““As may be seen, there is only one sensible piece of advice to give to those who find themselves having to talk to an author about one of his books without having read it: praise it without going into detail. An author does not expect a summary or a rational analysis of his book and would even prefer you not to attempt such a thing. He expects only that, while maintaining the greatest possible degree of ambiguity, you will tell him you like what he wrote.””
![“[…] there exists around the written world opened by the work a multitude of other possible worlds, which we can complete by means of our images and our words. Denying oneself this work of completion in the name of some hypothetical fidelity to the work is bound to fail: we can indeed reject…” quote by Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/20a/pierre-bayard-29513_fiction_there-exists-around-the-written-world-op_160551.jpg)
![“[…] a given text may seem fictional or actual depending on the context in which we encounter it. The same is true for oral performances. [Thomas] Pavel takes the example of a theatrical scene wherein an actor mimics the gestures of a priest and pretends to bless the audience. There is nothing…” quote by Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d9b/pierre-bayard-29513_real-life_a-given-text-may-seem-fictional-or-actua_588223.jpg)
![“A great number of elements in the characters’ lives, both psychic and factual, are not communicated to us. […] These characters, I believe, enjoy a much greater autonomy than we usually think, and are able to take initiatives unknown both to the writer and the reader. When characters have their…” quote by Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/558/pierre-bayard-29513_books_a-great-number-of-elements-in-the-charac_1030375.jpg)
