Fantastic writing in English is kind of disreputable, but fantastic writing in translation is the summit.

Quote by Jonathan Lethem

Topics: Jonathan Lethem Quotes

I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers...

I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers...

Comics? Honestly, that's more a matter of nostalgia for me. I think most of that...

Comics? Honestly, that's more a matter of nostalgia for me. I think most of that...

What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer...

What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer...

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get...

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get...

I try not to become too regular an addict of any one subculture.

I try not to become too regular an addict of any one subculture.

When the civil rights battle was won, all the Jews and hippies and artists were...

When the civil rights battle was won, all the Jews and hippies and artists were...

I'd excluded New York from my writing, and then I came back and I fell...

I'd excluded New York from my writing, and then I came back and I fell...

Discomfort is very much part of my master plan.

Discomfort is very much part of my master plan.

The book is openly a kind of spiritual autobiography, but the trick is that on...

The book is openly a kind of spiritual autobiography, but the trick is that on...

Nerds are just deep, and neurotic, fans. Needy fans. We're all nerds, on one subject...

Nerds are just deep, and neurotic, fans. Needy fans. We're all nerds, on one subject...

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm...

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm...

I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the...

I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the...

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write...

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write...

It was only as I wrote about it that I began to find paths of...

It was only as I wrote about it that I began to find paths of...

I grew up with an artist father, and my parents' friends were also mainly artists...

I grew up with an artist father, and my parents' friends were also mainly artists...

The more film I watch, the more John Ford looks like a giant. His politics...

The more film I watch, the more John Ford looks like a giant. His politics...

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping...

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping...

In my third novel there is an actual black hole that swallows everything you love.

In my third novel there is an actual black hole that swallows everything you love.

I can't bear the silent ringing in my skull.

I can't bear the silent ringing in my skull.

I just noticed recently that in one book after another I seem to find an...

I just noticed recently that in one book after another I seem to find an...