My mother always says that fear and pain are immediate, and that, when they're gone we're left with the concept, but not the true memory. Tea Obreht More Quotes by Tea Obreht More Quotes From Tea Obreht The best fiction stays with you and changes you. Tea Obreht fiction At the end of the day, despite all the other great things that literature does in society and in a person's life, I think that we read to escape. And I think that place, more than anything, provides that escape quickly, if an author is engaged with the place. Tea Obreht the-end-of-the-dayliteraturethinking Come on, is your heart a sponge or a fist? Tea Obreht spongesfistsheart We're all entitled to our superstitions. Tea Obreht entitledsuperstitions Kelly Link's prose is conveyed in details so startling and fine that you work up a sweat just waiting for the next sentence to land. This is why we read, crave, need, can't live without short stories. Tea Obreht sweatlandwaiting My grandfather and I were very close. Tea Obreht my-grandfathergrandfather In my earliest memory, my grandfather is bald as a stone and he takes me to see the tigers. Tea Obreht grandfatherstonesmemories When men die, they die in fear", he said. "They take everything they need from you, and as a doctor it is your job to give it, to comfort them, to hold their hand. But children die how they have been living - in hope. They don't know what's happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold their hand - but you end up needing them to hold yours. With children, you're on your own. Do you understand? Tea Obreht jobsmenchildren I am very interested in place, and the influences of place on characters. Tea Obreht influencecharacter I've always written about animals. I'm still trying to process why that is. Tea Obreht processanimaltrying I think the mythology of death really ran away with me when I was very young. Tea Obreht mythologyyoungthinking I like dark subject matter. I'm not sure what that means about me! Tea Obreht matterdarkmean I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly. Tea Obreht cyprusegyptremember I do no writing while I'm in Belgrade visiting my grandma. Tea Obreht belgradegrandmawriting At the end of the day, it's about the reader's attachment to and belief in the magical elements that make or break magical realism. Tea Obreht make-or-breakthe-end-of-the-dayattachment A family has its own rituals and its own superstitions. Tea Obreht ritualsuperstitions Wash the bones, bring the body, leave the heart behind. Tea Obreht bonesbodyheart In the end, all you want is someone to long for you when it comes time to put you in the ground. Tea Obreht endswantlong No matter how grave the secret, how imperative absolute silence, someone would always feel the urge to confess, and an unleashed secret is a terrible force. Tea Obreht silencesecretmatter The dead are celebrated. The dead are loved. They give something to the living. Once you put something into the ground, Doctor, you always know where to find it. Tea Obreht living-oncedoctorsgiving
