--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best fiction rarely provides answers…" description: "\"“The best fiction rarely provides answers; but it does formulate the questions exceptionally well.”\" — Julian Barnes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/julian-barnes-522_fiction_the-best-fiction-rarely-provides-answers_2637619.png" --- # The best fiction rarely provides answers; but it does… ![“The best fiction rarely provides answers; but it does formulate the questions exceptionally well.” quote by Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/julian-barnes-522_fiction_the-best-fiction-rarely-provides-answers_2637619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/julian-barnes-522_fiction_the-best-fiction-rarely-provides-answers_2637619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/julian-barnes-522_fiction_the-best-fiction-rarely-provides-answers_2637619.png) > ““The best fiction rarely provides answers; but it does formulate the questions exceptionally well.”” [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction often raises profound questions rather than giving clear answers, prompting deeper thought. **In simple terms:** Stories ask great questions. Key Takeaway Embrace questioning. Themes literature philosophy curiosity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - reading - education - creative writing - discussion groups Key Concepts critical thinking interpretation Questions to Reflect On - What question does this story raise for you? - How do you handle uncertainty? A Different Perspective May leave some readers unsatisfied without answers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-fiction-581081/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Rarely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-rarely-951843/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Provides Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provides-answers-2241651/) [Questions Exceptionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-exceptionally-2241650/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Science fiction rarely is about scientists doing real science, in its slowness, its vagueness, the sort of tedious quality of getting out there and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/science-fiction-rarely-is-about-scientists-doing-real-science-in-its/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [We Ask The Questions,But Who Provides The Answers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ask-the-questions-but-who-provides-the-answers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Poetry, at the best, does us a kind of violence that prose fiction rarely attempts or accomplishes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/poetry-at-the-best-does-us-a-kind-of-violence-that-prose-fiction/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I find in my own writing that only fiction - and rarely, a poem - fully tests me to the kind of limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-find-in-my-own-writing-that-only-fiction-and-rarely-a-poem-fully/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“I explained that most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-explained-that-most-great-works-of-the-imagination-were-meant-to/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [We're so much more likely to feel sympathy for an animal than another person; thus, the best fiction uses animals to define truly humane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-re-so-much-more-likely-to-feel-sympathy-for-an-animal-than-another/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Biographies never feel as real as the best fiction. There is such a discontinuity between the narrative and the material it comes from, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/biographies-never-feel-as-real-as-the-best-fiction-there-is-such-a/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [“I explained that most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-explained-that-most-great-works-of-the-imagination-were-meant-to-2/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best fiction always forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/most-great-works-of-the-imagination-were-meant-to-make-you-feel-like/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“The best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-kind-of-journalism/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“What the best fiction does is make powerful affirmations of familiar truths...the trivial fiction which times filters out is that which either makes wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/what-the-best-fiction-does-is-make-powerful-affirmations-of-familiar/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The best fiction is geared towards conflict. We learn most about our characters through tension, when they are put up against insurmountable obstacles. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/the-best-fiction-is-geared-towards-conflict-we-learn-most-about-our/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [“The best fiction is often how we interpret our own lives and what we see as our common due. It is created usually as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-edwards/the-best-fiction-is-often-how-we-interpret-our-own-lives-and-what-we/) [Anne Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-edwards/) > [The best fiction is far more true than any journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-journalism/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“The best fiction is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/the-best-fiction-is-true/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-by-yesterday-and-the-day/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Explore all 454 Julian Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) [Coheed and Cambria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coheed-and-cambria/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. 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