--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They talked about what they’d felt as…" description: "\"“They talked about what they’d felt as they rained blows on the fallen body. A combination of sleepiness and sexual desire. Desire to fuck the poor bas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/roberto-bola-o-725_empty-hands_they-talked-about-what-they-d-felt-as-th_843197.jpg" --- # They talked about what they’d felt as they rained blows on… ![“They talked about what they’d felt as they rained blows on the fallen body. A combination of sleepiness and sexual desire. Desire to fuck the poor bastard? Not at all! More as if they were fucking themselves. As if they were digging into themselves. With long nails and empty hands. Though if your…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/roberto-bola-o-725_empty-hands_they-talked-about-what-they-d-felt-as-th_843197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/roberto-bola-o-725_empty-hands_they-talked-about-what-they-d-felt-as-th_843197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/roberto-bola-o-725_empty-hands_they-talked-about-what-they-d-felt-as-th_843197.jpg) > ““They talked about what they’d felt as they rained blows on the fallen body. A combination of sleepiness and sexual desire. Desire to fuck the poor bastard? Not at all! More as if they were fucking themselves. As if they were digging into themselves. With long nails and empty hands. Though if your fingernails are long enough your hands are never really empty. But in this dreamlike state, they dug and dug, rending fabric and ripping veins and puncturing vital organs. What were they looking for? They didn’t know. Nor, at that stage, did they care.”” [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. A visceral, chaotic scene where characters externalize inner turmoil through violent, self‑directed acts, reflecting a search for meaning in a dreamlike, disorienting state. **In simple terms:** People act violently to explore inner emptiness. Key Takeaway Recognize self‑destructive patterns. Themes violence self‑exploration existential dread dreamlike perception identity crisis Mood disturbing intense confused Type literary psychological When to use this quote - nightmares - artistic creation - trauma processing - psychotic episodes Key Concepts psychology nihilism surrealism Questions to Reflect On - What inner void are you trying to fill? - How does self‑destruction mask deeper longing? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure literal intent, leading to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire Fuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-fuck-666824/) [Empty hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty-hands/) [Felt Rained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-rained-666827/) [Fingernails Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingernails-long-666825/) [Fucking Digging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fucking-digging-666826/) [Hands Fingernails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-fingernails-666828/) [Sexual desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-desire/) ## Related quotes > [“She’d never seen a boy with hands like that, with long, delicate fingers, beautiful but still masculine. His fingernails were long too, almost crystalline,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-creagh/she-d-never-seen-a-boy-with-hands-like-that-with-long-delicate/) [Kelly Creagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-creagh/) > [“But the problem with me was that as soon as I started thinking about getting it together, I got this mad craving desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-godfrey/but-the-problem-with-me-was-that-as-soon-as-i-started-thinking-about/) [Rebecca Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-godfrey/) > [“The feeling was FEAR, she realized... but it was a new type of fear; more sincere than the jitters she felt when it rained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-vander-ark-2/the-feeling-was-fear-she-realized-but-it-was-a-new-type-of-fear-more/) [Jake Vander-Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-vander-ark-2/) > [I come to you with only Karate, Empty Hands. I have no weapons, but should I be forced to defend myself, my principles, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-parker/i-come-to-you-with-only-karate-empty-hands-i-have-no-weapons-but/) [Ed Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-parker/) > [“You can go with an empty pocket and come back heavily loaded if you allow your passion to escort you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-can-go-with-an-empty-pocket-and-come-back-heavily-loaded-if-you/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [God gives where he finds empty hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-gives-where-he-finds-empty-hands/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ky is heavy in my mind, deep in my heart, his palms warm on my empty hands. I have to try to find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/ky-is-heavy-in-my-mind-deep-in-my-heart-his-palms-warm-on-my-empty/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“I am a dreamer with empty hands and I like the chill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/i-am-a-dreamer-with-empty-hands-and-i-like-the-chill/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [“Despite an icy northeast wind huffing across the bay I sneak out after dark, after my mother falls asleep clutching her leather Bible, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-thurber/despite-an-icy-northeast-wind-huffing-across-the-bay-i-sneak-out/) [Bob Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-thurber/) > [“He has once built his fortune, starting out with empty hands; now he had to rebuild his life, starting out with an empty