Paul Benjamin Auster is a crime literature writer of American origin, who is also a screenwriter and film director. His literary works stand out to the point where they have been translated into 40 languages, thanks to that he was named in 1992 as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France and in 2066 he obtained a Prince of Asturias Award for Letters in 2006. .
In this selection of the best phrases of Paul Auster You will find a compilation of interesting reflections that reflect the philosophy of this author.
His works stand out for having absurdism and existentialism, as a way to discover the hidden and true identity of his characters and connect with readers. To learn more about his work and personal life, we bring you a list of Paul Auster’s iconic phrases.
1. Everything can change at any time, suddenly and forever.
Things never remain stable for long, because we are constantly changing.
2. The world is so unpredictable. Things happen suddenly, unexpectedly.
That is why it is impossible to control everything in our lives.
3. Changing your mind is probably one of the most beautiful things people can do.
One of Paul Auster’s phrases in which you can sense a sample of his emotional maturity and mental openness.
4. If justice exists, it has to be for everyone; No one can be excluded, otherwise it would no longer be justice.
Justice should never favor the most powerful over others.
5. You should only choose as your wife the woman you would choose as a friend, if she were a man.
An interesting way to choose a partner.
6. When a man finds life tolerable only if he remains on the surface of himself, it is natural that he should feel satisfied by obtaining that same surface from others.
A satisfied person rejoices in the achievements of others and never seeks to crush them.
7. It’s not that writing gives me great pleasure, but it is much worse if I don’t do it.
It is a need that must be removed and satisfied.
8. We had all the pieces from the beginning, but no one knew how to fit them together.
Sometimes we don’t understand something immediately, but rather over time.
9. A book will not end war or feed a hundred people, but it can feed minds and sometimes change them.
10. A lie can never be undone. Not even the truth is enough.
Do you think there are lies that prevail over time?
11. Our lives don’t really belong to us, they belong to the world, and despite our efforts to make sense of it, the world is a place beyond our understanding.
Our lives are constantly changing, just like the world.
12. Reality does not exist if there is no imagination to see it.
Nothing could be built without first imagining it.
13. Life without art is unimaginable, but as everyone knows, there are fewer and fewer readers. Literature increasingly has to compete with other forms of leisure.
We need art to find that spiritual aesthetic that fills our soul.
14. The passage of time ages us, but it also gives us day and night. And when we die, there is always someone to take our place.
As everything goes on, so does the world when we die.
15. You can’t put your feet on the ground until you’ve touched the sky.
You can’t be successful without dreaming.
16. The experience of the poem does not reside in each of its words, but in the interaction of those words, the music, the silences, the forms.
The beauty of poems is what the words make us feel.
17. For me, writing is not a matter of free will, it is an act of survival.
It’s what keeps him alive in this world.
18. For me, a paragraph in a novel is a bit like a line in a poem. It has its own form, its own music, its own integrity.
A novel has a little of each art.
19. It seems to me that I will always be happy in the place where I am not.
Happiness can be elusive.
20. Ultimately, a life is nothing more than the sum of contingent events, a chronicle of casual intersections, of chance, of chance events that reveal nothing more than their lack of purpose.
A vision of life as a mystical event.
21. Life is simultaneously tragic and comic, at the same time absurd and deeply meaningful.
We experience every emotion throughout our lives.
22. Writing a comedy helps put things into perspective.
Comedy helps us have a clear mind by seeing things from another perspective.
23. Writing can certainly be dangerous. Dangerous for the reader – if it is powerful enough to change his conception of the world – and dangerous for the writer.
A book has the power to expand our mind or close it.
24. The trick is to say nothing about yourself in the most elegant and devious way possible, to make the other person laugh, to be witty.
For a true relationship, it is necessary to be honest.
25. For those of us who do not have beliefs, democracy is our religion.
Democracy should be the maximum expression of freedom.
26. You should never let yourself be dominated, even when you think the other knows what is best for you.
No one knows what is best for you in life but yourself.
27. What matters is not the ability to avoid problems, but the way one deals with them when they arise.
Problems will always exist, that is why we must be creative at all times to find a solution.
28. We age, but we do not change. We become more sophisticated, but deep down we still seem like our young selves, eager to hear the next story and the next and the next.
We discover our best selves.
29. Wounds are a fundamental part of life, and unless one is wounded in some way, he will never become a man.
Wounds can become one of the greatest sources of inspiration.
30. What is important to me are little children, and how desperate they are to hear stories, to be told stories all the time.
It will always be important to feed children’s curiosity and creative imagination.
31. Reading was my escape and my solace, my consolation, my favorite stimulant: reading for the pure pleasure of doing it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear the words of an author echoing in your head.
Reading is time that is never wasted.
