--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like all novelists, I'm interested in the…" description: "\"Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination.\" — Hisham Matar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png" --- # Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between… ![“Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination.” quote by Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png) > “Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination.” [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers explore the space where reality meets imagination, using filters to shape perception and narrative. **In simple terms:** Novelists examine reality‑imagination boundary. Key Takeaway Explore how perception shapes stories. Themes creativity perception reality Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative brainstorming - story development Key Concepts literary theory imagination Questions to Reflect On - What filters do you apply when writing? - How do you balance reality and imagination? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on filters can stifle raw authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [Mostly, I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/mostly-i-straddle-reality-and-the-imagination-my-reality-needs/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Like most novelists, I like to do exactly the opposite of what I'm told. It's in my nature as a novelist. Novelists can't trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/like-most-novelists-i-like-to-do-exactly-the-opposite-of-what-i-m-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I like novelists who can create other interesting worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-like-novelists-who-can-create-other-interesting-worlds/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [It feels like when novelists say they find their characters are doing things they never thought they'd do, the material comes alive, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-richter/it-feels-like-when-novelists-say-they-find-their-characters-are-doing/) [Max Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-richter/) > [Like most novelists, I like to do exactly the opposite of what I'm told. It's in my nature as a novelist. Novelists can't trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/like-most-novelists-i-like-to-do-exactly-the-opposite-of-what-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist; on an insignificant basis of reality the imagination spins, weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/everything-can-happen-everything-is-possible-and-probable-time-and-2/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“Chance encounters, the desire to watch, a visit from an unexpected stranger -- all of these things fall within a realm of normalcy. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-kiker/chance-encounters-the-desire-to-watch-a-visit-from-an-unexpected/) [K. Kiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-kiker/) > [In my past, I was an innocent little kid not knowing what was going on in reality. I had an imagination of my own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/in-my-past-i-was-an-innocent-little-kid-not-knowing-what-was-going-on/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [The way you separate reality from imagination is by the number of bandages you have to use...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/the-way-you-separate-reality-from-imagination-is-by-the-number-of/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Imagination has to do with one's awareness of the reality of other people as well as of one's own reality. Imagination is a bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-has-to-do-with-one-s-awareness-of-the-reality-of-other/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Some things worked far better in imagination than reality. In imagination, she was intrepid and resourceful; in reality she wished she were home, wrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/some-things-worked-far-better-in-imagination-than-reality-in/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [Embrace reality by imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/embrace-reality-by-imagination/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist; on a significant bases of reality, the imagination spins, weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/everything-can-happen-everything-is-possible-and-probable-time-and/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Things seemed to go back and forth between reality and imagination--except that it was all reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-paulsen/things-seemed-to-go-back-and-forth-between-reality-and-imagination/) [Gary Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-paulsen/) ## More by Hisham Matar > [There and then, sitting beside her and within the strength of my adoration, I felt invincible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/there-and-then-sitting-beside-her-and-within-the-strength-of-my/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [To be okay with not knowing is a sign of a mature person and a mature society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/to-be-okay-with-not-knowing-is-a-sign-of-a-mature-person-and-a-mature/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [“History remembers Mussolini as the buffoonish Fascist, the ineffective silly man of Italy who led a lame military campaign in the Second World War,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/history-remembers-mussolini-as-the-buffoonish-fascist-the-ineffective/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Grief loves the hollow; all it wants is to hear its own echo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/grief-loves-the-hollow-all-it-wants-is-to-hear-its-own-echo/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Dreams have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/dreams-have-consequences/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Language is not just a code; you are writing into its history, into its tides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/language-is-not-just-a-code-you-are-writing-into-its-history-into-its/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My parents were fairly laid-back, but there were certain things about which they were very strict. My brother and I were told never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-parents-were-fairly-laid-back-but-there-were-certain-things-about/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [I am terribly interested in the paragraph: the paragraph as an object, the construction, and the possibilities of what a paragraph can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/i-am-terribly-interested-in-the-paragraph-the-paragraph-as-an-object/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My parents left Libya in 1979, escaping political repression, and settled in Cairo. I was nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-parents-left-libya-in-1979-escaping-political-repression-and/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Libyans are deeply unsettled by Gaddafi and his regime's careless contempt for human life. The dictatorship is willing to employ any methods necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/libyans-are-deeply-unsettled-by-gaddafi-and-his-regime-s-careless/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My best hope is that Libya turns into a peaceful, sensible country that has all the things my father and lots of others have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-best-hope-is-that-libya-turns-into-a-peaceful-sensible-country/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih, is an eloquent and restrained portrait of one man's exile. It is a rare narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/season-of-migration-to-the-north-by-tayeb-salih-is-an-eloquent-and/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Turgenev's achievement lies in how he succeeded, in spite of himself, his country, and his time, in exempting his work from public duty. