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Patrick Modiano


French
July 30, 1945
Novelist
snow winter cold frost frozen
That's the miracle of fiction. I use it to spray on certain moments or places from my youth.


Patrick Modiano
The more things remain obscure and mysterious, the more they interest me. I even try to find mystery in things that have none.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: Me More Things
I think I became a writer because I didn't know of anything else to do. Maybe some incident from my childhood influenced me.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: Me Think Because
Encourage aspiring writers to continue writing when things are going against them, when it feels hard. Explain the typical obstacles that occur, and encourage and reassure them to continue, never to give up.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: Up Them Never
Really, I prefer not to read my early books. Not that I don't like them, but I don't recognize myself anymore, like an old actor watching himself as a young leading man.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: Like Really Them
I write in the most classical French because this form is necessary for my novels: to translate the murky, floating, unsettling atmosphere I wanted them to have, I had to discipline it into the clearest, most traditional language possible.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: Because Had Them
For a long time, I've had a recurring dream - I dream I don't have to write any more, that I'm free. I'm not free, alas; I'm still clearing the same terrain, with the impression that it's never finished.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: Time More Had
I quickly realised that it is difficult to get started when writing a novel. You have this dream of what you want to create, but it is like walking around a swimming pool and hesitating to jump in because the water is too cold.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: You Like Because
Writing is a strange and solitary activity. There are dispiriting times when you start working on the first few pages of a novel. Every day, you have the feeling you are on the wrong track. This creates a strong urge to go back and follow a different path. It is important not to give in to this urge but to keep going.
Patrick Modiano
Tags: You Go Going