--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't imagine how American readers will…" description: "\"I can't imagine how American readers will react to a novel, but if the story is appealing it doesn't matter much if you don't catch all the detail. I'm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg" --- # I can't imagine how American readers will react to a… ![“I can't imagine how American readers will react to a novel, but if the story is appealing it doesn't matter much if you don't catch all the detail. I'm not too familiar with the geography of nineteenth century London, for instance, but I still enjoy reading Dickens.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg) > “I can't imagine how American readers will react to a novel, but if the story is appealing it doesn't matter much if you don't catch all the detail. I'm not too familiar with the geography of nineteenth century London, for instance, but I still enjoy reading Dickens.” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reader can enjoy a story even without full knowledge of its setting or details; emotional resonance outweighs factual precision. **In simple terms:** Enjoy stories even if you miss details. Key Takeaway Focus on narrative appeal over factual exactness. Themes reading engagement context empathy Mood curious reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - reading Dickens - travel writing - historical novels - educational settings Key Concepts narrative immersion cultural literacy Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of a story keep you hooked despite unfamiliar settings? - How does personal imagination fill gaps in historical context? A Different Perspective If the story lacks emotional depth, missing details may matter more. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-readers-495736/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Enjoy reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy-reading/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Geography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geography/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Instance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Nineteenth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nineteenth-century/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Readers React](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-react-495737/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-dickens-495735/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [I started reading Dickens when I was about 12, and I particularly liked all of the orphan books. I always liked books about young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-started-reading-dickens-when-i-was-about-12-and-i-particularly/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [“A man reading the Dickens novel wished that it might never end. Men read a Dickens story six times because they knew it so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/a-man-reading-the-dickens-novel-wished-that-it-might-never-end-men/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [I want people to be open to the idea of sitting down and reading a Dickens book. They will also have a great time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/i-want-people-to-be-open-to-the-idea-of-sitting-down-and-reading-a/) [Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/) > [My great-aunt. . . . said nobody under 18 had any business reading Dickens. . . . She was right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/my-great-aunt-said-nobody-under-18-had-any-business-reading-dickens/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“According to catalog copy for a forthcoming book from the University of Iowa Press, Reading as Therapy: What Contemporary Fiction Does for Middle-Class Americans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-aubry/according-to-catalog-copy-for-a-forthcoming-book-from-the-university/) [Timothy Aubry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-aubry/) > [ “At a conservative estimate, one million dollars will be spent by American readers for this book \[For Whom the Bell Tolls\]. They will get… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/commonweal/at-a-conservative-estimate-one-million-dollars-will-be-spent-by/) [Commonweal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/commonweal/) > [I keep to a minimum dialect, in-jokes about football (soccer) teams and soap opera characters, so as not to lose North American readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-robinson/i-keep-to-a-minimum-dialect-in-jokes-about-football-soccer-teams-and/) [Peter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-robinson/) > [It's not Brits who think American readers are a bunch of whinging morons with the geo-social understanding of a wire coathanger, it's American editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-not-brits-who-think-american-readers-are-a-bunch-of-whinging/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Like many American readers, I was first introduced to Magda Szabo's work when New York Review Books reissued the Hungarian master's profound and haunting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/like-many-american-readers-i-was-first-introduced-to-magda-szabo-s/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I'm just happy to have some American readers - enough that it's a viable proposition for my books to appear there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-m-just-happy-to-have-some-american-readers-enough-that-it-s-a/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Born Losers is a beautiful piece of writing. Scott Sandage is history's Dickens; his bleak house, the late nineteenth century world of almost anonymous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-mcfeely/born-losers-is-a-beautiful-piece-of-writing-scott-sandage-is-history/) [William S. McFeely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-mcfeely/) > [But the novels of women were not affected only by the necessarily narrow range of the writer's experience. They showed, at least in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-the-novels-of-women-were-not-affected-only-by-the-necessarily/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I think people who share my dreams can enjoy reading my novels. And that's a wonderful thing. I said that myths are like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-think-people-who-share-my-dreams-can-enjoy-reading-my-novels-and/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“But irony deepens a person, helps them mature. It's the entrance to salvation on a higher plane, to a place where you can find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-irony-deepens-a-person-helps-them-mature-it-s-the-entrance-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I've always been drawn to dark stories. I enjoy reading Flannery O'Connor, Patricia Highsmith, and Margaret Mitchell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-dark-stories-i-enjoy-reading-flannery-o/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## 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. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I can't imagine how American readers will react to a novel, but if the story is appealing it doesn't matter much if you don't catch all the detail. I'm not too familiar with the geography of nineteenth century London, for instance, but I still enjoy reading Dickens.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-will-react-to-a-novel-but-if-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-will-react-to-a-novel-but-if-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/haruki-murakami-21_books_i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-wil_2441931.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can't imagine how American readers will react to a novel, but if the story is appealing it doesn't matter…” — Haruki Murakami", "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": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can't imagine how American readers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-will-react-to-a-novel-but-if-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-can-t-imagine-how-american-readers-will-react-to-a-novel-but-if-the/#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 } } ] } ```