You learn different things through fiction. Historians are always making a plot about how certain things came to happen. Whereas a novelist looks at tiny little things and builds up a sort of map, like a painting, so that you see the shapes of things. A. S. Byatt buildfictionhappen share on social
I don't only write about English literature; I also write about chaos theory and... ants. I can understand ants. A. S. Byatt antchaosenglish Change image and share on social
I think vestigially there's a synesthete in me, but not like a real one who immediately knows what colour Wednesday is. A. S. Byatt colourimmediatelyreal Change image and share on social
I am a profound pessimist both about life and about human relations and about politics and ecology. Humans are inadequate and stupid creatures who sooner or later make a mess, and those who are trying to do good do a lot more damage than those who are muddling along. A. S. Byatt creaturedamageecology share on social
I am suspicious of writers who go looking for issues to address. Writers are neither preachers nor journalists. Journalists know much more than most writers about what's going on in the world. And if you want to change things, you do journalism. A. S. Byatt addresschangeissue share on social
I know that part of the reason I read Tolkien when I'm ill is that there is an almost total absence of sexuality in his world, which is restful. A. S. Byatt absenceillpart Change image and share on social
A surprising number of people - including many students of literature - will tell you they haven't really lived in a book since they were children. Sadly, being taught literature often destroys the life of the books. A. S. Byatt bookchilddestroy share on social
I have never been able to read Agatha Christie - the pleasure is purely in the puzzle, and the reader is toyed with by someone who didn't decide herself who the killer was until the end of the writing. A. S. Byatt agathachristiedecide share on social
I think there are a lot more important things than art in the world. But not to me. A. S. Byatt artimportantlot Change image and share on social
Reading a newspaper is like reading someone's letters, as opposed to a biography or a history. The writer really does not know what will happen. A novelist needs to feel what that is like. A. S. Byatt biographyfeelhappen Change image and share on social
