John Sutherland > Quotes

“Unlike baked beans, loaves of breads, or Fuji apples, books, once consumed, do not disappear.”
― John Sutherland, How to Read a Novel

“[Books are] vital to learning. Half the population don't go to football matches but that doesn't make football any less important.”
― John Sutherland

“Уншигч олон байх тусам илүү эрүүл нийгэм оршино.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“The American critic Dale Peck, author of Hatchet Jobs (2004), argues that reviewing finds its true character in critical GBH such as Fischer's [review of Martin Amis's Yellow Dog]. It represents a return to the prehistoric origins of reviewing in Zoilism - a kind of pelting of pretentious literature with dung, lest the writers get above themselves; it is to the novelist what the gown of humiliation was to the Roman politician - a salutary ordeal. Less grandly, bad reviews are fun, so long as you are not the author. There is, it must be admitted, a kind of furtive blood sport pleasure in seeing a novelist suffer. You read on. Whereas most of us stop reading at the first use of the word 'splendid' or 'marvellous' in a review.”
― John Sutherland

“For obvious reasons, the relationship between novelists, the reviewing establishment and critics in general is chronically, and often acutely, edgy. A kind of low-intensity warfare prevails, with outbreaks of savagery. It is partly an ownership issue. Who, other than its creator, is to say what a work of fiction means or is worth? It can take years to write a novel and only a few hours for a critic, or a reviewer rushing for a tight deadline, to trash it.”
― John Sutherland

“Үрээ цацаагүй газраас ургац хураах асуудлыг журамласан зохиогчийн эрх нь утга зохиол хөгжих суурийг тавьснаараа гайхалтай боловч хязгаарлагдмал эрх чөлөө юм.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Утга зохиол гэдэг бол хүрээлэн буй ертөнцөө ойлгож, илэрхийлэх чадварын оргилд хүрсэн билигт хүмүүсийн оюун санаа юм.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Хэл, аялга хоёрын ялгаа юу вэ?
- Хэл гэдэг бол ардаа цэргийн хамгаалалттай аялга юм.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Хүн төрөлхтөний түүхийн ихэнх үед утга зохиол тансаг хэрэглээ байсан.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Яруу найраг ямагт утга зохиолын хөөрхийлөлтэй хэсэг нь байсаар ирсэн.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Why read literature? Because it enriches life in ways that nothing else quite can. It makes us more human.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Patron. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery’).”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Literature is the human mind at the very height of its ability to express and interpret the world around us. Literature, at its best, does not simplify, but it enlarges our minds and sensibilities to the point where we can better handle complexity--even if, as is often the case, we don't entirely agree with what we are reading.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“language – particularly the language writers use – cannot be set in stone. It is a living, organic, ever-changing thing.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Every contact leaves a trace.”
― John Sutherland

“Literature, at its best, does not simplify, but it enlarges our minds and sensibilities to the point where we can better handle complexity--even if, as is often the case, we don't entirely agree with what we are reading”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“Academic readers of literary texts, since they do it for a living, tend to think they are more scrupulous than the general public who merely read for pleasure.”
― John Sutherland, Can Jane Eyre Be Happy?: More Puzzles in Classic Fiction

“...the familiar and much-told myth of Hercules. Early versions of the story are found on decorated Greek vases, from around the sixth century BC. A recent version can be found in the Iron Man films.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature

“At the moment we are in a transitional or ‘bridge’ moment in our literary world. The electronic ‘faux book’ format which we cling to is an example of what the critic Marshall McLuhan called ‘rear-mirrorism’. What he meant by this is that we always see the new in terms of the old. We hold on to the past because we are nervous about the future or feel unsure how to handle it. Children and comfort blankets come to mind.”
― John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature