But what comfort does belief offer, when it contains within… - John Banville

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But what comfort does belief offer, when it contains within it its own antithesis, the glistening drop of poison at the heart? Is the Pascalian wager sufficient to sustain a life, a real life, in the real world? The fact that you place your bet on red does not mean that the black is not still there.

John Banville

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About John Banville

John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist and journalist. He is recognised for his precise, cold, forensic prose style, Nabokovian inventiveness, and for the dark humour of his generally arch narrators. His stated ambition is to give his prose "the kind of denseness and thickness that poetry has".

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Benjamin Black • William John Banville

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Robertson Davies Martin Amis Grace Paley Caitlín R. Kiernan Nadine Gordimer

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The world is a dark place, and I find it endlessly funny.

I'm a little surprised that commercial success has arrived. I used to think that it was hopeless, that it would never happen.

After all, who knows what the distant past was like? About Kepler and Copernicus, people often say, You captured the period so well! I always want to ask, How do you know? You weren't there either.

But what comfort does belief offer, when it contains within it its own antithesis, the glistening drop of poison at the heart? Is the Pascalian wager… - John Banville

About John Banville

Also Known As

Additional quotes by John Banville