Tim O'Brien Quotes

Top 100 wise famous quotes and sayings by Tim O'Brien

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Tim O'Brien Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Tim O'Brien on Wise Famous Quotes.

Tim O'Brien quotes: And in the end, really, there's nothing much to say about a true war story, except maybe Oh. And in the end, really, there's nothing much to say about a true war story, except maybe Oh.
Tim O'Brien quotes: At the bottom, all wars are the same because they involve death and maiming and wounding, and grieving mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. At the bottom, all wars are the same because they involve death and maiming and wounding, and grieving mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Most of the things in 'The Things They Carried' didn't happen to me. Ninety-five percent of it's invented. It's not what occurred. Most of the things in 'The Things They Carried' didn't happen to me. Ninety-five percent of it's invented. It's not what occurred.
Tim O'Brien quotes: What sticks to memory, often, are those odd little fragments that have no beginning and no end ... What sticks to memory, often, are those odd little fragments that have no beginning and no end ...
Tim O'Brien quotes: There's something about being amid the chaos and the horror of a war that makes you appreciate all you don't have - and all you may lose forever. There's something about being amid the chaos and the horror of a war that makes you appreciate all you don't have - and all you may lose forever.
Tim O'Brien quotes: But this, too, was a performance. But this, too, was a performance.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I'll picture Rat Kiley face, his grief, and I'll think, You dumb cooze. Because she wasn't listening. It wasn't a war story. It was a love story. I'll picture Rat Kiley face, his grief, and I'll think, You dumb cooze. Because she wasn't listening. It wasn't a war story. It was a love story.
Tim O'Brien quotes: By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I was a coward. I went to the war. I was a coward. I went to the war.
Tim O'Brien quotes: With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head. With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.
Tim O'Brien quotes: A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written. A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.
Tim O'Brien quotes: You don't have to be in Nam to be in Nam. You don't have to be in Nam to be in Nam.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I guess we're really brothers, aren't we? Don't know what that means, except it means that some of the same things we remember. I guess we're really brothers, aren't we? Don't know what that means, except it means that some of the same things we remember.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I returned to Vietnam in '94, and even then, all those decades later, walking around that place, I remained afraid. And, in some ways, rightly so. I returned to Vietnam in '94, and even then, all those decades later, walking around that place, I remained afraid. And, in some ways, rightly so.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I showed up in October 1946, part of an early surge that would become a great nationwide baby boom. My sister Kathy was born a year later. I showed up in October 1946, part of an early surge that would become a great nationwide baby boom. My sister Kathy was born a year later.
Tim O'Brien quotes: You're never more alive than when you're almost dead. You're never more alive than when you're almost dead.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Laughter does not deny pain. Laughter - like a wail - acknowledges and replies to pain. Laughter does not deny pain. Laughter - like a wail - acknowledges and replies to pain.
Tim O'Brien quotes: For me, the way to approach a subject such as Vietnam is through storytelling. For me, the way to approach a subject such as Vietnam is through storytelling.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Let the story tell itself. Let the story tell itself.
Tim O'Brien quotes: They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak. They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Writing doesn't get easier with experience. The more you know, the harder it is to write. Writing doesn't get easier with experience. The more you know, the harder it is to write.
Tim O'Brien quotes: That you don't make war without knowing why. That you don't make war without knowing why.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth.
Tim O'Brien quotes: War is a fundamental aspect of human existence. It's good to know what war entails and what the human sacrifice is. War is a fundamental aspect of human existence. It's good to know what war entails and what the human sacrifice is.
Tim O'Brien quotes: All around me the options seemed to be narrowing, as if I were hurtling down a huge black funnel, the whole world squeezing in tight. All around me the options seemed to be narrowing, as if I were hurtling down a huge black funnel, the whole world squeezing in tight.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Nostalgia that's the basic sickness, and I never heard of a doctor who can cure it. Nostalgia
that's the basic sickness, and I never heard of a doctor who can cure it.
Tim O'Brien quotes: They sat smoking the dead mans dope until the chopper came They sat smoking the dead mans dope until the chopper came
Tim O'Brien quotes: Inside I feel much like a 12-year-old or a 17-year-old who knows big words. Inside I feel much like a 12-year-old or a 17-year-old who knows big words.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Hear that quiet, man?' he said. 'That quiet - just listen. There's your moral. Hear that quiet, man?' he said. 'That quiet - just listen. There's your moral.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Precisely where the land touched water at high tide, where things came together but also separated. Precisely where the land touched water at high tide, where things came together but also separated.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I carry the memories of the ghosts of a place called Vietnam - the people of Vietnam, my fellow soldiers. I carry the memories of the ghosts of a place called Vietnam - the people of Vietnam, my fellow soldiers.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Fiction is a lie that is told in the service of truth. Fiction is a lie that is told in the service of truth.
Tim O'Brien quotes: But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget. But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget.
Tim O'Brien quotes: A small, seemingly inconsequential event can determine a life. A small, seemingly inconsequential event can determine a life.
Tim O'Brien quotes: A true war story is never moral. A true war story is never moral.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Everything was such a damned nice idea when it was an idea. Everything was such a damned nice idea when it was an idea.
Tim O'Brien quotes: It was not battle, it was just the endless march, village to village, withoutpurpose, nothing won or lost. They marched for the sake of the march. It was not battle, it was just the endless march, village to village, without
purpose, nothing won or lost. They marched for the sake of the march.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Don't throw away luck on little stuff. Save it up. Don't throw away luck on little stuff. Save it up.
Tim O'Brien quotes: They used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness. They used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Imagination, like reality, has its limits. Imagination, like reality, has its limits.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I don't think I'd call myself a war writer, but I would probably say I'm a writer who has written about war. I don't think I'd call myself a war writer, but I would probably say I'm a writer who has written about war.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Every dark cloud may well have its silver lining, but I have come to learn that every silver lining has its dark consequences. Every dark cloud may well have its silver lining, but I have come to learn that every silver lining has its dark consequences.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Fiction is the lie that helps us understand the truth. Fiction is the lie that helps us understand the truth.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I live in my head all day long and the world is a little dreamy. I live in my head all day long and the world is a little dreamy.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Each of us, I suppose needs his illusions. Life after death. A maker of planets. A woman to love, a man to hate. Something sacred. But what a waste. Each of us, I suppose needs his illusions. Life after death. A maker of planets. A woman to love, a man to hate. Something sacred. But what a waste.
Tim O'Brien quotes: It's sad when you learn you're not much of a hero. It's sad when you learn you're not much of a hero.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I'm not dead. But when I am, it's likeI don't know, I guess it's like being inside a book that nobody's reading. I'm not dead. But when I am, it's likeI don't know, I guess it's like being inside a book that nobody's reading.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I survived, but it's not a happy ending.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I heard water evaporating. I heard the tick of my own biology. I heard water evaporating. I heard the tick of my own biology.
Tim O'Brien quotes: The world shrieks and sinks talons into our hearts. This we call memory. The world shrieks and sinks talons into our hearts. This we call memory.
Tim O'Brien quotes: If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth. If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth.
Tim O'Brien quotes: That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth. That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I'm young and happy. I'll never die. I'm young and happy. I'll never die.
Tim O'Brien quotes: They were afraid of dieing, but they were even more afraid to show it. They were afraid of dieing, but they were even more afraid to show it.
Tim O'Brien quotes: It wasn't a question of deceit. Just the opposite; he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt. It wasn't a question of deceit. Just the opposite; he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Once someone's dead you can't make them undead. Once someone's dead you can't make them undead.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Sometimes the bravest thing in the world was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones. Sometimes the bravest thing in the world was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones.
Tim O'Brien quotes: A place where your life exists before you live it, and where it goes afterwards. A place where your life exists before you live it, and where it goes afterwards.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I learned that moral courage is harder than physical courage. I learned that moral courage is harder than physical courage.
Tim O'Brien quotes: He hated her. Yes, he did. He hated her. Love, too, but it was a hard, hating kind of love. He hated her. Yes, he did. He hated her. Love, too, but it was a hard, hating kind of love.
Tim O'Brien quotes: To be memorable and to have dramatic impact, informational detail must function actively within the dynamic of a story. To be memorable and to have dramatic impact, informational detail must function actively within the dynamic of a story.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Words, too, have genuine substance mass and weight and specific gravity. Words, too, have genuine substance
mass and weight and specific gravity.
Tim O'Brien quotes: She'd say amazing things sometimes. "Once you're alive," she'd say, "you cant ever be dead. She'd say amazing things sometimes. "Once you're alive," she'd say, "you cant ever be dead.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Fantasy has a dark side to it. It also has a light hemisphere - the power of the human imagination to keep going, to imagine a better tomorrow. Fantasy has a dark side to it. It also has a light hemisphere - the power of the human imagination to keep going, to imagine a better tomorrow.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Imagination is a killer. Imagination is a killer.
Tim O'Brien quotes: But this too is true: stories save us. But this too is true: stories save us.
