The Suitcase Quotes

“There's a reason every book, even one that isn't very serious, is shaped like a suitcase”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Our life is but a grain of sand in the indifferent ocean of infinity.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“If Hemingway is to believed, poverty is an invaluable school for a writer. Poverty makes a man clear-sighted. And so on. It's interesting that Hemingway realized this only when he became rich.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Most people consider problems whose solutions don't suit them to be insoluble.
And they constantly ask questions to which they don't need truthful answers.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“We didn’t raise our daughter, we merely loved her.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Три вещи может сделать женщина для русского писателя. Она может кормить его. Она может искренне поверить в его гениальность. И наконец, женщина может оставить его в покое. Кстати, третье не исключает второго и первого.”
― Сергей Довлатов, The Suitcase

“I looked at the empty suitcase. On the bottom was Karl Marx. On the lid was Brodsky. And between them, my lost, precious, only life.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“No point in arguing. But of course I argued.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Leger died a Communist, having fallen once and for all for the greatest charlatanism of all times. It may be that, like many artists, he was stupid”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“You can divide the world into two kinds of people: those who ask, and those who answer. Those who pose questions, and those who frown in irritation in response.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“I decided to "find myself" in monumental sculpture. Alas, monumental sculpture is a very conservative genre. The cause is the monumentality itself. You can secretly write novels and symphonies. You can secretly experiment on canvas. But just try to hide a twelve-foot-high sculpture!”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Большинство людей считает неразрешимыми те проблемы, решение которых мало их устраивает. И они без конца задают вопросы, хотя правдивые ответы им совершенно не требуются…”
― Sergei Dovlatov, Чемодан

“As a schoolboy I liked to draw the leaders of the world proletariat - especially Marx. Just start smearing an ordinary splotch of ink around and you've already got a resemblance...”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Nicht umsonst sagt meine Frau immer: „Dich interessiert alles, außer deinen ehelichen Pflichten.“
Meine Frau versteht unter ehelichen Pflichten in erster Linie Nüchternheit.”
― Sergej Dowlatow, Der Koffer

“Лежу тут на диване в одиночестве, с женой.”
― Сергей Довлатов, The Suitcase

“Я оглядел пустой чемодан. На дне - Карл Маркс. На крышке - Бродский. А между ними - пропащая, бесценная жизнь.”
― Сергей Довлатов, The Suitcase

“The university campus was in the old part of town. The combination of water and stone creates a special, majestic atmosphere there. It's hard to be a sluggard under those circumstances, but I managed.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Le persone, per la maggior parte, considerano insolubili i problemi la ci soluzione non va loro a genio. Così continuano senza sosta a fare domande, anche se non hanno affatto bisogno di avere risposte sincere...”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Existe una razón para que cada libro, hasta los que no son muy serios, tenga la forma de una maleta”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“En resumen, no se limitaba a su origen hebreo, iba más lejos en sus defectos”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Sé que la libertad es un concepto filosófico. Pero eso no me interesa. A los esclavos no les interesa la filosofía. La libertad consite en ir a donde quieras”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“I felt what a pig might feel in the meat section of a deli.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Имея большую зарплату, можно позволить себе такую роскошь, как добродушие.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Я убедился, что любая мысль влюблённого бедняка — преступна.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Моя жена всегда раскрывала ту книгу, что лежала ближе. И начинала читать с любого места.
Сначала меня это злило. Затем я убедился, что книги ей всегда попадаются хорошие. Не то что мне. Уж если я раскрою случайную книгу, то это непременно будет «Поднятая целина»..”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“Кто мы такие, чтобы распоряжаться собственной жизнью?!”
― Сергей Довлатов, The Suitcase

“Abans que nasquem, hi ha un abisme. Després de morts, hi ha un abisme. La mostra vida és només un gra de sorra a l'oceà indiferent de la infinitud. Intentem almenys que aquest instant no s'enfosqueixi de tristor i d'avorriment! Intentem deixar una esgarrapada a l'escorça terrestre."
La maleta, Sergei Dovlatov”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“[...]Basically, that marble fucker is hanging by a thread. So when the rally starts, stay to the side. And warn your wife."
"But the cream of Leningrad will be standing there! What if the thing falls?"
"Might be for the best, the foreman replied wanly.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase

“The day was cold but sunny. The city was decorated with holiday flags.”
― Sergei Dovlatov, The Suitcase