Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has give… — Gustave Flaubert

Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has given you. I believe the greatest characteristic of genius, is, above all, force.

Gustave FlaubertNovelist · French · 1821 – 1880

More from Gustave Flaubert

At age 77, I need the help of someone with more energy than I can now summon to finish a book. — Anne McCaffrey
One must be an inventor to read well. There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather, each generation for the next succeeding. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
The author, in his work, must be like God in the Universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere. — Gustave Flaubert
One mustn't ask apple trees for oranges, France for sun, women for love, life for happiness. — Gustave Flaubert
Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much the soul as it is the flesh of a work. — Gustave Flaubert