By trying to export myself into a place that didn't fully exist I asked works of art to bear my expectation that they could be better than life, that they could redeem life. In fact, I believe they are, and do. My life is dedicated to that belief. But still, I asked too much of them: I asked them also to be both safer than life and fuller, a better family. That they couldn't give. At the depths I'd plumb them, so many perfectly sufficient works of art would become thin, anemic. I sucked the juice out of what I loved until I found myself in a desert, sucking rocks for water. .Jonathan Lethem
About This Quote
The idea of the desert is a metaphor for the emptiness of life. Life can't provide you with everything you need. It is like a desert where you must find water, even if it's by sucking on stones. This quote can also be interpreted as someone who has reached their limit and wishes to escape life by leaving and living in an imaginary place where things work out and do not get in the way of his or her happiness.
Source: The Disappointment Artist
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