Jami Attenberg Quotes

The things I keep going back to, rereading, maybe they say more about me as a reader than about the books. Love in the Time of Cholera, Pale Fire.

I discovered Christopher Isherwood in college. His writing style is so direct, warm, and inclusive.

I can't speak for readers in general, but personally I like to read stories behind which there is some truth, something real and above all, something emotional. I don't like to read essays on literature; I don't like to read critical or rational or impersonal or cold disquisitions on subjects.

No, I only like whether I like the story or not, essentially see something in it that isn't completely there.

Mark Helprin and Lawrence Durrell, both of whom write fat and florid novels that appall me now but opened my eyes to the power of fiction when I was in my 20s.

You just try to be true to your idea of what is funny and what is also interesting.

I like the irony in my work.

People don't get my sense of humour.

Anytime somebody tells me they saw 'Safety Not Guaranteed' in the theater, my answer is, 'That was you?'

If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything.

William Trevor is an author I admire; his stories are subtle and powerful, and beautifully written.

The odd thing about comedy is that the more personal you are, the larger the audience.

A good comic explores the imagination, but it's always got to have those notes of truth running through it.

Great Art is Great because it inspired you greatly. If it didn't, no matter what the critics, the museums and the galleries say, it's not great art for you.

I don't really like comedy.

I'm a nearly uncontrollable Geoff Dyer fan, who I think is one of the most comically brilliant writers today.

Mean comedy is not really something that I personally gravitate towards or something that I do.

If you want to reach any kind of poignancy or meaning a lot of times, coming from comedy is the best way to get there.

If you don't like the people, you're just doing a sketch. Which, in most cases, is comedy minus some emotional backbone.

Generally, if I read something that I think is really good and that I feel a connection with and is right for me, I see and hear who the guy is, as manifested by me.

I really like sardonicism and wit. I love the writing of Joy Williams and Lorrie Moore. I like Tina Fey, Amy Schumer.

At every turn, Molly Antopol's gorgeous debut story collection, 'The UnAmericans,' is firing on multiple cylinders.

I remember reading 'The Guest' and thinking, 'This is going to be something!'

I love stories. But I don't distinguish so much between a short story and a novel. Personally, when I sit down to read a novel or a Chekhov story, I'm seeking the same thing: I'm seeking that same rich portrayal of life in words.

I read 'Love in the Time of Cholera' when I was 19, and I still think about the characters.