Hanna

“Well, that’s just it, I thought: you didn’t just write down a raw cry of suffering. It would be boring and self-indulgent. You had to disguise it, turn it into art. That’s what literature was. That was what required talent, and made people want to read what you wrote, and then they would give you money.”
― Elif Batuman, Either/Or

“I had a powerful sense of having escaped something: of having finally stepped outside the script.”
― Elif Batuman, Either/Or

“It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.”
― Tove Jansson, Fair Play

“Are you tired?" Wladyslaw asked.
"Yes."
"Then I won't say much more. Just one thing - and now, my friend, you must give me your complete attention. it is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent - lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that. No?”
― Tove Jansson, Fair Play