Jean Hanff Korelitz Quotes

Powerful Jean Hanff Korelitz for Daily Growth

About Jean Hanff Korelitz

Jean Hanff Korelitz is an acclaimed American novelist, known for her intricate narratives that explore themes of identity, family dynamics, and the human psyche. Born on January 14, 1965, in New York City, Korelitz was raised in suburban New Jersey by parents who were both educators. Her early life was heavily influenced by literature, as her father was an English professor at Rutgers University. Korelitz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her literary journey began with the publication of her debut novel, "Admissions" (2009), which centers around the admissions process at an Ivy League university. The book was a New York Times bestseller and garnered critical acclaim, including being longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. In 2014, Korelitz published "You Should Have Known," a psychological thriller that delves into the mind of a psychiatrist who must confront her own failings when a tragic event shatters her picture-perfect life. The novel was adapted into a television series titled "The Opposite of Everyone" in 2017. One of Korelitz's most notable works is "A Jury of Her Peers" (2011), a retelling of Susan Glaspell's play set in contemporary New York City. This novel explores the complexities of female friendship, power dynamics, and the societal expectations placed upon women. Korelitz continues to write compelling novels that captivate readers with their rich characters and intricate plots. Her works are characterized by her keen insights into human nature and her ability to craft narratives that resonate deeply with readers.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The past is never really the past; it's always with us."

This quote suggests that our past experiences, memories, and events continue to influence and shape our present and future lives in profound ways. It implies that our past does not simply disappear or become irrelevant as we move forward; rather, it remains an integral part of who we are and how we perceive and navigate the world around us. The quote serves as a reminder that understanding one's history is essential for personal growth, self-awareness, and empathy in dealing with others.


"Family is the story you tell yourself about where you came from."

This quote by Jean Hanff Korelitz emphasizes that family isn't just a collection of individuals sharing DNA, but rather the narrative we construct around our ancestors and upbringing. It suggests that our understanding of who we are, our identity, is deeply rooted in the stories, values, and traditions passed down from our family lineage. In essence, our family serves as the foundation upon which we build our personal narratives and self-concept.


"Love is not a feeling but a choice."

This quote emphasizes that love isn't something that happens spontaneously or is solely based on feelings; it's an active decision one makes to continue nurturing a relationship despite its ups and downs. It suggests that love requires commitment, effort, understanding, and patience, rather than relying on fleeting emotions. In other words, love is a conscious choice we make every day, not just a fleeting feeling.


"The greatest gift we can give our children, in fact, may be our own freedom."

This quote suggests that giving children the gift of a parent's personal freedom is one of the most valuable presents we can offer them. By achieving our own personal growth and self-realization, we model independence and resilience for our children, empowering them to do the same in their lives. In this way, our freedom serves as a catalyst for their emotional, intellectual, and social development, fostering a healthy, balanced environment that allows them to thrive.


"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

This quote by Jean Hanff Korelitz implies that writing a novel is a journey through an unknown, vast expanse, where one can only see a limited portion at any given moment, much like driving at night with headlights illuminating the immediate path. However, just as a skilled driver makes the entire trip despite this limitation by trusting their intuition and the progress they've made so far, an author too, writes one scene, then another, gradually moving forward through the story while relying on their creative instincts and the foundation they've built along the way.


My dog is vicious to the uninvited guest, lavishly affectionate to the invited one, and so freakishly acute that he has mastered the English language.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Invited, Acute, Affectionate, Vicious

A mutt is a dog. He is the stuff of dogginess, a creature allied to species, not breed, and untrammeled by human hand or preference.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Preference, Allied, Species, Breed

Most of all, I am struck by an irony central to the lot of a purebred dog: As it attains the hallmarks of its breed, it seems to simultaneously relinquish its basic dogginess, until it is less a dog than a Pomeranian, Collie or Bloodhound.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Irony, Lot, Central, Breed

To me, respect for human life begins with making it more difficult to obtain an inanimate object that is designed to snuff it out.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Making, Obtain, Inanimate, Snuff

