--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels with a \"thesis\" don't interest me…" description: "\"Novels with a \"thesis\" don't interest me. They just don't - novels that want to \"show\" something, that want to \"argue\" something specific. I don't read..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/sergio-chejfec-24437_arguing_novels-with-a-thesis-don-t-interest-me-t_722212.jpg" --- # Novels with a "thesis" don't interest me. They just don't… ![“Novels with a "thesis" don't interest me. They just don't - novels that want to "show" something, that want to "argue" something specific. I don't read novels that are looking to convince me of anything.” quote by Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/sergio-chejfec-24437_arguing_novels-with-a-thesis-don-t-interest-me-t_722212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/sergio-chejfec-24437_arguing_novels-with-a-thesis-don-t-interest-me-t_722212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/sergio-chejfec-24437_arguing_novels-with-a-thesis-don-t-interest-me-t_722212.jpg) > “Novels with a "thesis" don't interest me. They just don't - novels that want to "show" something, that want to "argue" something specific. I don't read novels that are looking to convince me of anything.” [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker prefers novels that present experiences without pushing a specific argument, valuing open-ended storytelling over didactic narratives. **In simple terms:** Prefers stories that show rather than argue. Key Takeaway Read for immersion, not persuasion. Themes literature artistic freedom reader autonomy Mood reflective analytical Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing classes - personal reading choices Key Concepts narrative style thesis show vs tell Questions to Reflect On - Do you find value in stories that challenge you? - How does a novel’s “thesis” affect your enjoyment? A Different Perspective Some readers seek insight from argumentative works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I don't read novels that are looking to convince me of anything. I believe that literature needs to be a machine of illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/i-don-t-read-novels-that-are-looking-to-convince-me-of-anything-i/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [I have some other novels I want to write. I have a lot of short stories - I love the short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-have-some-other-novels-i-want-to-write-i-have-a-lot-of-short/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I like very much to read novels. I like very much some writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-sarri/i-like-very-much-to-read-novels-i-like-very-much-some-writers/) [Maurizio Sarri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-sarri/) > [I would like my novels to be read the way I read the novels I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-would-like-my-novels-to-be-read-the-way-i-read-the-novels-i-love/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“I read novels with the utmost pertinaity. I look upon them - I look upon good novels - as a very valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/i-read-novels-with-the-utmost-pertinaity-i-look-upon-them-i-look-upon/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [People respect nonfiction but they read novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/people-respect-nonfiction-but-they-read-novels/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I never even had the time to read novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-never-even-had-the-time-to-read-novels/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I think you can tell when you meet someone whether they read novels. There's some hollowness if they don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hensher/i-think-you-can-tell-when-you-meet-someone-whether-they-read-novels/) [Philip Hensher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hensher/) > [The sad thing is that I only ever read novels in bed and now only on the iPad, and thanks to Netflix and iTunes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hewlett/the-sad-thing-is-that-i-only-ever-read-novels-in-bed-and-now-only-on/) [David Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hewlett/) > [“... we read novels because they give us the comfortable sensation of living in worlds where the notion of truth is indisputable, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-read-novels-because-they-give-us-the-comfortable-sensation-of/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [People lose it when I say this, but I'm a novelist who doesn't read novels. There are lots of good reasons for not reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/people-lose-it-when-i-say-this-but-i-m-a-novelist-who-doesn-t-read/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [We don't read novels to have an experience like life. Heck, we're living lives, complete with all the incompleteness. We turn to fiction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-don-t-read-novels-to-have-an-experience-like-life-heck-we-re/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I love fiction and read novels constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-imperioli/i-love-fiction-and-read-novels-constantly/) [Michael Imperioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-imperioli/) > [I'd probably play games obsessively if I didn't write, although I admit I don't read novels partly because I don't enjoy it, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/i-d-probably-play-games-obsessively-if-i-didn-t-write-although-i/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [From an early age, my favorite thing to read was novels. For years, when I was writing only nonfiction, still I was reading almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/from-an-early-age-my-favorite-thing-to-read-was-novels-for-years-when/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## More by Sergio Chejfec > [For me parks are good when first of all, they're not impeccable, and when solitude has appropriated them in such a way that solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/for-me-parks-are-good-when-first-of-all-they-re-not-impeccable-and/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [I don't read novels that are looking to convince me of anything. I believe that literature needs to be a machine of illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/i-don-t-read-novels-that-are-looking-to-convince-me-of-anything-i/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [We can speak of politics, ethics, and in this way, speak about the world. But at the same time, it's always in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/we-can-speak-of-politics-ethics-and-in-this-way-speak-about-the-world/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [What I find is that many times when I work with chance, with indeterminacy, I am more open to experience, less prone to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/what-i-find-is-that-many-times-when-i-work-with-chance-with/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [“Because sometimes the memory of what one has read tempers the actual experience, and the experience itself becomes, more than something physical, the realization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/because-sometimes-the-memory-of-what-one-has-read-tempers-the-actual/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [For me, it's a way to find a fiction within a fiction. To find a way to uncover that blunder within the "lie," because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/for-me-it-s-a-way-to-find-a-fiction-within-a-fiction-to-find-a-way-to/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [At one point I felt a tension between objects, their real, physical lives, and the idea of meaning: the physical, material reality of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/at-one-point-i-felt-a-tension-between-objects-their-real-physical/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [Not to say that the process assumes anything of "greater" or "lesser" importance, though: it's just more graphic information. Take the surrealists, for example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/not-to-say-that-the-process-assumes-anything-of-greater-or-lesser/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [Nostalgia for people, cultures, everything. There's an ability to use these marks to note things that are erased, deleted. Traces are a species of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/nostalgia-for-people-cultures-everything-there-s-an-ability-to-use/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [In the early days of the Internet, the word "navigation" had this ingrained in it. There really was a sensation of the cyber-flâneur, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/in-the-early-days-of-the-internet-the-word-navigation-had-this/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [A word, and all the infinite fluctuations it may possess. Like that moment when you know you have something to say, and you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/a-word-and-all-the-infinite-fluctuations-it-may-possess-like-that/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [One must distance oneself from the idea of strict realism. It seems to me that real nature doesn't exist anymore, this idea of "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/one-must-distance-oneself-from-the-idea-of-strict-realism-it-seems-to/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [“In general, I know that when speaking of private and opposing worlds, one tends to refer to divided, sometimes even irreconcilable facets of personality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/in-general-i-know-that-when-speaking-of-private-and-opposing-worlds/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [I find that, for me, it is this concept of borrowed or built life, life on loan, that gets me writing. It's similar to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/i-find-that-for-me-it-is-this-concept-of-borrowed-or-built-life-life/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [I don't even know - for me, it's difficult to decide which is more important - the things or the thoughts. It seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/i-don-t-even-know-for-me-it-s-difficult-to-decide-which-is-more/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) [Explore all 23 Sergio Chejfec quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fasting-is-required-staying-away-from-fighting-and-arguing-and/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [The problem for the Left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the Right as vile, it has to argue the issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-problem-for-the-left-however-is-that-the-moment-it-stops-painting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [You can argue that the Terminator movies reboot their world each time they go back in time, but that doesn't negate the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hayter/you-can-argue-that-the-terminator-movies-reboot-their-world-each-time/) [David Hayter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hayter/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm a very serious person, but I don't take myself very seriously and I would rather laugh all day than argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-m-a-very-serious-person-but-i-don-t-take-myself-very-seriously-and/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) Browse all 1,908 Arguing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Novels with a \"thesis\" don't interest me. They just don't - novels that want to \"show\" something, that want to \"argue\" something specific. 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