Tim O'Brien quotes: My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead. My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I have tried, of course, to be faithful to the evidence. Yet evidence is not truth. It is only evident. I have tried, of course, to be faithful to the evidence. Yet evidence is not truth. It is only evident.
Tim O'Brien quotes: The wars don't end when you sign peace treaties or when the years go by. They will echo on until I'm gone and all the widows and orphans are gone. The wars don't end when you sign peace treaties or when the years go by. They will echo on until I'm gone and all the widows and orphans are gone.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Once you're alive, you can't ever be dead. Once you're alive, you can't ever be dead.
Tim O'Brien quotes: My whole life seemed to spill out into the river, swirling away from me, everything I had ever been or ever wanted to be. My whole life seemed to spill out into the river, swirling away from me, everything I had ever been or ever wanted to be.
Tim O'Brien quotes: The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, repaying itself over and over. The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, repaying itself over and over.
Tim O'Brien quotes: But in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world. But in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world.
Tim O'Brien quotes: What happened, and what might have happened? What happened, and what might have happened?
Tim O'Brien quotes: But this too is true: stories can save us. But this too is true: stories can save us.
Tim O'Brien quotes: The presence of danger has a way of making you feel fully awake. The presence of danger has a way of making you feel fully awake.
Tim O'Brien quotes: And now it is time for a final act of courage. I urge you: March proudly into your own dream. And now it is time for a final act of courage. I urge you: March proudly into your own dream.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Proximity to death brings with it a corresponding proximity to life. Proximity to death brings with it a corresponding proximity to life.
Tim O'Brien quotes: I hated the draft, but at the same time, it's something that made every American take war seriously. I hated the draft, but at the same time, it's something that made every American take war seriously.
Tim O'Brien quotes: And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever.
Tim O'Brien quotes: A lot like yesterday, a lot like never. A lot like yesterday, a lot like never.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Did I choose this life of illusion? Don't be mad. My bed was made, I just lied in it. Did I choose this life of illusion? Don't be mad. My bed was made, I just lied in it.
Tim O'Brien quotes: How crazy it was that people who were so incredibly alive could get so incredibly dead How crazy it was that people who were so incredibly alive could get so incredibly dead
Tim O'Brien quotes: What is love, for God's sake, if not the most distilled obsession? What is love, for God's sake, if not the most distilled obsession?
Tim O'Brien quotes: In a way I wanted to stop myself. It was cruel, I knew that, but right and wrong were somewhere else. In a way I wanted to stop myself. It was cruel, I knew that, but right and wrong were somewhere else.
Tim O'Brien quotes: It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do. It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do.
Tim O'Brien quotes: When I have a book I enjoy, I'm partly in the book. I'm not just observing it. When I have a book I enjoy, I'm partly in the book. I'm not just observing it.
Tim O'Brien quotes: They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried. They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Stories can save us. Stories can save us.
Tim O'Brien quotes: There is always the threat of tomorrow's treachery, or next year's treachery, or the treachery implicit in all the tomorrows beyond that. There is always the threat of tomorrow's treachery, or next year's treachery, or the treachery implicit in all the tomorrows beyond that.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Everyone acts stupid at some time in order to be loved. Everyone acts stupid at some time in order to be loved.
Tim O'Brien quotes: In a war without aim, you tend not to aim. You close your eyes, close your heart. The consequences become hit or miss in the most literal sense. In a war without aim, you tend not to aim. You close your eyes, close your heart. The consequences become hit or miss in the most literal sense.
Tim O'Brien quotes: A writer's obligation is to invent: to go beyond what did happen and to look at what could have happened but didn't. Fiction writers are born liars. A writer's obligation is to invent: to go beyond what did happen and to look at what could have happened but didn't. Fiction writers are born liars.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Can a word stop your heart as surely as arsenic? Can a word stop your heart as surely as arsenic?
Tim O'Brien quotes: But in a story I can steal her soul. But in a story I can steal her soul.
Tim O'Brien quotes: With no draft, the only people who went to war were those who wanted to, or at least those who wanted to join the military. With no draft, the only people who went to war were those who wanted to, or at least those who wanted to join the military.
Tim O'Brien quotes: When your afraid,reallyafraid, you see things you never saw before, you pay attention to the world. When your afraid,reallyafraid, you see things you never saw before, you pay attention to the world.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Zapped while zipping. Zapped while zipping.
Tim O'Brien quotes: Love, as wonderful and horrible as it is, has at its center a kind of pitiful humor. Love, as wonderful and horrible as it is, has at its center a kind of pitiful humor.

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