--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The novelistic attribute of my work is…" description: "\"The novelistic attribute of my work is very much like the Russian way of creating novels. Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky - their work has so many gaps. But for t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/lav-diaz-37515_attributes_the-novelistic-attribute-of-my-work-is-v_2202221.jpg" --- # The novelistic attribute of my work is very much like the… ![“The novelistic attribute of my work is very much like the Russian way of creating novels. Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky - their work has so many gaps. But for the reader, you cannot erase those gaps because they are important. They contextualize the whole struggle. My cinema is like that.” quote by Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/lav-diaz-37515_attributes_the-novelistic-attribute-of-my-work-is-v_2202221.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/lav-diaz-37515_attributes_the-novelistic-attribute-of-my-work-is-v_2202221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/lav-diaz-37515_attributes_the-novelistic-attribute-of-my-work-is-v_2202221.jpg) > “The novelistic attribute of my work is very much like the Russian way of creating novels. Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky - their work has so many gaps. But for the reader, you cannot erase those gaps because they are important. They contextualize the whole struggle. My cinema is like that.” [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. His filmmaking embraces intentional narrative gaps, mirroring Russian novelists, to engage viewers in active interpretation. **In simple terms:** He leaves story spaces for audience to fill. Key Takeaway Use gaps to deepen audience involvement. Themes storytelling cinema interpretation Mood thoughtful introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - film analysis - creative writing - lecture discussion Key Concepts narrative structure reader participation Questions to Reflect On - How do you feel when a story leaves unanswered questions? - What role does ambiguity play in your own work? A Different Perspective Gaps may frustrate viewers seeking clear plot. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creating Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating-novels-4842341/) [Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dostoyevsky/) [Dostoyevsky Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dostoyevsky-work-4842342/) [Erase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erase/) [Gaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaps/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novelistic Attribute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelistic-attribute-4842339/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-tolstoy-4842340/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [The soul is healed by being with children. --Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-soul-is-healed-by-being-with-children-fyodor-dostoyevsky/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Two kinds of writers. Those who think this life is all there is, and want to describe everything: the fall, the battle, the accouchement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/two-kinds-of-writers-those-who-think-this-life-is-all-there-is-and/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Many a person has been saved from summer alcoholism, not to mention hypertoxicity, by Dostoyevsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/many-a-person-has-been-saved-from-summer-alcoholism-not-to-mention/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [A cultivated and decent man cannot be vain without setting a fearfully high standard for himself, and without despising and almost hating himself at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-cultivated-and-decent-man-cannot-be-vain-without-setting-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Dostoyevsky says, “love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams” (The Brothers Karamazov).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/dostoyevsky-says-love-in-action-is-a-harsh-and-dreadful-thing/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [In adopting the form of the adventure novel, Wells deepened it, raised its intellectual value, and brought into it elements of social philosophy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/in-adopting-the-form-of-the-adventure-novel-wells-deepened-it-raised/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“You must write as if Dostoyevsky himself will be reading your novel, and Shakespeare will be acting it out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-westover/you-must-write-as-if-dostoyevsky-himself-will-be-reading-your-novel/) [Christina Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-westover/) > [As a piece of literacy criticism, Freud's best writing is about Dostoyevsky. It's a kind of displaced literacy criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-potter/as-a-piece-of-literacy-criticism-freud-s-best-writing-is-about/) [Dennis Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-potter/) > [“When you’re surrounded by endless possibilities, one of the hardest things you can do is pass them up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-you-re-surrounded-by-endless-possibilities-one-of-the-hardest/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Gogol was usually the leading social poet, while Dostoyevsky usually the leading psychological poet. The former is known as the representative of the contemporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerian-maykov/gogol-was-usually-the-leading-social-poet-while-dostoyevsky-usually/) [Valerian Maykov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerian-maykov/) > [ “\[Dostoyevsky\] eloquently proves that heartless ideas are often a source of immorality: they bring with them destructiveness, hatred, cynicism, and misanthropy. The novelist also… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-l-kline/dostoyevsky-eloquently-proves-that-heartless-ideas-are-often-a-source/) [George L. Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-l-kline/) > [If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/if-they-can-learn-to-say-tchaikovsky-and-michelangelo-and-dostoyevsky/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [“From an encounter in 1862... “Dickens told me,” Dostoyevsky recalled in a letter written years later, “that all the good, simple people in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/from-an-encounter-in-1862-dickens-told-me-dostoyevsky-recalled-in-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“A novel! Why do you say this won't liberate anyone? Where does any man go to be free, whether he is poor or rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-novel-why-do-you-say-this-won-t-liberate-anyone-where-does-any-man/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More by Lav Diaz > [I'm not hoping to see that day but I know that my cinema will reach Filipinos. I know that they will embrace it one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/i-m-not-hoping-to-see-that-day-but-i-know-that-my-cinema-will-reach/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [I make films, and festivals, museums, and academia are embracing the work. It will be heard. It's bound to happen because cinema is universal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/i-make-films-and-festivals-museums-and-academia-are-embracing-the/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [There is no border in my films. You can see yourself in these stories. This is the greatest thing about the power of cinema.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/there-is-no-border-in-my-films-you-can-see-yourself-in-these-stories/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > ["Filipino" is the Spanish side of our history. The islands were named after King Felipe, so we became known as Filipinos. It's a brand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/filipino-is-the-spanish-side-of-our-history-the-islands-were-named/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [I'm very fatalistic about life. Whatever happens, happens. The imperative for me is that I do my contribution for my people, for my culture.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/i-m-very-fatalistic-about-life-whatever-happens-happens-the/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [I'm interested in the cultural thing - music, then eventually cinema. I think it's part of my struggle as a cultural worker. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/i-m-interested-in-the-cultural-thing-music-then-eventually-cinema-i/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [When I was trying to create this so-called Lav Diaz verité, it just happened. At some point, I became very comfortable with the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/when-i-was-trying-to-create-this-so-called-lav-diaz-verit-it-just/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [Even if I made pornography, the trauma would show, though. It will always be there because it's my verité. It's my kind of narrative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/even-if-i-made-pornography-the-trauma-would-show-though-it-will/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [There is no border. I'm branding my films as Malay cinema, but it's just about cinema. Everything that I make is about humanity's struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/there-is-no-border-i-m-branding-my-films-as-malay-cinema-but-it-s/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [Cinema is the greatest mirror of humanity's struggle. You see this alternative world, but you're part of it. Everybody is part of it. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/cinema-is-the-greatest-mirror-of-humanity-s-struggle-you-see-this/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [I can easily go to America, or I can easily escape to some places in Europe with friends. But the place for me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/i-can-easily-go-to-america-or-i-can-easily-escape-to-some-places-in/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) [Explore all 12 Lav Diaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) ## More Attributes quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/developing-christlike-attributes-in-our-lives-is-not-an-easy-task/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) [Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The novelistic attribute of my work is very much like the Russian way of creating novels. Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky - their work has so many gaps. But for the reader, you cannot erase those gaps because they are important. They contextualize the whole struggle. 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