--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s nothing wonderful or interesting…" description: "\"There’s nothing wonderful or interesting about unrequited love. I think it’s shitty, just plain shitty. To love someone who doesn’t return your affecti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/740/steve-toltz-3783_affection_there-s-nothing-wonderful-or-interesting_1340621.jpg" --- # There’s nothing wonderful or interesting about unrequited… ![“There’s nothing wonderful or interesting about unrequited love. I think it’s shitty, just plain shitty. To love someone who doesn’t return your affections might be exciting in books, but in life it’s unbearably boring. I’ll tell you what’s exciting: sweaty, passionate nights. But sitting on the…” quote by Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/740/steve-toltz-3783_affection_there-s-nothing-wonderful-or-interesting_1340621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/740/steve-toltz-3783_affection_there-s-nothing-wonderful-or-interesting_1340621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/740/steve-toltz-3783_affection_there-s-nothing-wonderful-or-interesting_1340621.jpg) > “There’s nothing wonderful or interesting about unrequited love. I think it’s shitty, just plain shitty. To love someone who doesn’t return your affections might be exciting in books, but in life it’s unbearably boring. I’ll tell you what’s exciting: sweaty, passionate nights. But sitting on the veranda outside the home of a sleeping woman who isn’t dreaming about you is slow moving and just plain sad.” [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unrequited love is portrayed as dull and painful, contrasting with the excitement of mutual passion. **In simple terms:** Unrequited love is boring and sad. Key Takeaway Seek reciprocal relationships. Themes love loneliness expectations Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - dating - friendship - self‑reflection Key Concepts romantic idealism emotional pain Questions to Reflect On - Do you chase excitement or comfort? - How can you find meaning without reciprocation? A Different Perspective Unrequited love can inspire personal growth despite its tedium. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Unrequited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-unrequited-4528778/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does-231468/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Passionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passionate/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Return Affections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-affections-4528779/) [Shitty Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shitty-love-3107324/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unrequited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited/) [Unrequited love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited-love/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [“poets seem able to turn bad love – selfish, shitty love – into good love poetry. Prose writers lack this power of admirable, dishonest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/poets-seem-able-to-turn-bad-love-selfish-shitty-love-into-good-love/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“So, what did you tell him?” “I . . . I told him that I . . . I was fond of him, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/so-what-did-you-tell-him-i-i-told-him-that-i-i-was-fond-of-him-but-i/) [Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/) > [Requiem for this unrequited love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-ribeiro/requiem-for-this-unrequited-love/) [Malcolm Ribeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-ribeiro/) > [Although love unreturned can drive you to despair, trust that somewhere out there, someone is waiting just for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ramirez/although-love-unreturned-can-drive-you-to-despair-trust-that/) [Laura Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ramirez/) > [Because what’s worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/because-what-s-worse-than-knowing-you-want-something-besides-knowing/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“I miss that feeling of connection. Knowing he was out there somewhere thinking about me at the same time I was thinking about him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/i-miss-that-feeling-of-connection-knowing-he-was-out-there-somewhere/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [“Though it’s reasons to burn may vary... you are always the fuel of my fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/though-it-s-reasons-to-burn-may-vary-you-are-always-the-fuel-of-my/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/to-burn-with-desire-and-keep-quiet-about-it-is-the-greatest/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [This unrequited love, to me it's nothing but a one-man cult/And cyanide in my styrofoam cup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/this-unrequited-love-to-me-it-s-nothing-but-a-one-man-cult-and/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [Powerful women always interpret hostility as unrequited love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/powerful-women-always-interpret-hostility-as-unrequited-love/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [“Unrequited love is the only emotion that allows sane people to taste the “life sentence” of someone with bipolar disorder. The longer they hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/unrequited-love-is-the-only-emotion-that-allows-sane-people-to-taste/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [How timid and frail is unrequited love? A place you entered of your own accord, but youre trapped inside, unable to find an exit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/korean-drama/how-timid-and-frail-is-unrequited-love-a-place-you-entered-of-your/) [Korean Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/korean-drama/) > [“Next worst thing to unrequited Love, isn't it? Insufficient hate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/next-worst-thing-to-unrequited-love-isn-t-it-insufficient-hate/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Only three things are infinite. The sky in its stars, the sea in its drops of water, and the heart in its tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/only-three-things-are-infinite-the-sky-in-its-stars-the-sea-in-its/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Unrequited love is bad, but unrequitable love can really get you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-savage/unrequited-love-is-bad-but-unrequitable-love-can-really-get-you-down/) [Sam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-savage/) ## More by Steve Toltz > [ “To my horror principles have wormed their way into \[the\] fabric of my being.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/to-my-horror-principles-have-wormed-their-way-into-the-fabric-of-my/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [I'm not sure if I always wanted to be a writer, but I was always writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-m-not-sure-if-i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-but-i-was-always/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“The problem is most of the time when God’s supposed to be the hero, he comes across as the villain. I mean, look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/the-problem-is-most-of-the-time-when-god-s-supposed-to-be-the-hero-he/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [ \[I'll teach you\] how not to leave the windows of your heart open when it looks like rain and how everyone has a stump… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-ll-teach-you-how-not-to-leave-the-windows-of-your-heart-open-when/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [...I thought how I hate any kind of mob - I hate mobs of sports fans, mobs of environmental demonstrators, I even hate mobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-thought-how-i-hate-any-kind-of-mob-i-hate-mobs-of-sports-fans-mobs/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [I was in the hospital and I was paralyzed and I went through all of these things. I've had all of these crazy experiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-was-in-the-hospital-and-i-was-paralyzed-and-i-went-through-all-of/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [Let’s not mince words: the inside of the Sydney casino looks as if Vegas had an illegitimate child with Liberace’s underpants, and that child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/let-s-not-mince-words-the-inside-of-the-sydney-casino-looks-as-if/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [Optimism isn't funny unless you are laughing at the person, whereas extreme pessimism is extremely funny. It's exaggeration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/optimism-isn-t-funny-unless-you-are-laughing-at-the-person-whereas/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [There's nothing perplexing to me about a leafy shrub evolving out of the big bang, but that the post office exists because carbon exploded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/there-s-nothing-perplexing-to-me-about-a-leafy-shrub-evolving-out-of/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [The game is an analogy for life: there are not enough chairs or good times to go around, not enough food, not enough joy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/the-game-is-an-analogy-for-life-there-are-not-enough-chairs-or-good/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“Don't touch me, you fat ghost!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/don-t-touch-me-you-fat-ghost/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [Raymond Chandler I love a lot, and the Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard. I really love his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/raymond-chandler-i-love-a-lot-and-the-austrian-writer-thomas-bernhard/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [The universe doesn't really care if you bounce back. It doesn't feel that weird to write about paralysis or being in hospital or losing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/the-universe-doesn-t-really-care-if-you-bounce-back-it-doesn-t-feel/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“The world's not falling apart imperceptibly anymore, these days it makes a loud shredding noise!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/the-world-s-not-falling-apart-imperceptibly-anymore-these-days-it/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“Sex: the match that sets off human firework.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/sex-the-match-that-sets-off-human-firework/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) [Explore all 119 Steve Toltz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There’s nothing wonderful or interesting about unrequited love. 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