I say that glorious prose is a fine and laudable thing, but without an enthralling story, it's just so much verbal tapioca. Simply put, the best books have both, and the best writers disparage neither. Jean Hanff Korelitz More Quotes by Jean Hanff Korelitz More Quotes From Jean Hanff Korelitz A good story, a story resonant and remarkable, can be remade endlessly to tell new sides of itself for new generations of readers. Jean Hanff Korelitz new story good tell Pacing is not the sort of thing you can plan out beforehand, but you're always aware of it as you write, because you need to make constant decisions. Jean Hanff Korelitz plan need you always I'm not in a position to tell anyone anything about how to live his or her life, but I think it's worth noting that no one can lie to us as effectively as we can lie to ourselves. We know exactly what to say! And I do think that women, even extremely smart women, can be very, very vulnerable to men. Jean Hanff Korelitz women smart men life People need a narrative, and if there isn't one on offer, they make one up. Jean Hanff Korelitz make need up people Like many people, I have a fascination with lies and the people who tell them. I wouldn't say I've never told a lie, but I don't think I've ever told one without both assuming I would be found out and feeling absolutely rotten about it. Jean Hanff Korelitz lie feeling think people As a writer, I have this compulsion to take characters who appear formidable and bombard them with adversity until they crumble. What's interesting is watching them rise again, and seeing how they've changed and grown, if indeed they have. Jean Hanff Korelitz rise watching adversity interesting I started thinking about what I've always been interested in: how people can't see things that are right in front of them. All you have to do is read the papers to see endless examples of smart people who can't see the nose on their faces. Jean Hanff Korelitz you smart people thinking Serious writers pretend they don't care about film adaptations of their work, but it's a colossal lie: We all care. Jean Hanff Korelitz lie care serious work My first three novels were all the subjects of intensely exciting flurries of calls from producers and even stars' production companies, and once someone actually hired a screenwriter to adapt one of my books - but it all came to nothing, so I tried not to get too excited when a Hollywood suitor came calling for 'Admission,' my fourth novel. Jean Hanff Korelitz nothing someone three stars The first time I went to Helene Hanff's apartment at 305 East 72nd Street, it was 1977, and I was a 16-year-old girl who wanted to be a writer. Jean Hanff Korelitz street girl first-time time I made it to London aged six, an event I recorded in my diary with coloured markers to convey my sense of occasion. And in 1983, after graduating from college, I returned to spend two years at Cambridge University. Jean Hanff Korelitz diary university london college You'd have to go all the way back to 1972 to find a version of me who didn't care about theater, who didn't read Playbill and watch the Tony Awards, or get why Bob Fosse's choreography was so groundbreaking that all you need to say is 'Fosse hands' and theater people know what you mean. Jean Hanff Korelitz me you care people I was 11 years old and horse-obsessed. New York City was an unfortunate place for a girl like me to be growing up. Jean Hanff Korelitz city place me girl Did I become a theater person right then, sitting in the Imperial Theater, waiting for the high piccolo note at the start of 'Pippin'? Maybe. Jean Hanff Korelitz person start sitting waiting Every so often in life, you encounter a brilliant idea. Usually, at least in my case, it's somebody else's idea. Jean Hanff Korelitz somebody you brilliant life Personally, I would love to see every gun on the planet disappear. Jean Hanff Korelitz see disappear gun love Naturally, no march on Washington would be complete without its counter-demonstration. Jean Hanff Korelitz washington complete without march To me, respect for human life begins with making it more difficult to obtain an inanimate object that is designed to snuff it out. Jean Hanff Korelitz me difficult respect life A mutt is a dog. He is the stuff of dogginess, a creature allied to species, not breed, and untrammeled by human hand or preference. Jean Hanff Korelitz hand human he dog My dog is vicious to the uninvited guest, lavishly affectionate to the invited one, and so freakishly acute that he has mastered the English language. Jean Hanff Korelitz english english-language language dog
