I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the visual arts into the making of narratives if I hadn't been able to shift into fiction.

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...

The arts and a belief in the values of the civil rights movement, in the...

The arts and a belief in the values of the civil rights movement, in the...

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

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

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've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd....

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd....

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to...

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to...

Discomfort is very much part of my master plan.

Discomfort is very much part of my master plan.

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...

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...

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...

The past is still visible. The buildings haven't changed, the layout of the streets hasn't...

The past is still visible. The buildings haven't changed, the layout of the streets hasn't...

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...

I never take any notes or draw charts or make elaborate diagrams, but I hold...

I never take any notes or draw charts or make elaborate diagrams, but I hold...

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.

My fiction has been influenced by the visual arts, though not in obvious ways, it...

My fiction has been influenced by the visual arts, though not in obvious ways, it...

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...

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...

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...

Morality is only for the middle class, sweet. The lower class can't afford it, and...

Morality is only for the middle class, sweet. The lower class can't afford it, and...

One of the strengths of our nation has always been a strong middle class who...

One of the strengths of our nation has always been a strong middle class who...