I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time I stressed the absence, the hole. Now I find it is the shape which has become more important.

Quote by Salman Rushdie

Topics: Salman Rushdie Quotes

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

Rock and roll music - the music of freedom frightens people and unleashes all manner...

Rock and roll music - the music of freedom frightens people and unleashes all manner...

Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence.

Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence.

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried,...

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried,...

I do not need the idea of God to explain the world I live in.

I do not need the idea of God to explain the world I live in.

Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in...

Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in...

Whores and writers, Mahound. We are the people you can't forgive.

Whores and writers, Mahound. We are the people you can't forgive.

If I were asked for a one-sentence sound bite on religion, I would say I...

If I were asked for a one-sentence sound bite on religion, I would say I...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

Our lives are not what we deserve; they are, let us agree, in many ways...

Our lives are not what we deserve; they are, let us agree, in many ways...

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides,...

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides,...

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and...

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.