--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without knowing I was going to, I started…" description: "\"“Without knowing I was going to, I started to laugh, a crazy laugh like Ian's the night before, and at first he looked worried, but then he started too..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg" --- # Without knowing I was going to, I started to laugh, a… ![“Without knowing I was going to, I started to laugh, a crazy laugh like Ian's the night before, and at first he looked worried, but then he started too. Even with the wind whipping past the station, even with Ian hugging his backpack to his chest for warmth, we were laughing, and not a laughter of…” quote by Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg) > ““Without knowing I was going to, I started to laugh, a crazy laugh like Ian's the night before, and at first he looked worried, but then he started too. Even with the wind whipping past the station, even with Ian hugging his backpack to his chest for warmth, we were laughing, and not a laughter of release or a laughter that was really sadness in disguise. It was the laugh of the absurd. Your grandmother is a seventeen-year-old boy? That creepy Russian man just paid for your ticket? Ferret-Glo?”” [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spontaneous laughter erupts amid absurd, unsettling circumstances, revealing shared absurdity. **In simple terms:** Laughing at absurdity together. Key Takeaway Find humor in chaos. Themes absurdity connection comfort Mood lighthearted reflective Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - travel - stress relief Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What absurd moments bring you joy? - How does shared laughter build bonds? A Different Perspective Laughter may mask deeper fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) ## Related quotes > [Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/absurdity-is-what-i-like-most-in-life-and-there-s-humor-in-struggling/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Why wait for reasons to laugh? Life as it is should be reason enough to laugh. It is so absurd, it is so ridiculous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/why-wait-for-reasons-to-laugh-life-as-it-is-should-be-reason-enough/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I think what human beings need is to be able to laugh at the absurd, hold on to ambiguity, and learn to love nuance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-think-what-human-beings-need-is-to-be-able-to-laugh-at-the-absurd/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [The comedy was always there. There's this moment I remember from when I was seven or eight: I was with a friend and she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rudolph/the-comedy-was-always-there-there-s-this-moment-i-remember-from-when/) [Maya Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rudolph/) > [“But I'd done what I could to warm the place up. I'd started with a welcome mat. It had a happy face on it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rowen/but-i-d-done-what-i-could-to-warm-the-place-up-i-d-started-with-a/) [Michelle Rowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rowen/) > [“They were both quiet. "Ask me why I like you," she finally said. He felt himself smile. He felt like something warm had spilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/they-were-both-quiet-ask-me-why-i-like-you-she-finally-said-he-felt/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“I kicked, shouted an obscene word, got another faceful of goo for my troubles, and did the only thing left available to me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-troy-castro/i-kicked-shouted-an-obscene-word-got-another-faceful-of-goo-for-my/) [Adam-Troy Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-troy-castro/) > [Many, many years ago, I stood on the stage and told bad jokes and did Sophie Tucker as an impersonation, and nobody looked up;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/many-many-years-ago-i-stood-on-the-stage-and-told-bad-jokes-and-did/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“It’s us we need to worry about.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I don’t know how to break this to you,” said Ron, “but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/it-s-us-we-need-to-worry-about-what-do-you-mean-well-i-don-t-know-how/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [Eleanor,” he said, just because he liked saying it, “why do you like me?” “I don’t like you.” He waited. And waited… Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/eleanor-he-said-just-because-he-liked-saying-it-why-do-you-like-me-i/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [James started to laugh. His chin hurt where she'd smacked him twice, his foot throbbed where she'd stepped on it, and his entire body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/james-started-to-laugh-his-chin-hurt-where-she-d-smacked-him-twice/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [If we had a hard time, my mother would sit me down and we would talk about it, and she kept talking and kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-minnelli/if-we-had-a-hard-time-my-mother-would-sit-me-down-and-we-would-talk/) [Liza Minnelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-minnelli/) > [“I was giddy with relief and I started to giggle again. "If you're sorry, then I'm sorry." "Why would you be sorry? You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-chester/i-was-giddy-with-relief-and-i-started-to-giggle-again-if-you-re-sorry/) [Mireille Chester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-chester/) > [All this flying around got on my nerves. But then I gave the script to Cathy to get her opinion. When she started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-o-neill/all-this-flying-around-got-on-my-nerves-but-then-i-gave-the-script-to/) [Ed O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-o-neill/) > [“Did that punk ass leprechaun steal your car?” She covered her mouth as Hugo and Younger started to laugh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-alexander/did-that-punk-ass-leprechaun-steal-your-car-she-covered-her-mouth-as/) [R.G. Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-alexander/) ## More by Rebecca Makkai > [“These were wise, modern children, and they knew: a mother could be a witch, a child could be a criminal. A librarian could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/these-were-wise-modern-children-and-they-knew-a-mother-could-be-a/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Because what it's come down to, after that whole messy spring, that whole tortured summer, all the time since, is this: I no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/because-what-it-s-come-down-to-after-that-whole-messy-spring-that/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I might be the villain of this story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-might-be-the-villain-of-this-story/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“He started Number the Stars before we were even out of the store. "The only problem is, I already know how it ends," he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/he-started-number-the-stars-before-we-were-even-out-of-the-store-the/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“So here, patient listener: your soothing epilogue. Imagine him happy. Imagine him spinning in circles... Imagine his heaven, where he can float through characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/so-here-patient-listener-your-soothing-epilogue-imagine-him-happy/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“And for what portion of human history had people even had desk jobs? Maybe the last four hundred years, out of four million? It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/and-for-what-portion-of-human-history-had-people-even-had-desk-jobs/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“...all I knew were novels. It gave me pause, for a moment, that all my reference points were fiction, that all my narratives were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/all-i-knew-were-novels-it-gave-me-pause-for-a-moment-that-all-my/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I could put a book in his hands, but I couldn't take him by the ankles and dip him headfirst in another world. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-could-put-a-book-in-his-hands-but-i-couldn-t-take-him-by-the-ankles/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“On my mental instant replay, I realized that obliquely comparing his family to the Nazis was maybe not my finest moment. He was quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/on-my-mental-instant-replay-i-realized-that-obliquely-comparing-his/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“The whole damn century would've made more sense backwards. Where we ended is worse than where we began.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/the-whole-damn-century-would-ve-made-more-sense-backwards-where-we/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“But here at Laurelfield, there was something more in the mornings, a buzzing sensation about the whole house, as if it weren't the servants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/but-here-at-laurelfield-there-was-something-more-in-the-mornings-a/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Very few writers thank their mothers for keen editorial insight; I'm happy to be the exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/very-few-writers-thank-their-mothers-for-keen-editorial-insight-i-m/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I believed that books might save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-believed-that-books-might-save-him-because-i-knew-they-had-so-far/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Like a good American, I wanted to sue somebody. But like a good librarian, I just sat at my desk and waited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/like-a-good-american-i-wanted-to-sue-somebody-but-like-a-good/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I no longer believe I can save people. I've tried, and I've failed, and while I'm sure there are people out there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-no-longer-believe-i-can-save-people-i-ve-tried-and-i-ve-failed-and/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) [Explore all 30 Rebecca Makkai quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) ## More Laughing quotes > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [Laughter is one of the great beacons in life because we don't refract it by gunning it through our intellectual prism. What makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/laughter-is-one-of-the-great-beacons-in-life-because-we-don-t-refract/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [Nothing's funnier to me than laughing at myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/nothing-s-funnier-to-me-than-laughing-at-myself/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-spring-came-suddenly-bursting-upon-the-world-as-a-child-bursts/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The major caveat in all of comedy is that it's all instinctive. There's no true criteria. There is no right or wrong. Ultimately, often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-charles/the-major-caveat-in-all-of-comedy-is-that-it-s-all-instinctive-there/) [Larry Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-charles/) > [In theater, one of the biggest problems when you're rehearsing comedy over and over again is that you stop laughing at each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ashley-carter/in-theater-one-of-the-biggest-problems-when-you-re-rehearsing-comedy/) [Lauren Ashley Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ashley-carter/) > [If somebody tells you 'History will never forgive you,' just laugh at him! Because when the history comes, you won't be here! The threat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-somebody-tells-you-history-will-never-forgive-you-just-laugh-at/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [We're all basically decent human beings so if 3,000 people are laughing at a joke then it's worth telling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/we-re-all-basically-decent-human-beings-so-if-3-000-people-are/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [I've been a poser for f--ing years. I say, pose your arse off. You know, have a laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/i-ve-been-a-poser-for-f-ing-years-i-say-pose-your-arse-off-you-know/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) Browse all 6,780 Laughing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Without knowing I was going to, I started to laugh, a crazy laugh like Ian's the night before, and at first he looked worried, but then he started too. Even with the wind whipping past the station, even with Ian hugging his backpack to his chest for warmth, we were laughing, and not a laughter of release or a laughter that was really sadness in disguise. It was the laugh of the absurd. Your grandmother is a seventeen-year-old boy? That creepy Russian man just paid for your ticket? Ferret-Glo?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Makkai" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started-to-laugh-a-crazy-laugh-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Laughing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started-to-laugh-a-crazy-laugh-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/rebecca-makkai-20617_laughing_without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started_2895181.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without knowing I was going to, I started to laugh, a crazy laugh like Ian's the night before, and at first…” — Rebecca Makkai", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rebecca Makkai", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Without knowing I was going to,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started-to-laugh-a-crazy-laugh-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/without-knowing-i-was-going-to-i-started-to-laugh-a-crazy-laugh-like/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```