--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, literature is a complex game…" description: "\"For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on the page.\" — Guillermo Cabrera Infante" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg" --- # For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and… ![“For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on the page.” quote by Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg) > “For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on the page.” [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature is a strategic, tangible activity where ideas are played out physically on the page. **In simple terms:** Reading is a mental and physical game. Key Takeaway Engage with texts as interactive experiences. Themes creativity analysis playfulness Mood playful intellectual Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - writing workshops - book clubs - design thinking Key Concepts literary theory semiotics Questions to Reflect On - How does the physical form of a book affect your reading? - What games do you play with text? A Different Perspective Physical aspects may distract from deeper emotional resonance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Literature is about being a complex, contradictory human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-alvarez/literature-is-about-being-a-complex-contradictory-human-being/) [Julia Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-alvarez/) > [“If I had known his favorite game was mental twister, I would have suggested a movie over game night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/if-i-had-known-his-favorite-game-was-mental-twister-i-would-have/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [The art of it is, the more we can bring complex game mechanics to a mass market, the more engaging the games will be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pincus/the-art-of-it-is-the-more-we-can-bring-complex-game-mechanics-to-a/) [Mark Pincus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pincus/) > [Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous and varied ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-kramnik/chess-is-an-infinitely-complex-game-which-one-can-play-in-infinitely/) [Vladimir Kramnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-kramnik/) > [In a crazy way, writing is a lot like any kind of very complex game - like chess, where you have the knowledge as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/in-a-crazy-way-writing-is-a-lot-like-any-kind-of-very-complex-game/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [Life is a big and complex game. It's the largest open world game known to date. We all begin with different starting stats, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/life-is-a-big-and-complex-game-it-s-the-largest-open-world-game-known/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [Playing deep-stack, no-limit hold'em is a very complex game where the most critical and difficult decisions come after the flop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-negreanu/playing-deep-stack-no-limit-hold-em-is-a-very-complex-game-where-the/) [Daniel Negreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-negreanu/) > [Chess is more than a game or a mental training. It is a distinct attainment. 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The page is the limit. Dialogue on stage and on the screen is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/dialogue-in-fiction-is-always-written-to-be-read-in-silence-the-page/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I am a writer of fragments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-am-a-writer-of-fragments/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [No, absolutely not, writing doesn't have to be like a jigsaw puzzle, it can be a very linear undertaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/no-absolutely-not-writing-doesn-t-have-to-be-like-a-jigsaw-puzzle-it/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [Well, I write in exile because I cannot return to my country, so I have no choice but to see myself as an exiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/well-i-write-in-exile-because-i-cannot-return-to-my-country-so-i-have/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I know that many writers have had to write under censorship and yet produced good novels; for instance, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote under Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-know-that-many-writers-have-had-to-write-under-censorship-and-yet/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I do not consider myself a Hispanic writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-do-not-consider-myself-a-hispanic-writer/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [The relationship between reader and characters is very difficult. It is even more peculiar than the relationship between the writer and his characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/the-relationship-between-reader-and-characters-is-very-difficult-it/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I think writers rush in where everybody is very frightened to tread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-think-writers-rush-in-where-everybody-is-very-frightened-to-tread/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I was never a true journalist, I was a movie critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-was-never-a-true-journalist-i-was-a-movie-critic/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [A good smoker, like a good lover, always takes his time with a cigar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/a-good-smoker-like-a-good-lover-always-takes-his-time-with-a-cigar/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I do not believe in inspiration, but I must have a title in order to work, otherwise I am lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-do-not-believe-in-inspiration-but-i-must-have-a-title-in-order-to/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [You are just in the middle of a struggle with words which are really very stubborn things, with a blank page, with the damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/you-are-just-in-the-middle-of-a-struggle-with-words-which-are-really/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I live in London and I am a British subject, although I do write in Spanish, of course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-live-in-london-and-i-am-a-british-subject-although-i-do-write-in/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) [Explore all 54 Guillermo Cabrera Infante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on the page.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guillermo Cabrera Infante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both-mental-and-concrete-which-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both-mental-and-concrete-which-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both_671222.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on…” — Guillermo Cabrera Infante", "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": "Guillermo Cabrera Infante", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For me, literature is a complex...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both-mental-and-concrete-which-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both-mental-and-concrete-which-is/#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 } } ] } ```