Quotes by Lev Grossman

About Lev Grossman:

Lev Grossman is an American novelist and journalist, notably the author of the novels Warp (1997), Codex (2004), The Magicians (2009), The Magician King (2011), and The Magician's Land (2014). He is a senior writer and book critic for TIME.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

When it comes to true humility in the face of history, nothing beats complete silence.

Lev Grossman

It's a great thing when you feel that you recognize yourself, deeply and movingly, in a work of literature.

Lev Grossman

The novel is a highly corrupt medium, after all - in the end the vast majority of them simply aren't that great, and are destined to be forgotten.

Lev Grossman

A lot of young-adult authors, great ones, have tried their hands at literary fiction, and not a lot of them have succeeded. Not even Roald Dahl could switch-hit, and not for lack of trying.

Lev Grossman

Being a writer can be isolating. It's good to be among readers and booksellers.

Lev Grossman

What surprised me about 'The Casual Vacancy' was not just how good it was, but the particular way in which it was good.

Lev Grossman

People - me included - want to get excited about books. Good books are a good thing.

Lev Grossman

More than fantasy or even science fiction, Ray Bradbury wrote horror, and like so many great horror writers he was himself utterly without fear, of anything. He wasn't afraid of looking uncool - he wasn't scared to openly love innocence, or to be opt...

Lev Grossman

I mean, when you're tired of book reviews, you're tired of life.

Lev Grossman

Even though I have spent literally years of my life trying to learn another language, any other language - and even though I have in the past claimed in several key professional contexts that I speak other languages - I am in fact still trapped insid...

Lev Grossman

How often have I met and disliked writers whose books I love; and conversely, hated the books and then wound up liking the writer? Too often.

Lev Grossman

I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. But I did once work in a rare-books library, and I wrote a novel about a rare book.

Lev Grossman

My specialty as a collector is books that almost have value. When I love a book, I don't buy the first edition, because those have become incredibly expensive. But I might buy a beat-up copy of the second edition, third printing, which looks almost e...

Lev Grossman

I studied the cello for a long time, from when I was little up through college.

Lev Grossman

There's a special gut-check moment the first time you write a scene in which somebody casts a spell.

Lev Grossman

I ought to at least be able to read literature in French. I went to an enlightened grade school that started us on French in fifth grade, which meant that by the time I graduated high school I had been at it for eight years.

Lev Grossman

When I got to college I simply decided that I could speak French, because I just could not spend any more time in French classes. I went ahead and took courses on French literature, some of them even taught in French.

Lev Grossman

Growing up in the '70s and '80s, science fiction and especially fantasy had such a stigma attached to them. I felt so punished and exiled for being devoted to these things.

Lev Grossman

I loved fantasy, but I particularly loved the stories in which somebody got out of where they were and into somewhere better - as in the 'Chronicles Of Narnia,' 'The Wizard Of Oz,' 'The Phantom Tollbooth,' the 'Dungeons & Dragons' cartoon on Saturday...

Lev Grossman

I have spent many, many hours reading J.K. Rowling's work. I am a known 'Harry Potter' fan.

Lev Grossman

Author Bio

  • NameLev Grossman
  • DescriptionAmerican novelist, journalist
  • BornJune 26, 1969
  • ProfessionJournalist; Writer