Quotes from The Music of Chance

Paul Auster ·  217 pages

Rating: (8.2K votes)


“You had to invent something. It's not possible to leave it blank. The mind
won't let you.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


“Once a man begins to recognize himself in another, he can no longer look on that person as a stranger.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


“It's just another word for the same thing. You want to believe in some hidden purpose. You're trying to persuade yourself there's a reason for what happens in the world. I don't care what you call it--God or luck or harmony-- it all comes down to the same bullshit. It's a way of avoiding the facts, of refusing to look at how things really work.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


“It was a dizzying prospect—to imagine all that freedom, to understand how little it mattered what choice he made.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


“I know you don't love me but that doesn't mean I'm the wrong girl for you.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance



“Due artisti nella stessa casa potrebbero essere troppi. Qualcuno deve occuparsi dell’aspetto pratico delle cose, eh, Willie? Ci vuole gente di tutti i tipi per fare il mondo.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


“کافیست زندگی دیگری برای خود تجسم کنید تا قلب تان هم چنان بتپد”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


“بعضی ها یکشنبه ها می رن کلیسا، اما برای ما پوکر جمعه شب ها مهم بود. نمی دونین اون وقتا چه قدر آخر هفته هامونو دوست داشتیم! بذارین بهتون بگم برای از بین بردن دغدغه های کار هیچ دوایی بهتر از یک دست قمار دوستانه نیس.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The Music of Chance


About the author

Paul Auster
Born place: in Newark, New Jersey, The United States
Born date February 3, 1947
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“I grind so fine, I’m practically coffee,” he says with a straight face, then busts out a grin.”
― Jillian Dodd, quote from The Keatyn Chronicles: Books 1-3


“I’ve loved you every second of this life, and if I died, I’d love you every second of the next.”
― Rebecca Zanetti, quote from Marked


“They wanted black women to conform to the gender norms set by white society. They wanted to be recognized as 'men,' as patriarchs, by other men, including white men. Yet they could not assume this position if black women were not willing to conform to prevailing sexist gender norms. Many black women who has endured white-supremacist patriarchal domination during slavery did not want to be dominated by black men after manumission.”
― bell hooks, quote from We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity


“So tell me, Miss Fitt, do you know when your brother will return?"
"No." I wet my lips. "Do you know Elijah?"
He looked off to the right. "I know of your brother."
"Oh?"
"Of course." He folded his arms over his chest and returned his gaze to me. "Everyone knows of the Philadelphia Fitts.I even know of you."
"You mean Allison told you about me."
His lips twitched. "Certainly."
I stroked my amethysts and made my expression passive. I didn't care one whit about her gossip-though I did wish she wouldn't talk about me to Clarence. I'd prefer if eligible young men learned my faults after meeting me.
He flashed his eyebrows playfully, as if knowing where my thoughts had gone. "You needn't worry. She's said nothing unkind. She finds you amusing-she likes to talk, you know?"
"I hadn't noticed," I said flatly. Saying Allison loved to gossip was like saying birds enjoyed flying. It was not so much a hobby as part of her physiology.
Clarence's smile expanded, and his eyes crinkled. "Apparently there was an insult you gave her a few days ago, though...She had to ask me what it meant."
My face warmed, and I looked away. "I believe I might have called her a spoiled Portia with no concept of mercy."
He laughed and hit his knee. "That's right. Portia's speech on mercy in the final act of The Merchant of Venice. Allie had no idea what you meant."
"In my defense, she was taunting me-"
"With no mercy?"
"Something like that," I mumbled, embarrassed he'd heard abou tit.
"Oh,I have no doubt. One of Allie's charms is her childish teasing." He laughed again and shook his head. "Next time, though, I suggest you use less obscure insults. They might hit their mark better.

― Susan Dennard, quote from Something Strange and Deadly


“I mean you're only 26 in couple of days, although, you are now officially closer to thirty than twenty!”
― Ali Harris, quote from The First Last Kiss


Interesting books

Listen, Little Man!
(3.5K)
Listen, Little Man!
by Wilhelm Reich
On the Shortness of Life
(9.4K)
On the Shortness of...
by Seneca
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
(7.5K)
Foretold: 14 Tales o...
by Carrie Ryan
Witch Week
(11.2K)
Witch Week
by Diana Wynne Jones
The Orchardist
(36.8K)
The Orchardist
by Amanda Coplin
Chasing Daisy
(7.2K)
Chasing Daisy
by Paige Toon

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.