--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the house picked up again its long, slow…" description: "\"“the house picked up again its long, slow project of decay.”\" — Diane Setterfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png" --- # the house picked up again its long, slow project of decay. ![“the house picked up again its long, slow project of decay.” quote by Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png) > ““the house picked up again its long, slow project of decay.”” [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The house continues its slow, inevitable decay. **In simple terms:** House decays slowly. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence of structures. Themes decay time impermanence Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - historical preservation - urban planning - personal loss - memory Key Concepts architecture philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does decay represent in your life? - How do you preserve what matters? A Different Perspective Decay can be symbolic of neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [House Picked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-picked-2726619/) [Long Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-slow-1576161/) [Project Decay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/project-decay-2726620/) [Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow/) [Slow Project](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-project-2726618/) ## Related quotes > [I've seen bands come out and begin their concerts with these long, slow, boring songs. 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If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) ## More by Diane Setterfield > [“They are more real than the books on the shelves, books that are sketched with the barest hint of a line here and there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/they-are-more-real-than-the-books-on-the-shelves-books-that-are/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Margaret Lea.” “The biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/margaret-lea-the-biographer/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He was the first of my ghosts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-was-the-first-of-my-ghosts/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“It was like living entirely inside a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/it-was-like-living-entirely-inside-a-book/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Then something rang a bell in his mind. What”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/then-something-rang-a-bell-in-his-mind-what/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [What better way to get to know someone than through her choice and treatment of books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/what-better-way-to-get-to-know-someone-than-through-her-choice-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“I have always been a reader; I have read at every stage of my life, and there has never been a time when reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-have-always-been-a-reader-i-have-read-at-every-stage-of-my-life-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Yesterday or the day before, while I had been going about my business, quietly and in private, some unknown person—some stranger—had gone to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/yesterday-or-the-day-before-while-i-had-been-going-about-my-business/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“the Missus stood like a ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-missus-stood-like-a-ghost/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“But perhaps the answer is to stop writing altogether, for when I do write, even now as I write this very sentence, this very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/but-perhaps-the-answer-is-to-stop-writing-altogether-for-when-i-do/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Our clients' faces, with the customary outward paleness and inner glow of the book lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/our-clients-faces-with-the-customary-outward-paleness-and-inner-glow/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He felt something move in his chest, as though an organ had been removed and something unfamiliar left in its place. A sentiment he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-felt-something-move-in-his-chest-as-though-an-organ-had-been/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Still in my coat and hat, I sank onto the stair to read the letter. (I never read without making sure I am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/still-in-my-coat-and-hat-i-sank-onto-the-stair-to-read-the-letter-i/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [I still believe in stories. I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book. Books are for me, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-still-believe-in-stories-i-still-forget-myself-when-i-am-in-the/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Of course I loved books more than people. Of course I valued "Jane Eyre" over the anonymous stranger...Of course all of Shakespeare was worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/of-course-i-loved-books-more-than-people-of-course-i-valued-jane-eyre/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) [Explore all 292 Diane Setterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## More Home quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [You play a part, and as soon as a movie is over and the camera stops, you go home and you're not really responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nastassja-kinski/you-play-a-part-and-as-soon-as-a-movie-is-over-and-the-camera-stops/) [Nastassja Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nastassja-kinski/) [Browse all 25,855 Home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the house picked up again its long, slow project of decay.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diane Setterfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow-project-of-decay/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Home" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow-project-of-decay/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/diane-setterfield-1008_home_the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow_2700072.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the house picked up again its long, slow project of decay.” — Diane Setterfield", "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": "Diane Setterfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the house picked up again its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow-project-of-decay/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-house-picked-up-again-its-long-slow-project-of-decay/#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 } } ] } ```