Isaac Babel quotes:

A phrase is born into the world both good and bad at the same time. The secret lies in a slight, an almost invisible twist. The lever should rest in your hand, getting warm, and you can only turn it once, not twice.

No iron can pierce the human heart as chillingly as a full stop placed at the right time.

There is no iron that can enter the human heart with such stupefying effect, as a period placed at just the right moment.

If the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy.

She would lift her peignoir above her knees and say to her husband: 'Give baby a kiss...'

No iron can stab the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place.

A well-thought-out story doesn't need to resemble real life. Life itself tries with all its might to resemble a well-crafted story.

When a phrase is born, it is both good and bad at the same time. The secret of its success rests in a crux that is barely discernible. One's fingertips must grasp the key, gently warming it. And then the key must be turned once, not twice.

No iron spike can pierce a human heart as icily as a period in the right place.

The orange sky is rolling across the sky like a severed head, gentle light glimmers in the ravines among the clouds, the banners of the sunset are fluttering above our heads. The stench of yesterday's blood and slaughtered horses drips into the evening chill.