“What succour, what consolation is there in truth, compared to a story? What good is truth, at midnight, in the dark, when the wind is roaring like a bear in a chimney? When the lightning strikes shadows on the bedroom wall and the rain taps at the window with its long fingernails? No. When fear and cold make a statue of you in your bed, don’t expect hard-bound and fleshless truth to come running to your aid. What you need are the plump comforts of a story. The soothing, rocking safety of a lie.”

—Diane Setterfield in ‘The Thirteenth Tale’

Related articles

• Story (poetessofthedark.wordpress.com)
• Life is difficult… (toddlohenry.com)
• My Ointment of Truth (xpectation.wordpress.com)
• The Thirteenth Tale – Book Review (bondwithbooks.wordpress.com)
• Quote of the Day – February 22 2013 (grosenberg.wordpress.com)

Categories: Quotes

Tags: bear, bed, bedroom, chimney, cold, comfort, consolation, dark, diane setterfield, fear, fingernails, lie, lightning, midnight, rain, roaring, safety, shadows, statue, story, succour, truth, wall, wind, window