32. You are too good for this world, and that is why the world will eventually crush you.
Cruelty is the order of the day and the most affected are those who are not prepared to face it.
33. If you’re not ready for everything, you’re not ready for anything.
To get into something, you have to prepare for it.
34. You can’t hate something so violently unless a part of you loves it too.
From hate to love there is only one step.
35. A moment later I felt full of doubts, and the next moment I began to doubt those doubts.
Doubts should help us investigate or use our curiosity.
36. The real always goes beyond what we can imagine.
Reallity always get over fiction.
37. There is hope for everyone. That’s what makes the world go around.
Hope is what helps us desire something better.
38. When a person is lucky enough to live within a story, to live within an imaginary world, the pains of this world disappear.
Have you ever imagined yourself as a story character?
39. Some of those stories are very violent, and we think that that is not for children. But it is, because these stories tell us to deal with your fears, but in a safe way.
Many parents want to protect children from sensitive topics, but it is preferable to teach and prepare them in a healthy way.
40. We all want to believe in the impossible, I guess, convince ourselves that miracles can happen.
The best thing is that we can build our own miracles when we work hard.
41. I do not believe in God, which does not mean that I do not consider religion a culturally fundamental aspect of existence.
Religions are part of the culture of each country.
42. There is probably no greater human achievement than deserving love in the end.
Love is a global goal for many people.
43. We desperately need stories to be told. As much as eating, because they help us organize reality and illuminate the chaos of our lives.
Stories help us access the potential of our imagination.
44. There are many books that sound the same as others, many poems too. Professional authors, with long careers, many write very well, but not really wonderful. When you read something wonderful, everything changes.
There will always be a book that changes our entire perspective.
45. There are people who hate what I do and people who love it. There’s nothing I can do. I have to accept it.
We cannot handle other people’s opinions, we can only accept them and not take them personally.
46. ​​The world has gone from tragedy to tragedy, from horror to horror, but human beings continue to exist, fall in love and find joy in life.
The beautiful thing about life is that we can find happiness in any darkness.
47. A man must live in the present and what does it matter who you were last week, if you know who you are today?
We can only live in the present, because it is what we can control.
48. Books have something that music or other forms of art don’t: books are read individually.
It is a personal and intimate experience.
49. To truly talk to someone is to hug them, and as soon as we exchanged the first words I had the feeling that we had begun to make love.
Love begins when we listen carefully to the other person.
50. Literature is a force in the world and I cannot imagine life without literature.
Literature has the same necessary power as music.
51. Books must be read as slowly and cautiously as they were written.
Each book reflects the character of its author.
52. The world of the book comes to life, bustling with possibilities, secrets and contradictions.
Books help expand our knowledge and feed our curiosity.
53. I’m glad that you’re glad that I’m glad that you’re glad.
Joy is stronger when it is shared.
54. He was absent even when he was present.
Not all people feel connected to what is happening around them.
55. Writers are wounded beings. That’s why we create another reality.
We are all looking for a place to take refuge from reality.
56. You admire someone for what they do, for what they are, for how they manage to navigate the world.
The best role models are those people who adapt to any change.
57. Football is a miracle that allowed Europe to hate itself without destroying itself.
Showing your admiration for the sport.
58. I have changed my mind about many things over the years.
Changing your mind is a sign of maturity.
59. We want to feel that we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we are not. We are governed by the forces of chance and coincidence.
Although we can chart the course we want to travel, we do not have absolute control of what happens in our lives.
60. We are continually formed by the forces of coincidence.
Do you believe in coincidences or that everything happens for a reason?
61. Even if there is one reader or there is a million, there is always a reader and a book. It is a one-on-one relationship, author and reader collaborating together.
Each person has a special relationship with the books they read.
62. If I could type directly on a typewriter or computer, I would. But keyboards have always intimidated me. I’ve never been able to think clearly with my fingers in that position.
Not all writers are comfortable writing directly on the screen.
63. The best friendships, the longest lasting, are based on admiration.
True friends are the ones who push you to be better and celebrate your achievements.
64. Stories only happen to those who are capable of telling them.
No writer is afraid to tell a story.
65. He who trusts idiots ends up behaving like an idiot.
Remember that you feed off the energy of those around you.
66. Every man contains several men within him, and most of us jump from one to another without ever knowing who we are.
There is more inside us than we imagine.
67. Hell is forever, and I’m still a child. I’m not prepared to burn for eternity.
Hell is stopping enjoying life when we do something we don’t like.
68. The years weigh a lot, truly. But we have so much to be grateful for.
Despite the difficulties, there will always be something to be grateful for.
69. A pen is a much more primitive instrument. You feel the words come out of your body then you nail the words to the page.
There are writers who prefer to develop their ideas on paper.
70. People talk about the death of literature, but I believe it will not happen.
As long as there is something to say, there will be someone who wants to write.
