Shattered Quotes

“You would think from reading any drama that the world is full of terror, terrible marriages, bad sex and wars. And it is true that I myself have been the subject of a catastrophe, but this is nothing like the whole story which, if it is to be the whole story, will have to include stretches of harmony, joy, and the pleasure that people can take in one another’s company. How much people want to give one another; how altruistic they can be. Gentleness and kindness – it’s hardly dramatic, but there’s a lot of it about.”
― Hanif Kureishi, Shattered

“At school these were called ‘one-hand reads’; some of the pages got sticky and yellow. It must seem odd now to think if you wanted a wank you’d read a book. But for a young, inexperienced kid like myself, some of these books – particularly the Victorian pornographic ones, like The Pearl – were a revelation. When I read about cunnilingus and fellatio for the first time, I was appalled and amazed that anyone would want to put their lips against somebody else’s genitalia.”
― Hanif Kureishi, Shattered

“overcome. My defences – good cheer and love of jokes – can’t get me through this: the hospital smell, the despair, and the hatred of my condition, the constant realization that I am disabled. It has reduced me to a hopelessness I’ve never known in my life. I am experiencing a terrible Edgar Allan Poe feeling of being entombed in my own body.”
― Hanif Kureishi, Shattered

“Back to praise and criticism, it is odd that writers are more likely to believe the vile things that are sometimes said about their work, particularly by professional critics, than good things said by friends. There is no reason to believe that an unpleasant remark should carry more weight than a pleasant one. But who hasn’t given false praise to friends? It is difficult to gauge the truthfulness of those closest to you. Quite rightly, they want to cheer us up. Nevertheless, when you receive a reaction to your work from critics and friends, you should be able to measure the value of it, and whether your work has resonated with an audience at all. If it has, you should be able to take this praise seriously and use the reaction as a charge for the future, to keep going. Unfortunately, we are afraid of being praised since it might give rise to envy in others, who might then hate us, or worse, be humiliated.”
― Hanif Kureishi, Shattered