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/turgenev-s-achievement-lies-in-how-he-succeeded-in-spite-of-himself/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Over the centuries, close-knit tribes have played an important part in the cohesion of Libyan society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/over-the-centuries-close-knit-tribes-have-played-an-important-part-in/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My work is my shelter, particularly in these moments when things are happening fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-work-is-my-shelter-particularly-in-these-moments-when-things-are/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) [Explore all 116 Hisham Matar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) ## More Filters quotes > [I can't build a simple shelf. I have no idea how to change an oil filter on a car. I can't even stick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-can-t-build-a-simple-shelf-i-have-no-idea-how-to-change-an-oil/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [You don't filter smokestacks or water. Instead, you put the filter in your head and design the problem out of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/you-don-t-filter-smokestacks-or-water-instead-you-put-the-filter-in/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [Between Twitter and Facebook I have nearly 70,000 followers, so my colleagues receive the responses. They show some of them to me, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-zille/between-twitter-and-facebook-i-have-nearly-70-000-followers-so-my/) [Helen Zille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-zille/) > [Further, in writing, I feel corrupt and unethical if I have to look up a subject in a library as part of the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/further-in-writing-i-feel-corrupt-and-unethical-if-i-have-to-look-up/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [The beautiful thing about music is that even so-called negative emotions like anger, sadness, frustration, when they come through the filter of music, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromi/the-beautiful-thing-about-music-is-that-even-so-called-negative/) [Hiromi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromi/) > [The difference between a stranger sending you a message that you might be interested in at a very low volume level, no repetition, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-difference-between-a-stranger-sending-you-a-message-that-you/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Don't you understand that we need to be childish in order to understand? Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because it hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/don-t-you-understand-that-we-need-to-be-childish-in-order-to/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [It is impossible to estimate full influence of the reading of the Word in a home day after day and year after year. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/it-is-impossible-to-estimate-full-influence-of-the-reading-of-the/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [The whole educational and professional training system is a very elaborate filter, which just weeds out people who are too independent, and who think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-whole-educational-and-professional-training-system-is-a-very/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Groups become more extreme and entrenched in their beliefs and polarized from others when members only exchange information that reinforces their views and filter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/groups-become-more-extreme-and-entrenched-in-their-beliefs-and/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [Eating liver out of a cow's body is like eating the filter out of a car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/eating-liver-out-of-a-cow-s-body-is-like-eating-the-filter-out-of-a/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [ But ripped out of context, \["Who am I to judge?" phrase\] has become an all-purpose filter through which everything else - including the pope's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/but-ripped-out-of-context-who-am-i-to-judge-phrase-has-become-an-all/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [ Before, the myth of photography doesn't lie was used in order to cover up tricks. If I \[make a\] portrait \[of\] you, accommodate you,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-meyer/before-the-myth-of-photography-doesn-t-lie-was-used-in-order-to-cover/) [Pedro Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-meyer/) > [Scribbling things down is my therapy. I filter later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natascha-mcelhone/scribbling-things-down-is-my-therapy-i-filter-later/) [Natascha McElhone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natascha-mcelhone/) > [I try when I'm writing to fill my head and my ears with all sorts of stuff and then let it settle and filter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-try-when-i-m-writing-to-fill-my-head-and-my-ears-with-all-sorts-of/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) Browse all 287 Filters quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hisham Matar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the-filters-between-reality-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Filters" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the-filters-between-reality-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/hisham-matar-4118_filters_like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the_1863176.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination.” — Hisham Matar", "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": "Hisham Matar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like all novelists, I'm interested in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the-filters-between-reality-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the-filters-between-reality-and/#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 } } ] } ```