spirit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-has-once-built-his-fortune-starting-out-with-empty-hands-now-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Everything, except boredom, bores me. I’d like, without being calm, to calm down, To take life every day Like a medicine— One of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-except-boredom-bores-me-i-d-like-without-being-calm-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Ah! Thou gifest me such hope and courage, and I haf nothing to gif back but a full heart and these empty hands," cried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/ah-thou-gifest-me-such-hope-and-courage-and-i-haf-nothing-to-gif-back/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“There pass the careless people That call their souls their own: Here by the road I loiter, How idle and alone. Ah, past the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/there-pass-the-careless-people-that-call-their-souls-their-own-here/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“For the rest of the day, her weight echoed in my empty hands, light but dense, her throes and kicks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-pizzolatto/for-the-rest-of-the-day-her-weight-echoed-in-my-empty-hands-light-but/) [Nic Pizzolatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-pizzolatto/) > [Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/beauty-is-not-a-need-but-an-ecstasy-it-is-not-a-mouth-thirsting-nor/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## 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 Empty hands quotes > [Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/beauty-is-not-a-need-but-an-ecstasy-it-is-not-a-mouth-thirsting-nor/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“For the rest of the day, her weight echoed in my empty hands, light but dense, her throes and kicks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-pizzolatto/for-the-rest-of-the-day-her-weight-echoed-in-my-empty-hands-light-but/) [Nic Pizzolatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-pizzolatto/) > [“There pass the careless people That call their souls their own: Here by the road I loiter, How idle and alone. Ah, past the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/there-pass-the-careless-people-that-call-their-souls-their-own-here/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Ah! Thou gifest me such hope and courage, and I haf nothing to gif back but a full heart and these empty hands," cried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/ah-thou-gifest-me-such-hope-and-courage-and-i-haf-nothing-to-gif-back/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“Everything, except boredom, bores me. I’d like, without being calm, to calm down, To take life every day Like a medicine— One of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-except-boredom-bores-me-i-d-like-without-being-calm-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“He has once built his fortune, starting out with empty hands; now he had to rebuild his life, starting out with an empty spirit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-has-once-built-his-fortune-starting-out-with-empty-hands-now-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Despite an icy northeast wind huffing across the bay I sneak out after dark, after my mother falls asleep clutching her leather Bible, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-thurber/despite-an-icy-northeast-wind-huffing-across-the-bay-i-sneak-out/) [Bob Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-thurber/) > [“I am a dreamer with empty hands and I like the chill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/i-am-a-dreamer-with-empty-hands-and-i-like-the-chill/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [“Ky is heavy in my mind, deep in my heart, his palms warm on my empty hands. I have to try to find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/ky-is-heavy-in-my-mind-deep-in-my-heart-his-palms-warm-on-my-empty/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [God gives where he finds empty hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-gives-where-he-finds-empty-hands/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You can go with an empty pocket and come back heavily loaded if you allow your passion to escort you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-can-go-with-an-empty-pocket-and-come-back-heavily-loaded-if-you/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I come to you with only Karate, Empty Hands. I have no weapons, but should I be forced to defend myself, my principles, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-parker/i-come-to-you-with-only-karate-empty-hands-i-have-no-weapons-but/) [Ed Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-parker/) > [“Because there is nothing, nothing on Urras that we Anarresti need! We left with empty hands, a hundred and seventy years ago, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/because-there-is-nothing-nothing-on-urras-that-we-anarresti-need-we/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [It is said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/it-is-said-that-our-anxiety-does-not-empty-tomorrow-of-its-sorrows/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Here I stand Empty hands Wishing my wrists were bleeding To stop the pain from the beatings There you stood Holding me Waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flyleaf/here-i-stand-empty-hands-wishing-my-wrists-were-bleeding-to-stop-the/) [FlyLeaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flyleaf/) [Browse all 49 Empty hands quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty-hands/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They talked about what they’d felt as they rained blows on the fallen body. A combination of sleepiness and sexual desire. Desire to fuck the poor bastard? 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