--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think a good novel can be a doorstop to…" description: "\"I think a good novel can be a doorstop to despair. I also think the real bravery comes with those who prepared to go through that door and look at the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/colum-mccann-902_books_i-think-a-good-novel-can-be-a-doorstop-t_1364887.png" --- # I think a good novel can be a doorstop to despair. I also… ![“I think a good novel can be a doorstop to despair. I also think the real bravery comes with those who prepared to go through that door and look at the world in all its grime and torment, and still find something of value, no matter how small.” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/colum-mccann-902_books_i-think-a-good-novel-can-be-a-doorstop-t_1364887.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/colum-mccann-902_books_i-think-a-good-novel-can-be-a-doorstop-t_1364887.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/colum-mccann-902_books_i-think-a-good-novel-can-be-a-doorstop-t_1364887.png) > “I think a good novel can be a doorstop to despair. I also think the real bravery comes with those who prepared to go through that door and look at the world in all its grime and torment, and still find something of value, no matter how small.” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading can be a refuge; confronting its darkness requires courage and finding value despite suffering. **In simple terms:** Books can be a refuge; confronting darkness needs bravery. Key Takeaway Seek meaning even in bleak narratives. Themes courage despair literature Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading for solace - therapy - academic study - personal growth Key Concepts resilience meaning‑making artistic value Questions to Reflect On - What draws you to challenging books? - How do you extract value from painful stories? A Different Perspective Facing harsh realities can be emotionally draining. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bravery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravery/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [You try as a parent. You love beyond reason. You fight beyond endurance. You hope beyond despair. You never think, until the very last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/you-try-as-a-parent-you-love-beyond-reason-you-fight-beyond-endurance/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [Depression Sadness grips my body, Wrapped in a blanket of despair, Can't see to think clearly and frankly I don't care, Why people do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/depression-sadness-grips-my-body-wrapped-in-a-blanket-of-despair-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What Corrigan wanted was a fully believable God, one you could find in the grime of the everyday...he consoled himself with the fact that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/what-corrigan-wanted-was-a-fully-believable-god-one-you-could-find-in-2/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Many people on our planet right now despair; they think we've reached a point where we've discovered most of the things. I'm going tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-wolfe/many-people-on-our-planet-right-now-despair-they-think-we-ve-reached/) [Nathan Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-wolfe/) > [In life when we feel we have reached a limit, that is when the true battle begins. Just when you despair and think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/in-life-when-we-feel-we-have-reached-a-limit-that-is-when-the-true/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [ It's one thing to be discouraged. It's another thing to have despair. Despair is when you think there's just no end to this \[suffering\].… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/it-s-one-thing-to-be-discouraged-it-s-another-thing-to-have-despair/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [People say you make your best work when in despair, but I think happiness is a good place to write from](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/people-say-you-make-your-best-work-when-in-despair-but-i-think/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [When you think of what you are, and despair; think also of what He is, and take heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-you-think-of-what-you-are-and-despair-think-also-of-what-he-is/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [A good novel is an indivisible sum; every scene, sequence and passage of a good novel has to involve, contribute to and advance all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-good-novel-is-an-indivisible-sum-every-scene-sequence-and-passage/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A good novel doesn't just transcend the boundaries of its target market - it knows nothing about target markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/a-good-novel-doesn-t-just-transcend-the-boundaries-of-its-target/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Good novel is a conjunction of many factors, the main of which is, without a doubt, hard work. There are many things behind a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/good-novel-is-a-conjunction-of-many-factors-the-main-of-which-is/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I have never read a really good novel written by a man where women are portrayed as they truly are. They can be portrayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/i-have-never-read-a-really-good-novel-written-by-a-man-where-women/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A good novel is a conjunction of many factors, the main of which is without a doubt, hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/a-good-novel-is-a-conjunction-of-many-factors-the-main-of-which-is/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [A good novel is an out-of-self experience. It lifts you off the ground so that you have the sensation of flying. It says, 'Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/a-good-novel-is-an-out-of-self-experience-it-lifts-you-off-the-ground/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [It's got a lot more room for nuance and an assumption that people have started from the beginning. 'Bloodline' ends up being like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mendelsohn/it-s-got-a-lot-more-room-for-nuance-and-an-assumption-that-people/) [Ben Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mendelsohn/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. 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To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“He has read whole volumes on the philosophy of nonviolence. How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She’s always thought that one of the beauties of New York is that you can be from anywhere and within moments of landing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-s-always-thought-that-one-of-the-beauties-of-new-york-is-that-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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