--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At times I wondered whether writing was…" description: "\"“At times I wondered whether writing was not a solipsistic luxury in countries like mine, where there were scant readers, so many people who were poor ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_books_at-times-i-wondered-whether-writing-was_2178214.png" --- # At times I wondered whether writing was not a solipsistic… ![“At times I wondered whether writing was not a solipsistic luxury in countries like mine, where there were scant readers, so many people who were poor and illiterate, so much injustice, and where culture was a privilege of the few. These doubts, however, never stifled my calling, and I always kept…” quote by Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_books_at-times-i-wondered-whether-writing-was_2178214.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_books_at-times-i-wondered-whether-writing-was_2178214.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_books_at-times-i-wondered-whether-writing-was_2178214.png) > ““At times I wondered whether writing was not a solipsistic luxury in countries like mine, where there were scant readers, so many people who were poor and illiterate, so much injustice, and where culture was a privilege of the few. These doubts, however, never stifled my calling, and I always kept writing even during those periods when earning a living absorbed most of my time. I believe I did the right thing, since if, for literature to flourish, it was first necessary for a society to achieve high culture, freedom, prosperity, and justice, it never would have existed. But thanks to literature, to the consciousness it shapes, the desires and longings it inspires, and our disenchantment with reality when we return from the journey to a beautiful fantasy, civilization is now less cruel than when storytellers began to humanize life with their fables. We would be worse than we are without the good books we have read, more conformist, not as restless, more submissive, and the critical spirit, the engine of progress, would not even exist. Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life. When we look in fiction for what is missing in life, we are saying, with no need to say it or even to know it, that life as it is does not satisfy our thirst for the absolute – the foundation of the human condition – and should be better. We invent fictions in order to live somehow the many lives we would like to lead when we barely have one at our disposal.”” [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature is a vital, transformative force that challenges injustice, nurtures consciousness, and fuels societal progress despite scarcity of readers and material hardship. **In simple terms:** Books shape minds and inspire change. Key Takeaway Write and read to challenge and improve society. Themes literature justice culture humanism progress Mood reflective inspirational critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education reform - community reading programs - policy advocacy for arts funding - personal writing practice Key Concepts critical spirit social consciousness imaginative empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does fiction reveal societal gaps? - What role does reading play in personal empowerment? A Different Perspective Limited access to books can hinder impact; requires supportive infrastructure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Critical spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical-spirit/) [Good book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-book/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-saying/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“We would be worse than we are without the good books we have read, more conformist, not as restless, more submissive, and the critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/we-would-be-worse-than-we-are-without-the-good-books-we-have-read/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“words, literature, are not in the consciousness of the person who writes but in his fingers and the paper and the typewriter, just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-muxf1oz-molina/words-literature-are-not-in-the-consciousness-of-the-person-who/) Antonio Muxf1oz Molina > [What I am going to write is the last of what I have to say. I will say that literature is the only consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/what-i-am-going-to-write-is-the-last-of-what-i-have-to-say-i-will-say/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Good novel is a conjunction of many factors, the main of which is, without a doubt, hard work. There are many things behind a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/good-novel-is-a-conjunction-of-many-factors-the-main-of-which-is/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [There are many things behind a good novel, but in particular there is a lot of work - a lot of patience, a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/there-are-many-things-behind-a-good-novel-but-in-particular-there-is/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [ \[About the great synthesis of atomic physics in the 1920s:\] It was a heroic time. It was not the doing of any one man;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/about-the-great-synthesis-of-atomic-physics-in-the-1920s-it-was-a/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/no-pessimist-ever-discovered-the-secrets-of-the-stars/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“This inherent sin nature in unbelievers and the residual sinful patterns in believers cause those with a critical spirit to see others as inferior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-hunt/this-inherent-sin-nature-in-unbelievers-and-the-residual-sinful/) [June Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-hunt/) > [“I won’t desecrate beauty with cynicism anymore. I won’t confuse critical thinking with a critical spirit, and I will practice, painfully, over and over,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bessey/i-won-t-desecrate-beauty-with-cynicism-anymore-i-won-t-confuse-2/) [Sarah Bessey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bessey/) > [“Some people have become so critical-minded that no matter what is done for them, it’s not right. They never see the good their spouses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/some-people-have-become-so-critical-minded-that-no-matter-what-is/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“A man who called everyone a damn fool is like a man who damns the weather. He only shows that he is not adapted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/a-man-who-called-everyone-a-damn-fool-is-like-a-man-who-damns-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“James intentionally enlarges the scope of suffering when he writes, “trials of many kinds.” By doing this, he invites those who experience depression to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-t-welch/james-intentionally-enlarges-the-scope-of-suffering-when-he-writes/) [Edward T. Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-t-welch/) > [Life without Liberty is like a body without spirit. Liberty without thought is like a disturbed spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/life-without-liberty-is-like-a-body-without-spirit-liberty-without/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“The New Testament was not written by historians with the critical spirit of a Thucydides or a Polybius, but by men moved by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-perry/the-new-testament-was-not-written-by-historians-with-the-critical/) Marvin Perry > [“I won't desecrate beauty with cynicism anymore. I won't confuse critical thinking with a critical spirit, and I will practice, painfully, over and over,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bessey/i-won-t-desecrate-beauty-with-cynicism-anymore-i-won-t-confuse/) [Sarah Bessey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bessey/) ## More by Mario Vargas Llosa > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I learnt to read when I was five, and I think that is the most important thing that happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-learnt-to-read-when-i-was-five-and-i-think-that-is-the-most/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Death isn't enough. It doesn't remove the stain. But a slap, a whiplash, square on the face, does. Because a man's face is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/death-isn-t-enough-it-doesn-t-remove-the-stain-but-a-slap-a-whiplash/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The writer’s job is to write with rigor, with commitment, to defend what they believe with all the talent they have. I think that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-writer-s-job-is-to-write-with-rigor-with-commitment-to-defend/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-truths-that-seem-most-truthful-if-you-look-at-them-from-all-sides/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [That is one thing I am sure of amid my many uncertainties regarding the literary vocation: deep inside, a writer feels that writing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/that-is-one-thing-i-am-sure-of-amid-my-many-uncertainties-regarding/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I think if you're impregnated with good literature, with good culture, you're much more difficult to manipulate, and you're much more aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-if-you-re-impregnated-with-good-literature-with-good-culture/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Each book, for me, has been an adventure, a period of time dedicated to study, to document certain facts, to traveling, and also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/each-book-for-me-has-been-an-adventure-a-period-of-time-dedicated-to/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Reading good literature is an experience of pleasure...but it is also an experience of learning what and how we are, in our human integrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/reading-good-literature-is-an-experience-of-pleasure-but-it-is-also/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“O comes o te comen, no hay más remedio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/o-comes-o-te-comen-no-hay-m-s-remedio/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“they knew what we’re doing for them, they’d kiss our feet. But mentally they are closer to the crocodile and the hippopotamus than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/they-knew-what-we-re-doing-for-them-they-d-kiss-our-feet-but-mentally/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Iraq is better without Saddam Hussein than with Saddam Hussein. Without a doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/iraq-is-better-without-saddam-hussein-than-with-saddam-hussein/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [When I was growing up, the Spanish-speaking world was Balkanized. We were isolated. We didn't know what was happening in cultural terms in Ecuador,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/when-i-was-growing-up-the-spanish-speaking-world-was-balkanized-we/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Explore all 166 Mario Vargas Llosa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) ## 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. 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": "“At times I wondered whether writing was not a solipsistic luxury in countries like mine, where there were scant readers, so many people who were poor and illiterate, so much injustice, and where culture was a privilege of the few. These doubts, however, never stifled my calling, and I always kept writing even during those periods when earning a living absorbed most of my time. I believe I did the right thing, since if, for literature to flourish, it was first necessary for a society to achieve high culture, freedom, prosperity, and justice, it never would have existed. But thanks to literature, to the consciousness it shapes, the desires and longings it inspires, and our disenchantment with reality when we return from the journey to a beautiful fantasy, civilization is now less cruel than when storytellers began to humanize life with their fables. We would be worse than we are without the good books we have read, more conformist, not as restless, more submissive, and the critical spirit, the engine of progress, would not even exist. Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life. When we look in fiction for what is missing in life, we are saying, with no need to say it or even to know it, that life as it is does not satisfy our thirst for the absolute – the foundation of the human condition – and should be better. 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