Boys Quote by Paul Auster
![“[Lev] Tolstoy is not a boy-writer. He's a grown-up. And [Fedor] Doestoeivski is not a boy-writer.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9dd/paul-auster-351_boys_lev-tolstoy-is-not-a-boy-writer-he-s-a-g_2090146.jpg)
“[Lev] Tolstoy is not a boy-writer. He's a grown-up. And [Fedor] Doestoeivski is not a boy-writer.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Literary Critique, 1995
Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are mature writers, not juveniles.
In simple terms: Great authors are mature, not childish.
Key Takeaway
Respect the depth of classic literature.
Themes
literature
authorial maturity
respect
Mood
thoughtful
respectful
Type
critical
analytical
When to use this quote
- academic study
- book club
- teaching literature
Key Concepts
Russian classics
author analysis
Questions to Reflect On
- How does author maturity affect reading?
- What defines a ‘boy‑writer’?
A Different Perspective
Maturity is subjective; some may view early works as youthful.
![“I would say it was [ifluence] all the Greeks and the Russian classics like [Lev] Tolstoy, [Andrey] Goncharov,[Fedor] Dostoyevsky, [Alexander] Pushkin, and the international classics in Russian translation like Victor Hugo, George Sand, Charlotte Bronte, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain.” quote by Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/002/vera-nazarian-1671_bronte_i-would-say-it-was-ifluence-all-the-gree_2921445.jpg)
![“In high school I read [Lev] Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" and loved it. Then I read [Friedrich] Nietzsche's "On the Genealogy of Morals" and that hit me hard. I don't know where I got it. My parents warned me not to mention either of those books when I went for my college interviews so I wouldn't seem…” quote by Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d5f/stephen-greenblatt-10786_anna_in-high-school-i-read-lev-tolstoy-s-anna_2323091.jpg)
![“How many really great writers are there who are totally non-political? You can hear the French Revolution in the poetry of [Percy Bysshe] Shelly and [John] Wordsworth; you can sense the vast inequalities of Tsarist Russia in [Anton] Chekhov and [Lev] Tolstoy.” quote by Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/544/adam-hochschild-4138_chekhov_how-many-really-great-writers-are-there_1459719.jpg)
![“While my stories are experimental, they're also very traditional. I love the works of the great Russian writers like [Pavel] Chekhov and [Lev] Tolstoy, and their ability to portray our human struggles and joys.” quote by Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c1a/alexander-weinstein-17341_ability_while-my-stories-are-experimental-they-r_2873313.jpg)
![“I'm happy to have interns at The Weekly Standard and happy to have readers of The Weekly Standard, but if you all tell me that you were busy reading Plato and [Lev] Tolstoy and playing violin in the orchestra, I'd say that was great. I wouldn't tell you to take time out from that to get involved…” quote by William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf8/william-kristol-9091_books_i-m-happy-to-have-interns-at-the-weekly_2999389.jpg)
