--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The novel avoids the sublime and seeks…" description: "\"The novel avoids the sublime and seeks out the interesting.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/mason-cooley-92_books_the-novel-avoids-the-sublime-and-seeks-o_481187.png" --- # The novel avoids the sublime and seeks out the interesting. ![“The novel avoids the sublime and seeks out the interesting.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/mason-cooley-92_books_the-novel-avoids-the-sublime-and-seeks-o_481187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/mason-cooley-92_books_the-novel-avoids-the-sublime-and-seeks-o_481187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/mason-cooley-92_books_the-novel-avoids-the-sublime-and-seeks-o_481187.png) > “The novel avoids the sublime and seeks out the interesting.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novel chooses interesting details over lofty, awe‑inspiring themes. **In simple terms:** Novels favor interesting over sublime. Key Takeaway Value concrete details in writing. Themes literature focus interest Mood reflective analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - book clubs - teaching literature Key Concepts narrative focus aesthetic choice Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story interesting to you? - When is the sublime appropriate? A Different Perspective Focusing on interest may neglect deeper emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoids Sublime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoids-sublime-4137611/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Avoids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-avoids-4137610/) [Seeks Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeks-interesting-4137612/) [Sublime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublime/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Telescopes and binoculars endanger the ever-distant sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/telescopes-and-binoculars-endanger-the-ever-distant-sublime/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [He had opened his heart to the sublime indifference of the universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/he-had-opened-his-heart-to-the-sublime-indifference-of-the-universe/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Beauty should be shared for it enhances our joys. To explore its mystery is to venture towards the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cornell/beauty-should-be-shared-for-it-enhances-our-joys-to-explore-its/) [Joseph Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cornell/) > [Love is the suspension of reality in favor of the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-fry/love-is-the-suspension-of-reality-in-favor-of-the-sublime/) [Jeffrey Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-fry/) > [When authors and critics talk of the sublime, they see not how nearly it borders on the ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/when-authors-and-critics-talk-of-the-sublime-they-see-not-how-nearly/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Only by chancing the ridiculous, can I hope for the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-defeo/only-by-chancing-the-ridiculous-can-i-hope-for-the-sublime/) [Jay DeFeo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-defeo/) > [The sublime is only a step removed from the ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-sublime-is-only-a-step-removed-from-the-ridiculous/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/whatever-is-fitted-in-any-sort-to-excite-the-ideas-of-pain-and-danger/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You start out with the sublime and you end up in an alley jerking away for dear life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/you-start-out-with-the-sublime-and-you-end-up-in-an-alley-jerking/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [To bring the sublime into the mundane is the greatest challenge there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-bring-the-sublime-into-the-mundane-is-the-greatest-challenge-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sublime places gently move us to acknowledge limitations that we might otherwise encounter with anxiety or anger in the ordinary flow of events. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/sublime-places-gently-move-us-to-acknowledge-limitations-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Some of the things you say are sublime and monstrous at once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/some-of-the-things-you-say-are-sublime-and-monstrous-at-once/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [It is not without trepidation that I have appropriated the codes of the Sublime and the Picturesque in my work. After all, serious photographers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pfahl/it-is-not-without-trepidation-that-i-have-appropriated-the-codes-of/) [John Pfahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pfahl/) > [My idea being that for the sublime and the beautiful and the interesting, you do not have to look far away. 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