--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The novel is, above all, an intense…" description: "\"“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.”\" — Jane Smiley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png" --- # The novel is, above all, an intense experience of… ![“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.” quote by Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png) > ““The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.”” [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A novel offers an intense, prolonged intimacy with another consciousness, emphasizing deep empathetic connection through narrative. **In simple terms:** Novels create deep empathy. Key Takeaway Seek immersive reading experiences. Themes literature empathy intimacy consciousness Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing - therapy sessions Key Concepts narrative immersion psychological depth Questions to Reflect On - How does a novel foster personal connection? - What elements deepen narrative intimacy? A Different Perspective Not all readers achieve intimacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) ## Related quotes > [Writing a novel is an intense and lonely business, but you have the reward at the end of a very direct dialogue between you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-cross/writing-a-novel-is-an-intense-and-lonely-business-but-you-have-the/) [Neil Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-cross/) > [“The young photographer glanced at Roark's face--and thought of something that had puzzled him for a long time: he had always wondered why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-young-photographer-glanced-at-roark-s-face-and-thought-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I always look for an intense experience, an intense ride. There is nothing better than a good zombie movie where you run crazy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-polley/i-always-look-for-an-intense-experience-an-intense-ride-there-is/) [Sarah Polley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-polley/) > [Writing poetry is such an intense experience that it helps to start the process in a casual or wayward frame of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/writing-poetry-is-such-an-intense-experience-that-it-helps-to-start/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [For me, I'd rather have an intense experience than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/for-me-i-d-rather-have-an-intense-experience-than-not/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [I knew that this was something that was going to be an intense experience, just from the way I typically approach my work. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-monaghan/i-knew-that-this-was-something-that-was-going-to-be-an-intense/) [Michelle Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-monaghan/) > [Working on a campaign and running for president should be a visceral, emotional, passionate, and intense experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-mccain/working-on-a-campaign-and-running-for-president-should-be-a-visceral/) [Meghan McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-mccain/) > [However intense my experience, I am conscious of the presence and criticism of a part of me, which, as it were, is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/however-intense-my-experience-i-am-conscious-of-the-presence-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Drama school is a pretty intense experience, and I think it changes who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tennant/drama-school-is-a-pretty-intense-experience-and-i-think-it-changes/) [David Tennant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tennant/) > [My first real experience of acting was 'Peaky Blinders.' That was the most intense experience. In those situations you learn so quickly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-cole/my-first-real-experience-of-acting-was-peaky-blinders-that-was-the/) [Finn Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-cole/) > [It's very interesting, I had an extremely intense experience with my dad in 2002, when he was an old man and very ill and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-very-interesting-i-had-an-extremely-intense-experience-with-my/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [“Stirton's work, he says, is now all about investigation. 'You literally are trying to find out what's happening and, finally, manoeuvre yourself to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonella-gambotto-burke/stirton-s-work-he-says-is-now-all-about-investigation-you-literally/) [Antonella Gambotto-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonella-gambotto-burke/) > [There's something about being in front of a live audience that's fun. It's a really interesting, very electric, very alive, and intense experience, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/there-s-something-about-being-in-front-of-a-live-audience-that-s-fun/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [The thing is that when you make a film, it is such an intense experience. It's like being married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mani-ratnam/the-thing-is-that-when-you-make-a-film-it-is-such-an-intense/) [Mani Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mani-ratnam/) > [The paintings each take several months to do and it's quite a cathartic and intense experience that's very pleasurable, but also very strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-jeffers/the-paintings-each-take-several-months-to-do-and-it-s-quite-a/) [Oliver Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-jeffers/) ## More by Jane Smiley > [Some novelists are luckier than others in the eras of their formative intellectual years, but all Weltanschauungs return, which means that most novelists have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/some-novelists-are-luckier-than-others-in-the-eras-of-their-formative/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-can-never-be-such-a-thing-as-a-free-market-because-it-is-human/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [How will you know a good farmer when you meet him? He will not ask you for any favors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/how-will-you-know-a-good-farmer-when-you-meet-him-he-will-not-ask-you/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/you-know-what-getting-married-is-it-s-agreeing-to-taking-this-person/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/every-first-draft-is-perfect-because-all-a-first-draft-has-to-do-is/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“We watched the swimmers and sunbathers and I thought about this. Had I faced all the facts? It seemed like I had, but actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/we-watched-the-swimmers-and-sunbathers-and-i-thought-about-this-had-i/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“They throw themselves on the waters of the world, and they know they will be borne up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/they-throw-themselves-on-the-waters-of-the-world-and-they-know-they/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [everything is toxic. That's the point. You can't avoid toxins. Thinking you can is just another symptom of the toxic overload stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/everything-is-toxic-that-s-the-point-you-can-t-avoid-toxins-thinking/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Shame is a distinct feeling. I couldn’t look at my hands around the coffee cup or hear my own laments without feeling appalled, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/shame-is-a-distinct-feeling-i-couldn-t-look-at-my-hands-around-the/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Horse racing is really much more intimidating than anything having to do with literature. When I had horses at the racetrack, I would wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/horse-racing-is-really-much-more-intimidating-than-anything-having-to/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Had I faced all the facts It seemed like I had but actually you never know just by remembering how many there were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/had-i-faced-all-the-facts-it-seemed-like-i-had-but-actually-you-never/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [A theory of creativity is actually just a metaphor. A pool of ideas, a well of memories, a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/a-theory-of-creativity-is-actually-just-a-metaphor-a-pool-of-ideas-a/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There are hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around the United States and in other countries, too. Wright lived into his 90s, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-are-hundreds-of-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-around-the-united/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Explore all 185 Jane Smiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## 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 > [“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 > [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": "“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Smiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experience-of-prolonged-intimacy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experience-of-prolonged-intimacy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd0/jane-smiley-2120_books_the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experi_1822541.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.” — Jane Smiley", "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": "Jane Smiley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The novel is, above all, an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experience-of-prolonged-intimacy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experience-of-prolonged-intimacy/#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 } } ] } ```