--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a novelist manages to describe or…" description: "\"When a novelist manages to describe or evoke something you thought or felt, without realizing that other people also found themselves in the same situa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/elif-batuman-2172_evoke_when-a-novelist-manages-to-describe-or-e_608121.jpg" --- # When a novelist manages to describe or evoke something you… ![“When a novelist manages to describe or evoke something you thought or felt, without realizing that other people also found themselves in the same situation and had the same feelings, it creates that same solidarity. Maybe it's better to think of humor not as a tool to express the solidarity, but a…” quote by Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/elif-batuman-2172_evoke_when-a-novelist-manages-to-describe-or-e_608121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/elif-batuman-2172_evoke_when-a-novelist-manages-to-describe-or-e_608121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/007/elif-batuman-2172_evoke_when-a-novelist-manages-to-describe-or-e_608121.jpg) > “When a novelist manages to describe or evoke something you thought or felt, without realizing that other people also found themselves in the same situation and had the same feelings, it creates that same solidarity. Maybe it's better to think of humor not as a tool to express the solidarity, but a kind of by-product. Maybe the realization "I'm not on my own on this one" is always, or often, funny.” [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer's accurate portrayal of shared feelings builds a sense of community, and humor often emerges as a side effect of that recognition. **In simple terms:** Accurate description creates solidarity; humor follows. Key Takeaway Notice how shared experiences can foster connection. Themes solidarity humor empathy literature community Mood reflective warm thoughtful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - reading groups - creative writing workshops - online forums - book clubs - therapy sessions Key Concepts shared experience emotional resonance psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing shared feeling change your perception of a story? - When does humor enhance rather than distract from solidarity? A Different Perspective Humor may not always arise; it depends on the audience's mood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Solidarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solidarity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) ## Related quotes > [I think humor is a really important way of creating solidarity - like, through humor you can make people realize that certain situations, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-think-humor-is-a-really-important-way-of-creating-solidarity-like/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Humor is hope's companion in arms. It is not brash, it is not cheap, it is not heartless. Among other things I think humor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/humor-is-hope-s-companion-in-arms-it-is-not-brash-it-is-not-cheap-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I think humor is often a very powerful tool to be able to express ideas that are heavy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-henrot/i-think-humor-is-often-a-very-powerful-tool-to-be-able-to-express/) [Camille Henrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-henrot/) > [I think that humor has become a principle means of communication among Americans about politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/i-think-that-humor-has-become-a-principle-means-of-communication/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I can't fall apart every time I mention that my mother's gone. I actually laugh about stories or things or situations. Of course there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-domingo/i-can-t-fall-apart-every-time-i-mention-that-my-mother-s-gone-i/) [Colman Domingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-domingo/) > [I think humor is actually a very serious thing. I think the people who shaped culture, for the better, in the last 50 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lurie/i-think-humor-is-actually-a-very-serious-thing-i-think-the-people-who/) [John Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lurie/) > [I think humor is a very serious thing. I use it as a way of weakening the reader's defenses so that I can more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-collins/i-think-humor-is-a-very-serious-thing-i-use-it-as-a-way-of-weakening/) [William Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-collins/) > [I think that humor is part of what saves us from despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/i-think-that-humor-is-part-of-what-saves-us-from-despair/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I think the humor, when applied in the right amount, only serves to intensify the other emotions in a given song; it highlights them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grant/i-think-the-humor-when-applied-in-the-right-amount-only-serves-to/) [John Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grant/) > [I think humor is the social use. You can put anything in it. I think - yes, I speak heavily in analogies - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-think-humor-is-the-social-use-you-can-put-anything-in-it-i-think/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English into sanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/there-is-i-think-humor-here-which-does-not-translate-well-from/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [You don't have to think really hard to get the joke. I think humor in general appeals to all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/you-don-t-have-to-think-really-hard-to-get-the-joke-i-think-humor-in/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I sometimes think humor and satire are more effective techniques for expressing social statements than direct comment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hunter/i-sometimes-think-humor-and-satire-are-more-effective-techniques-for/) [Kristin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hunter/) > [I don't think that in humor and jokes, in whatever way they are done, there is any kind of disrespect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajpal-yadav/i-don-t-think-that-in-humor-and-jokes-in-whatever-way-they-are-done/) [Rajpal Yadav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajpal-yadav/) > [I think humor is warmer, and wit is colder. Wit is judgment, whereas humor invites some sort of response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-think-humor-is-warmer-and-wit-is-colder-wit-is-judgment-whereas/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) ## More by Elif Batuman > [My parents were born into a secular country. They met in Turkey's top medical school, moved to America in the nineteen-seventies, and became researchers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/my-parents-were-born-into-a-secular-country-they-met-in-turkey-s-top/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I leafed through the phrase book. If a Martian read it, the Martian would probably decide to avoid Hungary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-leafed-through-the-phrase-book-if-a-martian-read-it-the-martian/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [You can't invent something you have no epistemological access to. In a way, it's all recombination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/you-can-t-invent-something-you-have-no-epistemological-access-to-in-a/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Poetry