ByQuotes

Anne Enright Quotes

Powerful Anne Enright for Daily Growth

About Anne Enright

Anne Enright is an acclaimed Irish novelist and short story writer, born on March 24, 1962, in Dublin. Growing up as one of six children in a large Catholic family, Enright's early years significantly influenced her work, with themes of family dynamics, identity, and the complexities of relationships often appearing in her novels. After attending Trinity College Dublin, where she studied English and French, Enright began her literary career by publishing short stories in various journals. Her debut collection, "The Portable Virgin" (1991), was followed by a novella, "What Are You Like?" (1996). However, it was her second novel, "The Gathering" (2007), which brought Enright international acclaim. The book explores the disintegration of a family following the death of the protagonist's brother and won the Man Booker Prize in 2007. This success cemented Enright as one of Ireland's most prominent contemporary authors. Enright's third novel, "The Forgotten Wisdom of Houses" (2014), is a fictional account of an Irish woman who moves to New York and struggles with her newfound freedom. Her most recent work, "Actress" (2017), focuses on the life of a famous actress, exploring themes of fame, family, and identity. Throughout her career, Enright has been celebrated for her evocative prose and insightful portrayals of human emotions. She is a member of Aosdána, an Irish association of artists, and was appointed Saoi (an honorary title) in 2018, the highest rank in the organization. In addition to writing, Enright has also taught creative writing at several universities, including the University of East Anglia and Princeton University.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The things I would tell you, if I knew the time."

This quote by Anne Enright reflects a longing to communicate deep emotions, insights, or wisdom that the speaker cannot find the right moment or words for in everyday life. It suggests a desire for connection and understanding, as well as an acknowledgment of the complexity and fragility of human relationships where we often miss opportunities to share our true feelings.

"Revenge is a complicated business, best pursued at a distance."

Anne Enright's quote suggests that seeking revenge is a complex endeavor that often requires emotional detachment. Pursuing revenge from afar implies maintaining a physical or emotional distance to avoid getting emotionally entangled in the process. This approach may allow one to act more rationally, avoiding impulsive actions that could lead to unnecessary suffering or regrets. It also suggests that the pursuit of revenge should not consume or define one's life, but rather be a means to restore balance or justice in a situation.

"Fiction is about the spaces between people; the spaces that are never really empty."

This quote emphasizes that fiction, in essence, delves into the unspoken or subtle aspects of relationships among people, capturing the intangible space that exists between individuals. These gaps can be filled with emotions, unfinished conversations, secrets, assumptions, and longings, and are crucial to understanding human connections. Thus, fiction offers a platform for exploring and interpreting these intricacies, ultimately providing insights into the complex tapestry of human relationships.

"Loss isn't something you move on from, you move around in it."

This quote suggests that loss is not an event one can overcome or leave behind; rather, it is a continuous part of life that one learns to navigate differently as time passes. Instead of healing and forgetting, the individual moves around within the experience of loss, finding new ways to cope, remember, and honor their feelings. This perspective acknowledges that loss has a lasting impact on our lives, but also emphasizes resilience and adaptability in dealing with it.

"The most important thing I have learned about art and life is that they are the same thing, and the same thing is all there is."

This quote suggests a profound unity between art and life, implying that both share the same essence and purpose. Anne Enright posits that life, in its entirety, can be seen as an artistic endeavor, with each person creating their own unique story or masterpiece through their experiences and actions. Similarly, art is not just something separate from life, but rather a reflection of it, expressing the human experience in various forms. Ultimately, she posits that everything we do, whether creating art or living our lives, contributes to the same grand tapestry of existence.

I'm very keenly aware that there aren't very many women writing literary fiction in Ireland and so that gives me a sense that what I say matters, in some small way.

- Anne Enright

Small, Some, Very, Ireland

Ireland is a series of stories that have been told to us, starting with the Irish Celtic national revival. I never believed in 'Old Ireland.' It has been made all of kitsch by the diaspora, looking back and deciding what Ireland is. Yes, it is green. Yes, it is friendly. I can't think of anything else for definite.

- Anne Enright

Looking Back, Been, Friendly, Revival

If your life just falls apart early on, you can put it together again. It's the people who are always on the brink of crisis who don't hit bottom who are in trouble.

- Anne Enright

Crisis, Always, Bottom, Brink

There are certain books that should be taken away from young writers; that should be prised out of their clutching fingers and locked away until they are all grown up and ready to read them without being smitten.

- Anne Enright

Young, Away, Fingers, Locked

I am interested in levels of brain discourse. How articulate are the voices in your head? You know, there's a different voice for the phone, and a different voice if you're talking in bed. When you're starting off with a narrator, it's interesting to think, where is their voice coming from, what part of their brain?

