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My definition of a great story has nothing to do with "a varied and interesting background." It is: One that can be read with pleasure by a cultivated reader and reread with increasing pleasure. The business about a varied and interesting background belongs to my definition of a good story.

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More quotes by Gene Wolfe

Experience is a wonderful teacher, but one whose lessons come too late.

The Book of the Short Sun (1999)

Paradoxes explain everything. Since they do, they cannot be explained.

The Book of the Short Sun (1999)

An exaggerated and solemn respect always indicates a loss of faith.

As you intend to live hereafter, it is in your power to live here.

The Book of the Long Sun (1993)

There are people who love birds so much they free them. There are others who love them so much they cage them.

The Book of the Long Sun (1993)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Gene Wolfe (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.