is another space, like love, where we extend that extra credit to the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/poetry-is-another-space-like-love-where-we-extend-that-extra-credit/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Svetlana said that she identified with that Madonna more than with any other woman in any other painting. She kept asking me what painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/svetlana-said-that-she-identified-with-that-madonna-more-than-with/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [One of the most painful parts of a breakup is having the feeling that your life is a story, and then the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/one-of-the-most-painful-parts-of-a-breakup-is-having-the-feeling-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Dracula visited the Wolf Department at the Zoological Gardens. "These wolves seem upset at something," he observed. The next morning the cage was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/dracula-visited-the-wolf-department-at-the-zoological-gardens-these/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I like to think that I know a lot of words, but I definitely don't know all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-like-to-think-that-i-know-a-lot-of-words-but-i-definitely-don-t/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I don't know if I ended up siding with the academics just because I happened to end up in graduate school, or if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ended-up-siding-with-the-academics-just-because-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [People don't become writers because they love having spontaneous, real-world interactions with living people as bodies with clothes in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-don-t-become-writers-because-they-love-having-spontaneous-real/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Each work of criticism is supposed to build on the body of work, to increase the total sum of human understanding. It's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/each-work-of-criticism-is-supposed-to-build-on-the-body-of-work-to/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Humor is really important to me. All my favorite writers are writers I consider to be funny, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, even though that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/humor-is-really-important-to-me-all-my-favorite-writers-are-writers-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Every time a meteor comes close to the earth, we all think about the end of the world - but our internal soundtrack doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/every-time-a-meteor-comes-close-to-the-earth-we-all-think-about-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I felt grateful to Ataturk that my parents were so well educated, that they weren't held back by superstition or religion, that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-felt-grateful-to-ataturk-that-my-parents-were-so-well-educated-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“For a moment it felt like we weren’t in the Danube at all but in the river of time, and everyone was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/for-a-moment-it-felt-like-we-weren-t-in-the-danube-at-all-but-in-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) [Explore all 182 Elif Batuman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## More Evoke quotes > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [All of my work is meant to evoke a whole bunch of different layers of discord between the attraction and repulsion that we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jordan/all-of-my-work-is-meant-to-evoke-a-whole-bunch-of-different-layers-of/) [Chris Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jordan/) > [The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-behavior-and-reactions-of-the-oppressed-which-lead-the-oppressor/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [Even though fixed in time, a photograph evokes as much feeling as that which comes from music or dance. Whatever the mode - from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/even-though-fixed-in-time-a-photograph-evokes-as-much-feeling-as-that/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) > [We must not imitate the externals of nature with so much fidelity that the picture fails to evoke that wonderful teasing recurrence of emotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-carlson/we-must-not-imitate-the-externals-of-nature-with-so-much-fidelity/) [John F. Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-carlson/) > [Discoveries from one community cannot be repackaged and provided to another as a silver bullet, That's a "best practice" rollout and it invariably evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-pascale/discoveries-from-one-community-cannot-be-repackaged-and-provided-to/) [Richard Pascale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-pascale/) > [When the writing is really working, I think there is something like dreaming going on. I don't know how to draw the line between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/when-the-writing-is-really-working-i-think-there-is-something-like/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [The acute experience of great beauty readily evokes a nameless yearning for something more than earth can offer. Elegant splendor reawakens our spirit's aching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dubay/the-acute-experience-of-great-beauty-readily-evokes-a-nameless/) [Thomas Dubay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dubay/) > [Kate Bernheimer's fiction offers a unique and delicate gift, the tempting mirage of a grace that constantly escapes. The Complete Tales of Merry Gold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-millet/kate-bernheimer-s-fiction-offers-a-unique-and-delicate-gift-the/) [Lydia Millet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-millet/) > [It is highly possible that what is called 'talented behavior' is simply a greater individual capacity for experiencing. From this point of view, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-spolin/it-is-highly-possible-that-what-is-called-talented-behavior-is-simply/) [Viola Spolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-spolin/) > [He loved telling stories. He had been everywhere in the world. The northwest frontier, the landscape of the Hindu Kush, was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/he-loved-telling-stories-he-had-been-everywhere-in-the-world-the/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [There are things that must evoke our anger to show we care. It is what we do with that anger. If we direct that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/there-are-things-that-must-evoke-our-anger-to-show-we-care-it-is-what/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We're here to learn how to worship consciousness and radiance, evoke it in each other, and tolerate nothing less than our deepest love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/we-re-here-to-learn-how-to-worship-consciousness-and-radiance-evoke/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) Browse all 321 Evoke quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a novelist manages to describe or evoke something you thought or felt, without realizing that other people also found themselves in the same situation and had the same feelings, it creates that same solidarity. Maybe it's better to think of humor not as a tool to express the solidarity, but a kind of by-product. 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