“ What does literature do better than anything else? It provides a detailed representation of the inner experience of being alive in a given time and place. Elif Batuman
“ It can be really exasperating to look back at your past. What’s the matter with you? I want to ask her, my younger self, shaking her shoulder. If I did that, she would probably cry. Maybe I would cry,… Elif Batuman
“ Why was "plain" a euphemism for "ugly," when the very hallmark of human beauty was its plainness, the symmetry and simplicity that always seemed so young and so innocent. It was impossible not to thin… Elif Batuman
“ Most people, the minute they meet you, were sizing you up for some competition for resources. It was as if everyone lived in fear of a shipwreck, where only so many people would fit on the lifeboat, a… Elif Batuman
“ When you think about all the infinitely many galaxies and combinations of DNA, and against all those odds you meet this person - it's a miracle...' 'Right,' I said. I couldn't imagine viewing Bill's p… Elif Batuman
“ If I could start over today, I would choose literature again. If the answers exist in the world or in the universe, I still think that's where we're going to find them. Elif Batuman
“ It was hard to decide on a literature course. Everything the professors said seemed to be somehow beside the point. You wanted to know why Anna had to die, and instead they told you that 19th century… Elif Batuman
“ You just go around getting hung up on all the least convenient things--and if the only obstacle in your way is a little extra work, then that's the wonderful gift right there. Elif Batuman
