12+ Javier Marías Quotes (Intellectual, Absorbing And Poetic)

Javier Marías is a Spanish novelist, philosopher and translator. He is one of Spain's most acclaimed and widely read authors, whose works have been translated into more than 40 languages. He has written over 20 novels, including A Heart So White, Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me, and Your Face Tomorrow.

We lose everything because everything remains except us. And therefore any form of posterity may be an affront, and perhaps any memory, as well. — Javier Marías

Superstition is just another form of thought like any other, a form that accentuates and regulates the association of ideas, it's an exacerbation, an illness, but, in fact, all thought is sickness, which is why no one ever thinks too much, at least most people do their best not to. — Javier Marías

It's so sad that no one writes down the things we go through, and even worse - no one will ever know about it, no one will ever see or hear about it, no one will ever be able to restore. — Javier Marías

The truth never shines forth, as the saying goes, because the only truth is that which is known to no one and which remains untransmitted, that which is not translated into words or images, that which remains concealed and unverified, which is perhaps why we do recount so much or even everything, to make sure that nothing has ever really happened, not once it's been told. — Javier Marías

Listening is the most dangerous thing of all, listening means knowing, finding out about something and knowing what’s going on, our ears don’t have lids that can instinctively close against the words uttered, they can’t hide from what they sense they’re about to hear, it’s always too late. — Javier Marías

I have a tendency to want to understand everything people say and everything I hear, both at work and outside, even at a distance, even if it’s one of the innumerable languages I don’t know, even if it’s in an indistinguishable murmur or imperceptible whisper, even if it would be better that I didn’t understand and what’s said is not intended for my ears or is said precisely so I won’t understand it. — Javier Marías

Illusions are important. What you foresee or what you remember can be as important as what really happens. — Javier Marías

Not to gain time, but maybe to lose it, to see it pass. — Javier Marías

People only get married when they've no other option, out of panic or desperation or so as not to lose someone they couldn't bear to lose. It's always the most conventional things that contain the largest measure of madness. — Javier Marías

Life is a very bad novelist. It is chaotic and ludicrous. — Javier Marías

One of the best possible perspectives from which to tell a story is that of a ghost, someone who is dead but can still witness. — Javier Marías

Es curioso cómo el pensamiento incurre en lo inverosímil, cómo se lo permite momentáneamente, cómo fantasea o se hace supersticioso para descansar un rato o encontrar alivio, cómo es capaz de negar los hechos y hacer que retroceda el tiempo, aunque sea un instante. Cómo se parece al sueño. — Javier Marías

Life Lessons by Javier Marías

1. Javier Marías teaches us to appreciate the beauty of the ordinary and to be mindful of the complexity of human relationships.
2. His works emphasize the importance of considering all perspectives in order to gain a deeper understanding of the world around us.
3. He encourages us to look beyond the surface and to appreciate the nuances of life that often go unnoticed.