The Thames could be thought of as England's longest archaeological site, and no fewer than 90,000 objects recovered from its foreshore are in the collection of the Museum of London, whose 30-year relationship with London mudlarks is both committed and highly regulated.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Thought, London, Longest, Recovered

When you get right down to it, there's something uniquely satisfying in being gripped by a great plot, in begrudging whatever real-world obligations might prevent you from finding out what happens next.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Next, Might, Obligations, Real-World

A successful birth is not a birth without drugs or monitors or surgery. A successful birth is when you're alive and the baby's alive.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Baby, Birth, Alive, Surgery

I'm not in a position to tell anyone anything about how to live his or her life, but I think it's worth noting that no one can lie to us as effectively as we can lie to ourselves. We know exactly what to say! And I do think that women, even extremely smart women, can be very, very vulnerable to men.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Tell, I Think, Very, Noting

I made it to London aged six, an event I recorded in my diary with coloured markers to convey my sense of occasion. And in 1983, after graduating from college, I returned to spend two years at Cambridge University.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

College, London, Occasion, Cambridge

Pacing is not the sort of thing you can plan out beforehand, but you're always aware of it as you write, because you need to make constant decisions.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Need, Always, Constant, Pacing

My first three novels were all the subjects of intensely exciting flurries of calls from producers and even stars' production companies, and once someone actually hired a screenwriter to adapt one of my books - but it all came to nothing, so I tried not to get too excited when a Hollywood suitor came calling for 'Admission,' my fourth novel.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Three, Hollywood, Production, Novels

You'd have to go all the way back to 1972 to find a version of me who didn't care about theater, who didn't read Playbill and watch the Tony Awards, or get why Bob Fosse's choreography was so groundbreaking that all you need to say is 'Fosse hands' and theater people know what you mean.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Hands, Back, About, Choreography

The implication of AKC registration is that a dog who has it is better than a dog who hasn't.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Better, Than, Registration, Implication

Every so often in life, you encounter a brilliant idea. Usually, at least in my case, it's somebody else's idea.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Brilliant, Idea, Least, Encounter

Like many people, I have a fascination with lies and the people who tell them. I wouldn't say I've never told a lie, but I don't think I've ever told one without both assuming I would be found out and feeling absolutely rotten about it.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Lie, Tell, About, Assuming

I started thinking about what I've always been interested in: how people can't see things that are right in front of them. All you have to do is read the papers to see endless examples of smart people who can't see the nose on their faces.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Been, About, Endless, Faces

As a writer, I have this compulsion to take characters who appear formidable and bombard them with adversity until they crumble. What's interesting is watching them rise again, and seeing how they've changed and grown, if indeed they have.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Watching, How, Crumble, Rise

A good story, a story resonant and remarkable, can be remade endlessly to tell new sides of itself for new generations of readers.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

New, Resonant, Endlessly, Readers

Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant by day and trying to be a novelist by night, no god reigned so supreme as the god of literary prose.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Prose, Editorial, Lowly, Novelist

Naturally, no march on Washington would be complete without its counter-demonstration.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Washington, Naturally, Would, March

The first time I went to Helene Hanff's apartment at 305 East 72nd Street, it was 1977, and I was a 16-year-old girl who wanted to be a writer.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Girl, East, Wanted, Apartment

I say that glorious prose is a fine and laudable thing, but without an enthralling story, it's just so much verbal tapioca. Simply put, the best books have both, and the best writers disparage neither.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Say, Prose, Disparage, Glorious

Did I become a theater person right then, sitting in the Imperial Theater, waiting for the high piccolo note at the start of 'Pippin'? Maybe.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Waiting, Maybe, Note, Imperial

I was 11 years old and horse-obsessed. New York City was an unfortunate place for a girl like me to be growing up.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

City, New, Like, Unfortunate

Serious writers pretend they don't care about film adaptations of their work, but it's a colossal lie: We all care.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Work, Lie, About, Adaptation

Personally, I would love to see every gun on the planet disappear.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Love, Gun, See, Disappear

People need a narrative, and if there isn't one on offer, they make one up.

- Jean Hanff Korelitz

Need, Offer, Up, Narrative

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