--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's true that misunderstanding and lack…" description: "\"It's true that misunderstanding and lack of understanding are often themes in my fiction, but I am grateful for the moments when true understanding is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/ken-liu-4222_books_it-s-true-that-misunderstanding-and-lack_3189362.jpg" --- # It's true that misunderstanding and lack of understanding… ![“It's true that misunderstanding and lack of understanding are often themes in my fiction, but I am grateful for the moments when true understanding is achieved, especially between writer and reader. It's miraculous.” quote by Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/ken-liu-4222_books_it-s-true-that-misunderstanding-and-lack_3189362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/ken-liu-4222_books_it-s-true-that-misunderstanding-and-lack_3189362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/ken-liu-4222_books_it-s-true-that-misunderstanding-and-lack_3189362.jpg) > “It's true that misunderstanding and lack of understanding are often themes in my fiction, but I am grateful for the moments when true understanding is achieved, especially between writer and reader. It's miraculous.” [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights gratitude for moments when deep mutual understanding occurs between writer and reader, contrasting it with frequent misunderstandings in fiction. **In simple terms:** Appreciating true understanding between author and audience. Key Takeaway Value and seek genuine connection. Themes communication empathy creativity Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - writing workshops - literary criticism - author‑reader dialogues Key Concepts literary theory reader response authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How can writers foster deeper reader insight? - What practices enhance mutual comprehension? A Different Perspective Understanding can be fleeting and requires effort from both sides. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Lack of understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-understanding/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-understanding/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [In my own version of the idea of 'what art wants,' the end and fulfillment of the history of art is the philosophical understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-own-version-of-the-idea-of-what-art-wants-the-end-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And in that time the custom of our praying was brought to mind: how we use for lack of understanding and knowing of Love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-of-norwich/and-in-that-time-the-custom-of-our-praying-was-brought-to-mind-how-we/) [Julian of Norwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-of-norwich/) > [Misunderstanding must be nakedly exposed before true understanding can begin to flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/misunderstanding-must-be-nakedly-exposed-before-true-understanding/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [Sexual chaos reigns currently, but out of chaos may flow true understanding and harmony, and either way Elvis almost singlehandedly opened the floodgates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/sexual-chaos-reigns-currently-but-out-of-chaos-may-flow-true/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“People of true understanding nourish sages and through them, nourish the whole world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wu-wei/people-of-true-understanding-nourish-sages-and-through-them-nourish/) [Wu Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wu-wei/) > [Hopefully, by the time I do a project, I already have a true understanding and love of what I'm about to do because if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/hopefully-by-the-time-i-do-a-project-i-already-have-a-true/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/if-you-use-your-mind-to-study-reality-you-won-t-understand-either/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [“He wills that we take ourselves with great strength to the faith of holy Church and find there our most precious mother in comfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-of-norwich/he-wills-that-we-take-ourselves-with-great-strength-to-the-faith-of/) [Julian of Norwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-of-norwich/) > [“Education is helping people understand something they don’t already understand. 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Metaphysics is not reality. Metaphysics is names about reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/historically-mystics-have-claimed-that-for-a-true-understanding-of/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [No man, without trials and temptations, can attain a true understanding of the Holy Scriptures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/no-man-without-trials-and-temptations-can-attain-a-true-understanding/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) ## More by Ken Liu > [I don't believe in reducing a style and a voice down to a set of descriptions, so I've never done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-don-t-believe-in-reducing-a-style-and-a-voice-down-to-a-set-of/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“My goal is to act as a faithful interpreter, preserving as much of the original's nuances of meaning as possible without embellishment or omission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-goal-is-to-act-as-a-faithful-interpreter-preserving-as-much-of-the/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“It’s hard to hear the music behind the words when their meanings get in the way,” she told me once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/it-s-hard-to-hear-the-music-behind-the-words-when-their-meanings-get/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [The 'silk' in silkpunk refers not to a source of power, but to an entirely different, expressive technology language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/the-silk-in-silkpunk-refers-not-to-a-source-of-power-but-to-an/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“A memory is a re-creation, precious because it is both more and less than the original.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/a-memory-is-a-re-creation-precious-because-it-is-both-more-and-less/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Almost all of my stories can be understood to be elaborations on our drive to remake the world and our adjustments to the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/almost-all-of-my-stories-can-be-understood-to-be-elaborations-on-our/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“Dad and I went on walking, our shadows touching.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/dad-and-i-went-on-walking-our-shadows-touching/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“I can only wish that someday you’ll also be pestered by a student as persistent to learn what you do not wish to teach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-can-only-wish-that-someday-you-ll-also-be-pestered-by-a-student-as/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I think male authors who want to try to tackle these issues of representation of women can generally do a better job if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-think-male-authors-who-want-to-try-to-tackle-these-issues-of/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“Surveillance is surveillance. I can never understand why some people think it matters whether it's the government doing it to you or a company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/surveillance-is-surveillance-i-can-never-understand-why-some-people/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Whenever you talk about Chinese dragons, emperors, palaces, concubines - they conjure up a whole colonial argle-bargle that has nothing to do with historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/whenever-you-talk-about-chinese-dragons-emperors-palaces-concubines/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [We have never had a society that was truly just. Some groups have always benefited at the expense of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/we-have-never-had-a-society-that-was-truly-just-some-groups-have/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“By custom, we wield the sword and wear the armor, but who among you does not know a mother, sister, daughter, friend, who exceeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/by-custom-we-wield-the-sword-and-wear-the-armor-but-who-among-you/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [My wife, Lisa, and I both grew up on wuxia - Chinese historical romances. They're kind of analogous to Western epics. They're based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-wife-lisa-and-i-both-grew-up-on-wuxia-chinese-historical-romances/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) [Explore all 114 Ken Liu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## 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. 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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. 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