“Fiction that adds up, that suggests a "logical consistency," or an explanation of some kind, is surely second-rate fiction; for the truth of life is its mystery.”

Unkempt Thoughts (1957), p. 93; also p. 21

New York Times (July 28, 1976).

The New York Times (18 September 1966)

Next Testament (Boom Studios, 2014)

Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.22
Context: The strange and wonderful Book of Job treats of the same subject as we are discussing; its contents are a fiction, conceived for the purpose of explaining the different opinions which people hold on Divine Providence.... This fiction, however, is in so far different from other fictions that it includes profound ideas and great mysteries, removes great doubts, and reveals the most important truths. I will discuss it as fully as possible; and I will also tell you the words of our Sages that suggested to me the explanation of this great poem.

It (1986)

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XV
Misquoted as "Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense." by Laurence J. Peter in "Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Time", among many others.
Following the Equator (1897)
Source: Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

Whitaker v. Wisbey (1852), 6 Cox, C. C. 111.

Source: Infinity Beach (2000), Chapter 8 (p. 110)