57 Quotes by Tea Obreht

The forty days of the soul begin on the morning after death.

He lived in a state of agitation, at odds with everything: the heat, the weather, the gold or lack thereof; the density of the crowds and the absence of quality people; his neighbors and their proclivities; the fact that they were so far inland he doubted a railroad would ever come their way---and if so, what was the point of staking up in such a godforsaken place?

When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short story about a goat on my mother's hundred-pound, black-and-white-screen laptop. The story came about largely because I liked the way the word 'goat' looked on the page, but I decided then and there that I wanted to be a writer. That desire never changed.

At the end of the day, it's about the reader's attachment to and belief in the magical elements that make or break magical realism.

A family has its own rituals and its own superstitions.

I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly.

The best fiction stays with you and changes you.

When I hit a block, regardless of what I am writing, what the subject matter is, or what's going on in the plot, I go back and I read Pablo Neruda's poetry. I don't actually speak Spanish, so I read it translation. But I always go back to Neruda. I don't know why, but it calms me, calms my brain.

Being taken seriously, for a young writer, is a wonderful form of encouragement, but at the same time, I don't think one should ever feel like attempting a kind of artistic endeavor is beyond your scope just because of age or inexperience.