--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With some exceptions in science fiction…" description: "\"With some exceptions in science fiction and other genres I have small difficulty in avoiding anything that could be called American literature. I feel ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/kingsley-amis-5258_american-literature_with-some-exceptions-in-science-fiction_2508497.png" --- # With some exceptions in science fiction and other genres I… ![“With some exceptions in science fiction and other genres I have small difficulty in avoiding anything that could be called American literature. I feel it is unnatural, not I think entirely because it uses a language that is not mine, however closely akin to my own.” quote by Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/kingsley-amis-5258_american-literature_with-some-exceptions-in-science-fiction_2508497.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/kingsley-amis-5258_american-literature_with-some-exceptions-in-science-fiction_2508497.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/kingsley-amis-5258_american-literature_with-some-exceptions-in-science-fiction_2508497.png) > “With some exceptions in science fiction and other genres I have small difficulty in avoiding anything that could be called American literature. I feel it is unnatural, not I think entirely because it uses a language that is not mine, however closely akin to my own.” [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## 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 expresses difficulty reading American literature due to linguistic differences, yet feels a close affinity to it. **In simple terms:** Struggling with language in foreign literature. Key Takeaway Embrace the challenge of reading diverse voices. Themes language identity literature Mood reflective introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - studying foreign novels - language learning - literary analysis Key Concepts cultural translation literary criticism national identity Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape literary appreciation? - Can cultural distance enrich reading? A Different Perspective The claim may be subjective and not universally applicable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I look at western literature and especially North American literature, and I feel like it gets bogged down so much with all of that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/i-look-at-western-literature-and-especially-north-american-literature/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [The businessman who is a novelist is able to drop in on literature and feel no suicidal loss of esteem if the lady is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-businessman-who-is-a-novelist-is-able-to-drop-in-on-literature/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [Dagwood Bumstead was a great unrecognized hero of American literature. He showed up every day, he got knocked down every day, he never got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-brooks/dagwood-bumstead-was-a-great-unrecognized-hero-of-american-literature/) [James L. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/) > [“Sociologically, politically, psychologically, spiritually, it was never enough for James Baldwin to categorize himself as one thing or the other: not just black, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/sociologically-politically-psychologically-spiritually-it-was-never/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [“I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-reckon-i-got-to-light-out-for-the-territory-ahead-of-the-rest/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Here is one of the fundamental defects of American fiction--perhaps the one character that sets it off sharply from all other known kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/here-is-one-of-the-fundamental-defects-of-american-fiction-perhaps/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [“Don Raimondo tells me what he can’t tell them. “The emptiness on the surface of a wall left by a sold bookshelf is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erri-deluca/don-raimondo-tells-me-what-he-can-t-tell-them-the-emptiness-on-the/) Erri DeLuca > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) ## More by Kingsley Amis > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“There was no excuse which didn't consist of inexcusable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/there-was-no-excuse-which-didn-t-consist-of-inexcusable/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The rewards for being sane may not be very many, but knowing what's funny is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-rewards-for-being-sane-may-not-be-very-many-but-knowing-what-s/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The human race has not devised any way of dissolving barriers, getting to know the other chap fast, breaking the ice, that is one-tenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-human-race-has-not-devised-any-way-of-dissolving-barriers-getting/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“{Rogers} sexual aim is “to convert a creature who is cool, dry, calm, articulate, independent, purposeful into a creature who is the opposite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/rogers-sexual-aim-is-to-convert-a-creature-who-is-cool-dry-calm/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [If there's one word that sums up everything that's gone wrong since the war, it's Workshop. After Youth, that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-there-s-one-word-that-sums-up-everything-that-s-gone-wrong-since/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Jake was close to tears. In that moment he saw the world in its true light, as a place where nothing had ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/jake-was-close-to-tears-in-that-moment-he-saw-the-world-in-its-true/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [It scored right away with me by being the smooth, fine-grained sort, not the coarse flaky, dry-on-the-outside rubbish full of chunds of gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-scored-right-away-with-me-by-being-the-smooth-fine-grained-sort/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [It's never pleasant to have one's unquestioning beliefs put in their historical context, as I know from experience, I can assure you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-s-never-pleasant-to-have-one-s-unquestioning-beliefs-put-in-their/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“Jake did a quick run-through of women in his mind, not of the ones he had known or dealt with in the past few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/jake-did-a-quick-run-through-of-women-in-his-mind-not-of-the-ones-he/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“I don't allow people of your sort to stand in my way. That's what you're leaving out of account. I'm having Christine because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/i-don-t-allow-people-of-your-sort-to-stand-in-my-way-that-s-what-you/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [If you are using an adverb, you have got the verb wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-you-are-using-an-adverb-you-have-got-the-verb-wrong/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Outside every fat man there is an even fatter man trying to close in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/outside-every-fat-man-there-is-an-even-fatter-man-trying-to-close-in/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“When the bishop farted we were amused to hear about it. Should the ploughboy find treasure we must be told. But when the ploughboy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/when-the-bishop-farted-we-were-amused-to-hear-about-it-should-the/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) [Explore all 102 Kingsley Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## More American literature quotes > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [“Don Raimondo tells me what he can’t tell them. “The emptiness on the surface of a wall left by a sold bookshelf is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erri-deluca/don-raimondo-tells-me-what-he-can-t-tell-them-the-emptiness-on-the/) Erri DeLuca > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [Here is one of the fundamental defects of American fiction--perhaps the one character that sets it off sharply from all other known kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/here-is-one-of-the-fundamental-defects-of-american-fiction-perhaps/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-reckon-i-got-to-light-out-for-the-territory-ahead-of-the-rest/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Sociologically, politically, psychologically, spiritually, it was never enough for James Baldwin to categorize himself as one thing or the other: not just black, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/sociologically-politically-psychologically-spiritually-it-was-never/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Dagwood Bumstead was a great unrecognized hero of American literature. He showed up every day, he got knocked down every day, he never got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-brooks/dagwood-bumstead-was-a-great-unrecognized-hero-of-american-literature/) [James L. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/) > [All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-modern-american-literature-comes-from-one-book-by-mark-twain/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together-they-do-make-an-argument-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) [Browse all 144 American literature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With some exceptions in science fiction and other genres I have small difficulty in avoiding anything that could be called American literature. 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