--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He chose The Metamorphosis over The…" description: "\"“He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over Bouvard and Pecuchet, and A Christmas Carol ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg" --- # He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose… ![“He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over Bouvard and Pecuchet, and A Christmas Carol over A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Papers. What a sad paradox, thought Amalfitano. Now even bookish pharmacists are afraid to take on the…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg) > ““He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over Bouvard and Pecuchet, and A Christmas Carol over A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Papers. What a sad paradox, thought Amalfitano. Now even bookish pharmacists are afraid to take on the great, imperfect, torrential works, books that blaze paths into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters. Or what amounts to the same thing: they want to watch the great masters spar, but they have no interest in real combat, when the great masters struggle against that something, that something that terrifies us all, that something that cows us and spurs us on, amid blood and mortal wounds and stench.”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often prefer safe, polished works over challenging, chaotic ones that confront deep fears and truths. **In simple terms:** Choosing comfort over confronting difficulty. Key Takeaway Embrace challenging art. Themes comfort fear literature Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - reading - academic study - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts existential dread authenticity artistic risk Questions to Reflect On - What fears do you avoid in art? - How can confronting chaos enrich you? A Different Perspective Choosing safe works may limit personal and cultural insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Christmas carol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-carol/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Tale of two cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tale-of-two-cities/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“What a sad paradox, though Amalfitano. Now even bookish pharmacists are afraid to take on the great, imperfect, torrential works, books that blaze the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/what-a-sad-paradox-though-amalfitano-now-even-bookish-pharmacists-are/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Without turning, the pharmacist answered that he liked books like The Metamorphosis, Bartleby, A Simple Heart, A Christmas Carol. And then he said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/without-turning-the-pharmacist-answered-that-he-liked-books-like-the/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The root of all my ills, thought Amalfitano sometimes, is my admiration for Jews, homosexuals, and revolutionaries (true revolutionaries, the romantics and the dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-root-of-all-my-ills-thought-amalfitano-sometimes-is-my-admiration/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Werewolf change was never pleasant. That was one of the reasons pack members still referred to it as a curse, despite the fact that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/werewolf-change-was-never-pleasant-that-was-one-of-the-reasons-pack/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-koenigsdorf/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times-it-was-the-age-of-4/) Jill Koenigsdorf > [People talk about places like Mumbai as a tale of two cities, as if the rich and poor don't have anything to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/people-talk-about-places-like-mumbai-as-a-tale-of-two-cities-as-if/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [When I was 14 or 15, our teacher introduced us to Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities.' It was just for entertainment - we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-healy/when-i-was-14-or-15-our-teacher-introduced-us-to-dickens-a-tale-of/) [Dermot Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-healy/) > [I had read a Tale of Two Cities and found it up to my standards as a romantic novel. She opened the first page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-had-read-a-tale-of-two-cities-and-found-it-up-to-my-standards-as-a/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [New York is a tale of two cities. You have the gilded city and the other city, and the core of the other city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/new-york-is-a-tale-of-two-cities-you-have-the-gilded-city-and-the/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I love your daughter fondly, dearly, disinterestedly, devotedly. If ever there were love in the world, I love her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-love-your-daughter-fondly-dearly-disinterestedly-devotedly-if-ever/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Most white people in Midland City were insecure when they spoke, so they kept their sentences short and their words simple, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/most-white-people-in-midland-city-were-insecure-when-they-spoke-so/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“We must make the American people hear our Tale of Two Cities. We must convince them that we don't have to settle for two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/we-must-make-the-american-people-hear-our-tale-of-two-cities-we-must/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Along the Paris streets, the death-carts rumble, hollow and harsh. Six tumbrils carry the day's wine to La Guillotine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/along-the-paris-streets-the-death-carts-rumble-hollow-and-harsh-six/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Oh, do you have A Tale of Two Cities?" "That silly thing? Men going around getting their heads chopped off for love? Ridiculus." Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/oh-do-you-have-a-tale-of-two-cities-that-silly-thing-men-going-around/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Château and hut, stone face and dangling figure, the red stain on the stone floor, and the pure water in the village well-thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/ch-teau-and-hut-stone-face-and-dangling-figure-the-red-stain-on-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Roberto Bolaño > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over Bouvard and Pecuchet, and A Christmas Carol over A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Papers. What a sad paradox, thought Amalfitano. Now even bookish pharmacists are afraid to take on the great, imperfect, torrential works, books that blaze paths into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters. Or what amounts to the same thing: they want to watch the great masters spar, but they have no interest in real combat, when the great masters struggle against that something, that something that terrifies us all, that something that cows us and spurs us on, amid blood and mortal wounds and stench.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolaño" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-trial-he-chose-bartleby-over-moby/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-trial-he-chose-bartleby-over-moby/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/roberto-bola-o-725_227_he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-tria_1486800.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over…” — Roberto Bolaño", "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": "Roberto Bolaño", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He chose The Metamorphosis over The...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-trial-he-chose-bartleby-over-moby/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-trial-he-chose-bartleby-over-moby/#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 } } ] } ```