Ruefulness is one of the classical tones of American fiction. It fosters a native, deglamorized form of anxiety.

Quote by Anatole Broyard

Topics: America And Americans Quotes, Anxiety Quotes, Sorrow Quotes

The epic implications of being human end in more than this: We start our lives...

The epic implications of being human end in more than this: We start our lives...

There is something about seeing real people on a stage that makes a bad play...

There is something about seeing real people on a stage that makes a bad play...

Aphorisms are bad for novels. They stick in the reader's teeth.

Aphorisms are bad for novels. They stick in the reader's teeth.

Lapped in poetry, wrapped in the picturesque, armed with logical sentences and inalienable words.

Lapped in poetry, wrapped in the picturesque, armed with logical sentences and inalienable words.

To be misunderstood can be the writer's punishment for having disturbed the reader's peace. The...

To be misunderstood can be the writer's punishment for having disturbed the reader's peace. The...

The more I like a book, the more slowly I read. this spontaneous talking back...

The more I like a book, the more slowly I read. this spontaneous talking back...

We are all tourists in history, and irony is what we win in wars.

We are all tourists in history, and irony is what we win in wars.

There was a time when we expected nothing of our children but obedience, as opposed...

There was a time when we expected nothing of our children but obedience, as opposed...

If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's...

If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's...

It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking...

It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking...

Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city.

Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city.

People have no idea what a hard job it is for two writers to be...

People have no idea what a hard job it is for two writers to be...

The tension between yes and o, between I can and I cannot, makes us feel...

The tension between yes and o, between I can and I cannot, makes us feel...

If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's...

If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's...

The first divorce in the world may have been a tragedy, but the hundred-millionth is...

The first divorce in the world may have been a tragedy, but the hundred-millionth is...

His father, Vincent, took him to La Coupole in Paris and, after sitting on the...

His father, Vincent, took him to La Coupole in Paris and, after sitting on the...

Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city.

Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city.

The more I like a book, the more slowly I read. this spontaneous talking back...

The more I like a book, the more slowly I read. this spontaneous talking back...

When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but...

When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but...

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any...

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any...