--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no story that is not true." description: "\"There is no story that is not true.\" — Chinua Achebe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png" --- # There is no story that is not true. ![“There is no story that is not true.” quote by Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png) > “There is no story that is not true.” [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All stories contain elements of truth, even if fictional, reflecting human experience. **In simple terms:** Stories always hold some truth. Key Takeaway Recognize truth in narratives. Themes truth storytelling fiction human experience literature Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary educational When to use this quote - reading - teaching - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy cultural studies narrative analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern truth in a story? - What role does truth play in fiction? A Different Perspective Fiction may distort facts, limiting factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [ There is no story that is not true, \[...\] The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-the-world-has-no-end-and-what-is/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-fact-i-thought-that-christianity-was-very-a-good-and-a-very/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I know that this story is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/i-know-that-this-story-is-true/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [“One of the most beautifully disturbing questions we can ask, is whether a given story we tell about our lives is actually true, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/one-of-the-most-beautifully-disturbing-questions-we-can-ask-is/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [A poet must discover that it’s his own story that is true, even if the truth is small indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/a-poet-must-discover-that-it-s-his-own-story-that-is-true-even-if-the/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [What makes 'The Wire' a beautiful story is how true to life it is. In other shows, you have a good guy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-wilds/what-makes-the-wire-a-beautiful-story-is-how-true-to-life-it-is-in/) [Tristan Wilds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-wilds/) > [When we try to describe the truth with words, we distort it and it's no longer truth--it's our story. The story may be true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-try-to-describe-the-truth-with-words-we-distort-it-and-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listen to other people tell their story, but don't believe them. You know that it's just a story that is only true for them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/listen-to-other-people-tell-their-story-but-don-t-believe-them-you/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [“What is wrong with story is that it is not a true story. Men have in their minds a picture of how the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/what-is-wrong-with-story-is-that-it-is-not-a-true-story-men-have-in/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Anything in which you're playing someone real does make you feel responsible for making the story as true as it can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgina-campbell/anything-in-which-you-re-playing-someone-real-does-make-you-feel/) [Georgina Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgina-campbell/) > [“there is a French version of the story, and a true one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-clarke/there-is-a-french-version-of-the-story-and-a-true-one/) [Stephen Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-clarke/) > [“Only half the story is true. The rest is necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yau/only-half-the-story-is-true-the-rest-is-necessary/) [John Yau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yau/) > [“You have information for us? No, you have all the information you need in your head, what you want, what you need, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v/you-have-information-for-us-no-you-have-all-the-information-you-need/) V > [“To call a story a true story is an insult to both art and truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/to-call-a-story-a-true-story-is-an-insult-to-both-art-and-truth/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## More by Chinua Achebe > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/do-not-despair-i-know-you-will-not-despair-you-have-a-manly-and-a/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [My son even if you want to fall, at least fall where your bones can be gathered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/my-son-even-if-you-want-to-fall-at-least-fall-where-your-bones-can-be/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“And so Mr. Brown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on its faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/and-so-mr-brown-came-to-be-respected-even-by-the-clan-because-he-trod/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-have-learned-that-a-man-who-makes-trouble-for-others-is-also-making/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-fact-i-thought-that-christianity-was-very-a-good-and-a-very/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I find Nigeria very frustrating. I am not alone in this. There are many Nigerians abroad. As you know, the brain drain is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-find-nigeria-very-frustrating-i-am-not-alone-in-this-there-are-many/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I do not actually see how art, literature can be anything other that being in that domain of trying to tell us, trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-do-not-actually-see-how-art-literature-can-be-anything-other-that/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Democracy is not something you put away for ten years, and then in the 11th year you wake up and start practicing again. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/democracy-is-not-something-you-put-away-for-ten-years-and-then-in-the/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [When there is a big tree small ones climb on its back to reach the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-there-is-a-big-tree-small-ones-climb-on-its-back-to-reach-the-sun/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [When I began going to school and learned to read, I encountered stories of other people and other lands. In one of my essays,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-i-began-going-to-school-and-learned-to-read-i-encountered/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane. H. P. LOVECRAFT, attributed, Telling It Like It Is Dancing is very important nowadays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/almost-nobody-dances-sober-unless-they-happen-to-be-insane-h-p/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [This is why I find racism impossible, because this is against humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/this-is-why-i-find-racism-impossible-because-this-is-against-humanity/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat. 'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/then-listen-to-me-he-said-and-cleared-his-throat-it-s-true-that-a/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [What you must accept is that your life is not going to be the same while you are writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-you-must-accept-is-that-your-life-is-not-going-to-be-the-same/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) [Explore all 368 Chinua Achebe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) ## More Stories quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [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/) > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) Hubert Laws > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [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/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I think it's actually kind of sweet how there is a reciprocal effect that our stories can have on each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-think-it-s-actually-kind-of-sweet-how-there-is-a-reciprocal-effect/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Browse all 19,094 Stories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no story that is not true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chinua Achebe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Stories" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/chinua-achebe-781_stories_there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true-11641_1164165.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no story that is not true.” — Chinua Achebe", "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": "Chinua Achebe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no story that is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/there-is-no-story-that-is-not-true/#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 } } ] } ```