- Anne Enright

Voice, Bed, Part, Narrator

Naming is nice. It took me days before I was able to speak a name for my first child (what if people did not like it?), and I suspect we gave her a secret, second name as well, to keep her safe.

- Anne Enright

Secret, Before, Second, Naming

I have a small room to write in. One wall is completely covered in books. And I face the window with the curtain closed to stop the light hitting the computer.

- Anne Enright

Small, Room, Hitting, Curtain

I do wish I could write like some of the American women, who can be clever and heartfelt and hopeful; people like Lorrie Moore and Jennifer Egan. But Ireland messed me up too much, I think, so I can't.

- Anne Enright

Some, I Think, Jennifer, Heartfelt

The writing day can be, in some ways, too short, but it's actually a long series of hours, for months at a time, and there is a stillness there.

- Anne Enright

Some, Hours, Months, Stillness

I can't think of anything you might say about Irish people that is absolutely true.

- Anne Enright

Think, Might, About, Irish People

I work at the sentences. Many of the things people find distinctive about my writing, I think of as natural.

- Anne Enright

Think, Natural, I Think, Distinctive

I love the characters not knowing everything and the reader knowing more than them. There's more mischief in that and more room for seriousness, too.

- Anne Enright

Love, Mischief, Reader, Not Knowing

I've heard people, usually writers, say that no one wrote a great book after winning the Booker, but I honestly did not feel any big pressure. 'The Gathering' did hang over me in that it was darker than I thought at the time.

- Anne Enright

Thought, Big, Hang, Gathering

There often is a dark secret in books... There is often a gathering sense of dread; there's a gap sometimes in the text from which all kinds of monsters can emerge.

- Anne Enright

Sometimes, Often, Which, Gathering

In more static societies, like Ireland, you can tell where a person is from by their surname, or where their grandparents are from.

- Anne Enright

Grandparents, Static, Like, Societies

I'm starting to think my narrators' sentences are getting too big for them, and they are getting to sound a bit samey and, more disturbingly, a bit too much like me.

- Anne Enright

Think, Big, Like, Starting

Recently I read the stories I wrote in my early 20s, to put in a volume. And here is this brittle young woman, writing about marriage as, not the worst thing, but the most boring thing that could happen to a person. Now I think I was wrong. I like to be proven wrong.

- Anne Enright

Woman, Here, I Think, Early

There's no such thing as a life that is not normal, or, there's no such thing as a life that is not abnormal. We all have amazing lives; we all have very dull lives.

- Anne Enright

Amazing, Normal, Very, Dull

I write anywhere - when I have an idea, it's hard not to write. I used to be kind of precious about where I wrote. Everything had to be quiet and I couldn't be disturbed; it really filled my day.

- Anne Enright

Precious, Idea, I Write, Disturbed

I was raised in a very old fashioned Ireland where women were reared to be lovely.

- Anne Enright

Very, Saint Patrick's Day, Ireland

If you grow up in Ireland and read books then you really are obliged to attempt your own some time. It is not exactly a choice. I still don't know if I am a writer. Believe me, there are days when I have my doubts.

- Anne Enright

Own, Some, Obliged, Ireland

It is very hard to trace the effect of words on a life.

- Anne Enright

Words, Effect, Very, Trace

I never wanted to be mainstream as a writer, but look at what's happened.

- Anne Enright

Never, Writer, Wanted, Mainstream

When I'm working, I'm not so much disciplined as obsessive. I have this feeling that I need to clear everything away and get this down.

- Anne Enright

Need, Away, Disciplined, Obsessive

I'm quite interested in the absolute roots of narrative, why we tell stories at all: where the monsters come from.

- Anne Enright

Tell, Stories, Narrative, Monsters

I find being Irish quite a wearing thing. It takes so much work because it is a social construction. People think you are going to be this, this, and this.

- Anne Enright

Think, Going, Social, Construction

You write a book and you finish the book. That's your job done, right? You win the Booker and you have a whole new job. You have to be the thing, right? So instead of writing the story, you somehow are the story. And that I found that sort of terrible.

- Anne Enright

Book, Your, Whole, Finish

I'm really lucky with the people around me. They know me, so they don't confuse the issues, really. They know what a book is and they know who I am and they know the difference between the two.

- Anne Enright

Book, Lucky, Am, Confuse

For 10 or 11 years, I had my kids, I wrote four or five books, and I was working all the damn time.

- Anne Enright

Years, Had, Wrote, Damn

I think it's very important to write a demythologized woman character. My characters are flawed. They are no better than they should be.

- Anne Enright

Think, I Think, Very, Flawed

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.