--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world was a terrible place, cruel…" description: "\"The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/cornelia-funke-908_and-love_the-world-was-a-terrible-place-cruel-pit_3146114.jpg" --- # The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a… ![“The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness - and love. Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask anything in return; they never went away…” quote by Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/cornelia-funke-908_and-love_the-world-was-a-terrible-place-cruel-pit_3146114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/cornelia-funke-908_and-love_the-world-was-a-terrible-place-cruel-pit_3146114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/cornelia-funke-908_and-love_the-world-was-a-terrible-place-cruel-pit_3146114.jpg) > “The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness - and love. Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly.” [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books provide unconditional companionship and emotional refuge when the world feels hostile. **In simple terms:** Books are safe friends. Key Takeaway Seek comfort in reading. Themes solitude comfort literature Mood melancholy hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - coping with loneliness - escaping harsh reality - building empathy Key Concepts emotional refuge unconditional support Questions to Reflect On - How do books help you feel less alone? - Can literature substitute for personal relationships? A Different Perspective Books cannot replace real human connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [And love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/and-love/) [Bad dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-dream/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-pity-2420326/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Cruel Pitiless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-pitiless-5627466/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Good place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-place/) [Happiness and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-and-love/) [Inkheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inkheart/) [Love Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-books/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Pity Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity-comfort-2420327/) [Place Cruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-cruel-5627465/) [Places to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-to-live/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Treated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treated/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/only-in-books-could-you-find-pity-comfort-happiness-and-love/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [The truth's not pretty of course. No one likes to look it in the face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-truth-s-not-pretty-of-course-no-one-likes-to-look-it-in-the-face/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Life was more difficult in Inkheart, yet it seemed to Meggie that with every new day Fenoglio's story was spinning a magic spell around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/life-was-more-difficult-in-inkheart-yet-it-seemed-to-meggie-that-with/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [She wanted to return to her dream. Perhaps it was still somewhere there behind her closed eyelids. Perhaps a little of its happiness still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/she-wanted-to-return-to-her-dream-perhaps-it-was-still-somewhere/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Why would we ever want to go back when your world is so accommodating with your telephones and your guns and what's that sticky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/why-would-we-ever-want-to-go-back-when-your-world-is-so-accommodating/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“(...)depois de acordar de um pesadelo, nada a sossegava mais do que a respiração do pai, ali ao seu lado, e o folhear das…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/depois-de-acordar-de-um-pesadelo-nada-a-sossegava-mais-do-que-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Las malas historias no despiertan a la vida. No hay ningún Dedo Polvoriento en ellas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/las-malas-historias-no-despiertan-a-la-vida-no-hay-ning-n-dedo/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The written word is a powerful thing, you have to be careful with it. - Silvertongue”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-written-word-is-a-powerful-thing-you-have-to-be-careful-with-it/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [We're all liars when it serves our purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/we-re-all-liars-when-it-serves-our-purpose/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Look at your daughter,' she whispered. 'As brave as...as.." She wanted to compare Meggie to a hero in some story but all the heroes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/look-at-your-daughter-she-whispered-as-brave-as-as-she-wanted-to/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Books have to be heavy because the whole world's inside them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/books-have-to-be-heavy-because-the-whole-world-s-inside-them/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Farid...She missed him so much that she felt ashamed of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meggie-inkspell-by-cornelia-funke/farid-she-missed-him-so-much-that-she-felt-ashamed-of-it/) [Meggie Inkspell by Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meggie-inkspell-by-cornelia-funke/) > [“In books I mee the dead as if they were alive, in books I see what is yet to come... All things decay and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-books-i-mee-the-dead-as-if-they-were-alive-in-books-i-see-what-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ A lot of people \[are\] saying civil union," Faried told KDVR. "I don't like it being called that because I can get married to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-faried/a-lot-of-people-are-saying-civil-union-faried-told-kdvr-i-don-t-like/) [Kenneth Faried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-faried/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) ## More by Cornelia Funke > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“A story is a labyrinth, it looks as if there were several ways to go, but only one is right, and there's a nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-story-is-a-labyrinth-it-looks-as-if-there-were-several-ways-to-go/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her full on the mouth. His skin was wet with rain. When she didn't pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/he-put-his-hands-on-her-shoulders-and-kissed-her-full-on-the-mouth/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Don't let it worry you, not being able to speak,'Dustfinger had often told her. 'People tend not to listen anyway, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/don-t-let-it-worry-you-not-being-able-to-speak-dustfinger-had-often/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“And he will have a great aunt called Elinor who tells him there's a world not like this one. A world with neither fairies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/and-he-will-have-a-great-aunt-called-elinor-who-tells-him-there-s-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Yes, Mo would come. Meggie could think of nothing else as Fenoglio led her away with him, his arm around her as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/yes-mo-would-come-meggie-could-think-of-nothing-else-as-fenoglio-led/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [When it came to hiding, even Gwin had nothing to teach Dustfinger. A strange sense of curiosity had always driven him to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/when-it-came-to-hiding-even-gwin-had-nothing-to-teach-dustfinger-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Because fear kills everything," Mo had once told her. "Your mind, your heart, your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-fear-kills-everything-mo-had-once-told-her-your-mind-your/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Perhaps there's another, much larger story behind the printed one, a story that changes just as our own world does. And the letters on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/perhaps-there-s-another-much-larger-story-behind-the-printed-one-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Mo could paint pictures in the empty air with his voice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/mo-could-paint-pictures-in-the-empty-air-with-his-voice-alone/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I remember the feeling. 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The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-night-breathed-through-the-apartment-like-a-dark-animal-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) [Explore all 286 Cornelia Funke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## More And love quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. 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