. Basically, the priority juvenile docket implied that deportation proceedings against them were accelerated by 94 percent, and that both they and the organizations that normally provided legal representation now had much less time to build a defense.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/before-the-immigration-crisis-was-declared-in-the-summer-of-2014/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/valeria-luiselli-27018_point-of-view_before-the-immigration-crisis-was-declar_2166404.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/valeria-luiselli-27018_point-of-view_before-the-immigration-crisis-was-declar_2166404.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/valeria-luiselli-27018_point-of-view_before-the-immigration-crisis-was-declar_2166404.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Before the immigration crisis was declared in the summer of 2014, minors seeking immigration relief were…” — Valeria Luiselli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/#person", "name": "Valeria Luiselli", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/" }, { "@type": "ProfilePage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/", "name": "Valeria Luiselli", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/#person" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/valeria-luiselli-27018_biology_genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sa_2134.jpg" }, "description": "Valeria Luiselli has 20 quotes on SMS4Smile. Browse their most insightful sayings.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/#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": "Valeria Luiselli", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/" } ] }, { "@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 } } ] } ```