--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels function and the power of novels…" description: "\"Novels function and the power of novels function because of their stories.\" — Mohsin Hamid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/mohsin-hamid-798_books_novels-function-and-the-power-of-novels_158384.jpg" --- # Novels function and the power of novels function because… ![“Novels function and the power of novels function because of their stories.” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/mohsin-hamid-798_books_novels-function-and-the-power-of-novels_158384.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/mohsin-hamid-798_books_novels-function-and-the-power-of-novels_158384.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/mohsin-hamid-798_books_novels-function-and-the-power-of-novels_158384.jpg) > “Novels function and the power of novels function because of their stories.” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories give novels their power, shaping their function and impact. **In simple terms:** Stories drive the purpose and influence of novels. Key Takeaway Value storytelling as the core of literary impact. Themes literature storytelling influence purpose Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reading - writing - education - media analysis Key Concepts narrative structure cultural reflection empathy Questions to Reflect On - What story has most shaped your worldview? - How do narratives affect societal change? A Different Perspective Stories alone may not guarantee quality or relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Function Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function-stories-1744362/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-function-1744360/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-novels-1744361/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I don't necessarily think stories have functions any more than diamonds have functions, or the sky has a function... Stories exist. They keep us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-necessarily-think-stories-have-functions-any-more-than/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Novels are make-believe and play for adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/novels-are-make-believe-and-play-for-adults/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Only in novels can we take another human being into our head and create something jointly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/only-in-novels-can-we-take-another-human-being-into-our-head-and/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I don't think the function of writing, at least for me as a fiction writer, is to say to people, "Here's the answer." It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-don-t-think-the-function-of-writing-at-least-for-me-as-a-fiction/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I seem always to have two or three novels going at once. It takes me a long time to finish one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-seem-always-to-have-two-or-three-novels-going-at-once-it-takes-me-a/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [At Oxford University, I studied languages so I could read the great novels as they were originally written. I took what in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/at-oxford-university-i-studied-languages-so-i-could-read-the-great/) [Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/) > [When you're writing a novel, you spend four years sitting in your basement and a year waiting for the book to come out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [All novels are about crime. You'd be hard pressed to find any novel that does not have an element of crime. I don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/all-novels-are-about-crime-you-d-be-hard-pressed-to-find-any-novel/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [In ordinary detective novels you never see the consequences of what happens in a story in the next book. That you do in mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-ordinary-detective-novels-you-never-see-the-consequences-of-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I have often heard that the novel is dead. But I see novels produced, I don't know how many a week, in France. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/i-have-often-heard-that-the-novel-is-dead-but-i-see-novels-produced-i/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [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/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“I met her eyes, and for the first time I perceived that there was something broken behind them, like a tiny crack in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-met-her-eyes-and-for-the-first-time-i-perceived-that-there-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“muscularity, made more pronounced by her gauntness, and the near-inanimate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/muscularity-made-more-pronounced-by-her-gauntness-and-the-near/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“In this group, everyone was foreign, and so, in a sense, no one was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/in-this-group-everyone-was-foreign-and-so-in-a-sense-no-one-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“It seemed to me then - and to be honest, sir, seems to me still - that America was engaged only in posturing. 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I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." 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