Michael Helm Quotes & Sayings

I have no talents but reading. I — Michael Helm

I'm not even sure if empathy is an act, it could be a disposition. — Michael Helm

The novel's not the best form for disposing ideas, though that's one thing it can do. It likely is the best form, though, for conveying the experience of us each being alone, trapped in our skulls with only these bodies and this imperfect instrument of language to convey our state and to find meaning and connection. — Michael Helm

I like a great degree of compression. I like to mix lateral steps with forward ones. I don't want the prose ever to feel simply functional - at least not for any stretch. — Michael Helm

Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and connect, and so story becomes charged with necessity. — Michael Helm

We can't write a serious novel in the 21st century without acknowledging the inescapable self-awareness we're stuck with. The idea we're surrounded by falsehoods and lies. It's hard for the thinking person to believe in narratives. And yet we want some place to invest our belief. — Michael Helm

Toronto is hard to capture in a few strokes. — Michael Helm