--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sometimes feel that my goal as a…" description: "\"I sometimes feel that my goal as a novelist would be to write a novel in which the language was so transparent that the reader would forget that langua..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/paul-auster-351_books_i-sometimes-feel-that-my-goal-as-a-novel_2688092.jpg" --- # I sometimes feel that my goal as a novelist would be to… ![“I sometimes feel that my goal as a novelist would be to write a novel in which the language was so transparent that the reader would forget that language was the medium of understanding. Of course that's not possible, but it's some sort of idealized goal.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/paul-auster-351_books_i-sometimes-feel-that-my-goal-as-a-novel_2688092.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/paul-auster-351_books_i-sometimes-feel-that-my-goal-as-a-novel_2688092.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/paul-auster-351_books_i-sometimes-feel-that-my-goal-as-a-novel_2688092.jpg) > “I sometimes feel that my goal as a novelist would be to write a novel in which the language was so transparent that the reader would forget that language was the medium of understanding. Of course that's not possible, but it's some sort of idealized goal.” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A novelist aims for language so clear it becomes invisible, though unattainable. **In simple terms:** Strive for transparent language that fades away. Key Takeaway Pursue clarity while acknowledging limits. Themes writing transparency idealism Mood reflective literary Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - novels - creative writing - editing Key Concepts literary style reader immersion Questions to Reflect On - Can language ever be truly invisible? - How does clarity affect storytelling? A Different Perspective Perfect invisibility may hinder artistic voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not sure if you can strive your way into a career as a novelist. 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Ryan > [I think of myself as a songwriter, a weaver of story and imagination in a way that a novelist might write a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/i-think-of-myself-as-a-songwriter-a-weaver-of-story-and-imagination/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) > [It's almost a sort of fairy story tale, just what a novelist would write about a discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hard-townes/it-s-almost-a-sort-of-fairy-story-tale-just-what-a-novelist-would/) [Charles Hard Townes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hard-townes/) > [I think it's really boring, from the point of view of the novelist, to write about yourself. Tedious. But that's very hard to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-think-it-s-really-boring-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-novelist-to/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [I think if I was interested in writing on my own, I would be a novelist - then you could write about yourself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-think-if-i-was-interested-in-writing-on-my-own-i-would-be-a/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [Every novelist should write something for children at least once in his lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/every-novelist-should-write-something-for-children-at-least-once-in/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## More by Paul Auster > [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. 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It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) [Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## 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. 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