Book Quote by Umberto Eco

A narrator should not supply interpretations of his work; otherwise he would have not written a novel, which is a machine for generating interpretations.

— Umberto Eco

Every reader, as he reads, is actually the reader of himself. The writer's work is only a kind of optical instrument he provides the…

— Marcel Proust

Don't explain your author, read him right and he explains himself.

— Mark Twain

“In reality every reader is, while he is reading, the reader of his own self. The writer's work is merely a kind of optical…

— Marcel Proust

Every reader finds himself. The writer's work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what,…

— Marcel Proust

Confusing the author and the character seems to be a popular and rather unsophisticated reaction to books.

— Mark Lawrence

Each reader reads only what is already within himself. The book is only a sort of optical instrument which the writer offers to the…

— Marcel Proust

“The text contains no literary criticism. I wanted to describe books, not to be clever at their expense.”

— Kenneth McLeish

“If this were a novel, he might simply be a poorly written character. But there are no poorly written people. Only ones you don't…

— Jane Pek

Few authors understand themselves, and a proper reader must not only understand his author but also be able to see beyond him

— Johann Georg Hamann

The writer probably knows what he meant when he wrote a book, but he should immediately forget what he meant when he's written it.

— William Golding

“A writer's task is to interpret his world as he sees it, if not to make it understood, at least to make it understandable.”

— Leonard Walker