--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spent more time than was strictly…" description: "\"“I spent more time than was strictly necessary in the plush red corridors of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. For some reason, I had convinced myself that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/katie-roiphe-46592_books_i-spent-more-time-than-was-strictly-nece_2767706.png" --- # I spent more time than was strictly necessary in the plush… ![“I spent more time than was strictly necessary in the plush red corridors of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. For some reason, I had convinced myself that I needed to see the inside of suite 228, which was otherwise referred to in the voluminous hotel literature as "the Graham Greene Suite." Greene…” quote by Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/katie-roiphe-46592_books_i-spent-more-time-than-was-strictly-nece_2767706.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/katie-roiphe-46592_books_i-spent-more-time-than-was-strictly-nece_2767706.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/katie-roiphe-46592_books_i-spent-more-time-than-was-strictly-nece_2767706.png) > ““I spent more time than was strictly necessary in the plush red corridors of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. For some reason, I had convinced myself that I needed to see the inside of suite 228, which was otherwise referred to in the voluminous hotel literature as "the Graham Greene Suite." Greene, whom I had been mildly fixated on for some time, had stayed there during the fifties. I was staying next door in suite 226, and after several days of wondering how I was going to get into his room, I noticed the maid's cart outside. When she finally ducked out to refill her stash of aloe shampoo and little almond soaps, I slipped through the half-opened door. Inside was a bare mahogany desk, a brass lamp, a king-size bed with a modern, striped duvet, and several spindly French sofas, also striped. I couldn't help feeling vastly let down. The setting was devoid of both Greene's seediness - he later regretted popularising the word "seedy" - and his elegance, which should not, of course, have come as a surprise. The Metropole was gutted after the war and rebuilt. And even if it hadn't been, I knew from experience that this sort of literary pilgrimage is always anticlimactic: the writer is dead and what remains of him is in his books.”” [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author’s quest to physically connect with a famous writer’s legacy ends in disappointment, revealing that places lose their mythic aura once the creator is gone. **In simple terms:** Visiting a writer’s former haunt often feels underwhelming. Key Takeaway Seek meaning in the work itself, not the setting. Themes literary pilgrimage expectation disillusionment heritage place memory Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type personal analytical philosophical When to use this quote - tourism - research - writing inspiration - personal reflection Key Concepts nostalgia mythic aura authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What value does a physical space hold for understanding a writer? - How can we honor literary legacy without relying on locations? A Different Perspective The experience may be colored by personal bias and romanticization of the past. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“It was not merely that his brother was dead. His brain, too young to realize the full paradox, wondered with an obscure self- pity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/it-was-not-merely-that-his-brother-was-dead-his-brain-too-young-to/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“We praise heroes as though they are rare, and yet we are always ready to blame another man for lack of heroism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/we-praise-heroes-as-though-they-are-rare-and-yet-we-are-always-ready/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Sweat cleaned you as effectively as water. But this was the race which had invented the proverb that cleanliness was next to godliness -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/sweat-cleaned-you-as-effectively-as-water-but-this-was-the-race-which/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“The more bare a life is, the more we fear change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/the-more-bare-a-life-is-the-more-we-fear-change/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“-"-A book takes me a year to write. It's too hard work for a revenge." -"If you knew how little you had to revenge...".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-book-takes-me-a-year-to-write-it-s-too-hard-work-for-a-revenge-if/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“I doubt if ever one ceases to love, but one can cease to be in love as easily as one can outgrow an author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-doubt-if-ever-one-ceases-to-love-but-one-can-cease-to-be-in-love-as/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [For a while we were chasing a book by Graham Greene to do Brighton Rock as a musical. We didn't get the rights, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-tennant/for-a-while-we-were-chasing-a-book-by-graham-greene-to-do-brighton/) [Neil Tennant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-tennant/) > [My heroes were never scientists. They were Graham Greene and Christopher Isherwood, you know, good writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/my-heroes-were-never-scientists-they-were-graham-greene-and/) [James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/) > [You have the older generation like Iris Murdoch and Angus Wilson who are not as old as Graham Greene, but still are coming on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/you-have-the-older-generation-like-iris-murdoch-and-angus-wilson-who/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“So, what do you go for in a girl?” He crows, lifting a lager to his lips Gestures where his mate sits Downs his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-grist/so-what-do-you-go-for-in-a-girl-he-crows-lifting-a-lager-to-his-lips/) Mark Grist > [My parents were interested in history and the world. My father read Graham Greene and Georges Simenon and was a strong trade unionist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/my-parents-were-interested-in-history-and-the-world-my-father-read/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [I work every day until I do not have more to say. I learned from Graham Greene that a very good way is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-work-every-day-until-i-do-not-have-more-to-say-i-learned-from/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Graham Greene at 82 years old was still writing, and I don't think anyone can deny the force, the expertise, and the unique quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/graham-greene-at-82-years-old-was-still-writing-and-i-don-t-think/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. Well, as it turned out, I never wrote a great novel, sadly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/as-a-precocious-teen-i-dreamed-of-being-graham-greene-well-as-it/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) ## More by Katie Roiphe > [In spite of its romantic frisson, the position of muse is very vague and largely thankless for the muse herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-roiphe/in-spite-of-its-romantic-frisson-the-position-of-muse-is-very-vague/) [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) > [“It's hard to explain how this works, and I admit that it's fairly implausible or untenable as a way of life, but that seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-roiphe/it-s-hard-to-explain-how-this-works-and-i-admit-that-it-s-fairly/) [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) > [Facebook is the novel we are all writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-roiphe/facebook-is-the-novel-we-are-all-writing/) [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) > [She once complained that her stories were like 'birds bred in cages,' but that concentrated atmosphere, that claustrophobic hothouse of emotion, was her talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-roiphe/she-once-complained-that-her-stories-were-like-birds-bred-in-cages/) [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) > [“The Paradox: how do you lose something you never had? 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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": "“I spent more time than was strictly necessary in the plush red corridors of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. For some reason, I had convinced myself that I needed to see the inside of suite 228, which was otherwise referred to in the voluminous hotel literature as \"the Graham Greene Suite.\" Greene, whom I had been mildly fixated on for some time, had stayed there during the fifties. I was staying next door in suite 226, and after several days of wondering how I was going to get into his room, I noticed the maid's cart outside. When she finally ducked out to refill her stash of aloe shampoo and little almond soaps, I slipped through the half-opened door. Inside was a bare mahogany desk, a brass lamp, a king-size bed with a modern, striped duvet, and several spindly French sofas, also striped. I couldn't help feeling vastly let down. The setting was devoid of both Greene's seediness - he later regretted popularising the word \"seedy\" - and his elegance, which should not, of course, have come as a surprise. The Metropole was gutted after the war and rebuilt. 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