Quotes from Yann Martel

If we citizens do not support our artists then we sacrifice our immagination on the altar of cruel reality & we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams. (ppXII)

Now he realized that this matter of faith was either radically to be taken seriously or radically not to be taken seriously.

But I don't insist. I don't mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.

A dolgok nem úgy alakultak, ahogy kellett volna, de mit tehet az ember? Úgy kell fogadnunk az életet, ahogy jön, és amennyire lehet, ki kell hoznunk belÅ'le a legjobbat.

The holy word is story, and story is the holy word.

Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect? Love.

I thought I knew not only her habits but also her limits. This display of ferocity, of savage courage, made me realize that I was wrong. All my life I had known only a part of her.

It is true that those we meet can change us

the Greater Good and the Greater Profit are not compatible aims...

A világ nem egyszer?en olyan, amilyen. Olyan, amilyennek felfogjuk, nem? S azzal, hogy valamit felfogunk, valamit hozzá is teszünk, nem igaz? Nem válik-e ettÅ'l történetté az élet is?

I don't mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.

Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love—but sometimes it was so hard to love.

To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sun above you.

What of God's silence? I think it over. I add: An intellect confounded yet a trusting sense of presence and of ultimate purpose.

Only fear can defeat life.

For example--I wonder--could you tell my jumbled story in exactly one hundred chapters, not one more, not one less? I'll tell you, that's one thing I hate about my nickname, the way that number runs on forever. It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go.

Whatever the reason for wanting to escape, sane or insane, zoo detractors should realize that animals don't escape to somewhere but from something.

My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. I wiped them guiltily on my napkin. He had no idea how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. I had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste.

Memory is a glue: it attaches you to everything, even to what you don't like.

What is the purpose of reason, Richard Parker? Is it no more than to shine at practicalities - the getting of food, clothing and shelter? Why can't reason give greater answers? Why can we throw a question further than we can pull in an answer? Why such a vast net of there's so little fish to catch?

Life goes on and you don't touch tigers.

This was all a bit much for me. The tone was right—loving and brave—but the details seemed bleak. I said nothing. It wasn't for fear of angering Mr. Kumar. I was more afraid that in a few words thrown out he might destroy something that I loved. What if his words had the effect of polio on me? What a terrible disease that must be if it could kill God in a man.

I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.

T]o be a castaway is to be caught up in grim and exhausting opposites.