--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why not admit that my dissatisfaction…" description: "\"“Why not admit that my dissatisfaction reveals an excessive ambition, perhaps a megalomaniac delirium? For the writer who wants to annul himself in ord..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/italo-calvino-402_book_why-not-admit-that-my-dissatisfaction-re_1795507.jpg" --- # Why not admit that my dissatisfaction reveals an excessive… ![“Why not admit that my dissatisfaction reveals an excessive ambition, perhaps a megalomaniac delirium? For the writer who wants to annul himself in order to give voice to what is outside him, two paths open: either write a book that could be the unique book, that exhausts the whole in its pages; or…” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/italo-calvino-402_book_why-not-admit-that-my-dissatisfaction-re_1795507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/italo-calvino-402_book_why-not-admit-that-my-dissatisfaction-re_1795507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/italo-calvino-402_book_why-not-admit-that-my-dissatisfaction-re_1795507.jpg) > ““Why not admit that my dissatisfaction reveals an excessive ambition, perhaps a megalomaniac delirium? For the writer who wants to annul himself in order to give voice to what is outside him, two paths open: either write a book that could be the unique book, that exhausts the whole in its pages; or write all books, to pursue the whole through its partial images. The unique book, which contains the whole, could only be the sacred text, the total world revealed. But I do not believe totality can be contained in language; my problem is what remains outside, the unwritten, the unwritable. The only way left me is that writing of all books, writing the books of all possible authors. If I think I must write one book, all the problems of how this book should be and how it should not be block me and keep me from going forward. If, on the contrary, I think that I am writing a whole library, I feel suddenly lightened: I know that whatever I write will be integrated, contradicted, balanced, amplified, buried by the hundreds of volumes that remain for me to write.”” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer faces a choice between attempting a single, all‑encompassing work or embracing endless partial creations, acknowledging that totality cannot be fully expressed in language. **In simple terms:** Writing can be infinite or singular, but language limits totality. Key Takeaway Accept the impossibility of complete representation; write continuously. Themes creativity language infinity authorial doubt literary theory Mood reflective curious inspired Type literary philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing a novel - contributing to anthologies - blogging - academic publishing - collaborative projects Key Concepts post‑modernism metafiction creative process philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer depth or breadth in your creative work? - How does acknowledging limits affect your artistic confidence? A Different Perspective The infinite approach may dilute focus, making it hard to achieve depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authors Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-think-496113/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-writing-743566/) [Delirium Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delirium-writer-1984589/) [Left Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-writing-1384878/) [Two paths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-paths/) [Writer Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-wants-290242/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'll be left writing picture books and fairy tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ann-duffy/i-ll-be-left-writing-picture-books-and-fairy-tales/) [Carol Ann Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ann-duffy/) > [There are directors, and there are authors. 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KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. 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For the writer who wants to annul himself in order to give voice to what is outside him, two paths open: either write a book that could be the unique book, that exhausts the whole in its pages; or write all books, to pursue the whole through its partial images. The unique book, which contains the whole, could only be the sacred text, the total world revealed. But I do not believe totality can be contained in language; my problem is what remains outside, the unwritten, the unwritable. The only way left me is that writing of all books, writing the books of all possible authors. If I think I must write one book, all the problems of how this book should be and how it should not be block me and keep me from going forward. 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