--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I often have the impression that the book…" description: "\"I often have the impression that the book I've just finished isn't satisfied: that it rejects me because I haven't successfully completed it. Because t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/patrick-modiano-14360_back_i-often-have-the-impression-that-the-boo_2207207.jpg" --- # I often have the impression that the book I've just… ![“I often have the impression that the book I've just finished isn't satisfied: that it rejects me because I haven't successfully completed it. Because there is no going back, I'm forced to begin a new book so I can finally complete the previous one.” quote by Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/patrick-modiano-14360_back_i-often-have-the-impression-that-the-boo_2207207.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/patrick-modiano-14360_back_i-often-have-the-impression-that-the-boo_2207207.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/patrick-modiano-14360_back_i-often-have-the-impression-that-the-boo_2207207.jpg) > “I often have the impression that the book I've just finished isn't satisfied: that it rejects me because I haven't successfully completed it. Because there is no going back, I'm forced to begin a new book so I can finally complete the previous one.” [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unfinished work can feel like personal rejection, urging us to start anew to find closure. **In simple terms:** Unfinished tasks feel like personal failure. Key Takeaway Finish what you start for peace. Themes completion self‑criticism renewal Mood thoughtful motivational Type inspirational self‑help When to use this quote - writing projects - academic research - personal goals Key Concepts existentialism creative process psychology Questions to Reflect On - What unfinished task haunts you? - How can you reframe incompletion? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Finally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-finally-2750567/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Complete Previous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complete-previous-4873730/) [Finished Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished-isn-4873729/) [Impression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impression/) [Isn Satisfied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isn-satisfied-2956135/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-book/) [Rejects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejects/) ## Related quotes > [You've got to understand when a collaborator isn't satisfied anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/you-ve-got-to-understand-when-a-collaborator-isn-t-satisfied-anymore/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [“I kept waiting for the book to appear. The wait grew more frustrating when my son entered school and was taught the same things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/i-kept-waiting-for-the-book-to-appear-the-wait-grew-more-frustrating/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [Every book for me is a chapter in the long book which will finally be closed on the day of my death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/every-book-for-me-is-a-chapter-in-the-long-book-which-will-finally-be/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“book finally took shape. The contributions of Susan Ginsburg, my agent, are incalculable and very much appreciated,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-smith/book-finally-took-shape-the-contributions-of-susan-ginsburg-my-agent/) [Martin J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-smith/) > [A new book is like a friend that I have yet to meet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-new-book-is-like-a-friend-that-i-have-yet-to-meet/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [When a new book comes out or becomes accessible in whatever form, I get it and I read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/when-a-new-book-comes-out-or-becomes-accessible-in-whatever-form-i/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [Each new book is a tremendous challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-straub/each-new-book-is-a-tremendous-challenge/) [Peter Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-straub/) > [I decided he'd changed so much that a whole new book was required and that book actually I can say so was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/i-decided-he-d-changed-so-much-that-a-whole-new-book-was-required-and/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [“I believe, unless I had a new book, I was never happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-teresa-of-avila/i-believe-unless-i-had-a-new-book-i-was-never-happy/) [Saint Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-teresa-of-avila/) > [My new book am reading looks fun right yeah ik it does lol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira/my-new-book-am-reading-looks-fun-right-yeah-ik-it-does-lol/) [Maira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira/) > [I really strive to bring something new to each book. I don't want to write the same book over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crais/i-really-strive-to-bring-something-new-to-each-book-i-don-t-want-to/) [Robert Crais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crais/) > [In my new book, 'Birth,' my goal is to share the path I have traveled in the spiritual sphere and in the business and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-arison/in-my-new-book-birth-my-goal-is-to-share-the-path-i-have-traveled-in/) [Shari Arison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-arison/) > [“Archie wasn't waiting for her at the attic. She didn't consider that. He was probably giving her time to set and collect a trap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perie-wolford/archie-wasn-t-waiting-for-her-at-the-attic-she-didn-t-consider-that/) [Perie Wolford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perie-wolford/) > [Frazzled and delirious, as I've just finished a new book of stories. I feel like Moses staggering down the mountainside with the tablets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/frazzled-and-delirious-as-i-ve-just-finished-a-new-book-of-stories-i/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) ## More by Patrick Modiano > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I write in the most classical French because this form is necessary for my novels: to translate the murky, floating, unsettling atmosphere I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/i-write-in-the-most-classical-french-because-this-form-is-necessary/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [On winning Literature Nobel Prize: I was actually in the street. Yes, I was in the street. It was my daughter who notified me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/on-winning-literature-nobel-prize-i-was-actually-in-the-street-yes-i/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [Encourage aspiring writers to continue writing when things are going against them, when it feels hard. Explain the typical obstacles that occur, and encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/encourage-aspiring-writers-to-continue-writing-when-things-are-going/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [“For me the autumn has never been a sad season. The dead leaves and the increasingly shorter days have never suggested the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/for-me-the-autumn-has-never-been-a-sad-season-the-dead-leaves-and-the/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [Something happens between a novel and its reader which is similar to the process of developing photographs, the way they did it before the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/something-happens-between-a-novel-and-its-reader-which-is-similar-to/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [A novelist can never be his own reader, except when he is ridding his manuscript of syntax errors, repetitions, or the occasional superfluous paragraph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/a-novelist-can-never-be-his-own-reader-except-when-he-is-ridding-his/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [For a long time, I've had a recurring dream - I dream I don't have to write any more, that I'm free. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/for-a-long-time-i-ve-had-a-recurring-dream-i-dream-i-don-t-have-to/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [Really, I prefer not to read my early books. Not that I don't like them, but I don't recognize myself anymore, like an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/really-i-prefer-not-to-read-my-early-books-not-that-i-don-t-like-them/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I think I became a writer because I didn't know of anything else to do. Maybe some incident from my childhood influenced me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/i-think-i-became-a-writer-because-i-didn-t-know-of-anything-else-to/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [A man without scenery is completely disarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/a-man-without-scenery-is-completely-disarmed/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [The more things remain obscure and mysterious, the more they interest me. I even try to find mystery in things that have none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/the-more-things-remain-obscure-and-mysterious-the-more-they-interest/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I just have two daughters and a grandson. So not a big family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/i-just-have-two-daughters-and-a-grandson-so-not-a-big-family/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I quickly realised that it is difficult to get started when writing a novel. You have this dream of what you want to create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/i-quickly-realised-that-it-is-difficult-to-get-started-when-writing-a/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [My wife's a lot younger than me ... thirty years difference . . . You should never marry a woman a lot younger than you ... Never ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/my-wife-s-a-lot-younger-than-me-thirty-years-difference-you-should/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) [Explore all 32 Patrick Modiano quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) ## More Back quotes > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I honestly would like to get that Frankie fight back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/i-honestly-would-like-to-get-that-frankie-fight-back/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [Drumming's pretty physical. We sit at the back of the stage getting beat up like a workhorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/drumming-s-pretty-physical-we-sit-at-the-back-of-the-stage-getting/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [I never want to look back on any moment and say I could have done more. So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [It's what the people wanted at the time, but the country could not be half-segregated and half-integrated, just as it could not be half-slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wallace/it-s-what-the-people-wanted-at-the-time-but-the-country-could-not-be/) [George Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wallace/) > [I've always stuck my arms behind my back anyway when trying to block a shot in the penalty area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/i-ve-always-stuck-my-arms-behind-my-back-anyway-when-trying-to-block/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ewing/i-m-sure-at-some-point-i-will-get-back-into-coaching-but-right-now-i/) [Patrick Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ewing/) > [Any time someone achieves success before they've earned it, it always comes back to haunt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/any-time-someone-achieves-success-before-they-ve-earned-it-it-always/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [We're all painfully aware of how suddenly violence can occur, how crippling it is, and how survivors have to find a way back from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/we-re-all-painfully-aware-of-how-suddenly-violence-can-occur-how/) [Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/) [Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/) [Browse all 9,709 Back quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I often have the impression that the book I've just finished isn't satisfied: that it rejects me because I haven't successfully completed it. 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