La rêveuse d'Ostende Quotes

“You only really discover a masterpiece after a third or fourth reading, don’t you agree?”
“And how can you tell something is a masterpiece?”
“I don’t skip over the same passages”.”
― Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, La rêveuse d'Ostende

“She had pronounced the words “New Books” with caution and regret, articulating them reluctantly, as if they were vulgar, even obscene words. As I listened to her, I realised that that it was indeed a commercial term, used to designate an item in fashion, but inappropriate to define a literary work; I also realised that to her eyes I was nothing but an author of ‘New Books’ a supplier in a way. “But novels by Daudet or Maupassant - weren’t they ‘New Books’ when they came out?” I asked.

“Time has given them their place”, she replied, as though I had just said something insolent.”
― Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, La rêveuse d'Ostende