“It used to be said that by a certain age a man had the face that he deserved. Nowadays, he has the face he can afford.”

—  Martin Amis

"Phantom of the Opera: The Republicans in 1988" (1988)
Visiting Mrs. Nabokov and Other Excursions (1993)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Jan. 9, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It used to be said that by a certain age a man had the face that he deserved. Nowadays, he has the face he can afford." by Martin Amis?
Martin Amis photo
Martin Amis136
Welsh novelist 1949

Related quotes

George Orwell photo

“At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist

"Extracts from a Manuscript Notebook" (1949), The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, vol. 4 (1968)

“… all his faces were designed to express rage or loathing. Now that something had happened which really deserved a face, he had none to celebrate it with. As a kind of token, he made his Sex Life in Ancient Rome face.”

Kingsley Amis book Lucky Jim

Source: Lucky Jim

Bram Stoker photo

“It is only when a man feels himself face to face with such horrors that he can understand their true import.”

Bram Stoker book Dracula

Source: Dracula

Nasreddin photo

“"Mulla, I want to borrow your donkey."
"I am sorry," said the Mulla, "but I have already lent it out."
As soon as he had spoken, the donkey brayed. The sound came from Nasrudin's stable.
"But Mulla, I can hear the donkey, in there!"
As he shut the door in the man's face, Nasrudin said, with dignity, "A man who believes the word of a donkey in preference to my word does not deserve to be lent anything."”

Nasreddin (1208–1284) philosopher, Sufi and wise man from Turkey, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes

Idries Shah, The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin (1968), , p. 62

Miguel de Cervantes photo

“He had a face like a benediction.”

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright

Source: Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605–1615), Part I, Book I, Ch. 6.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow photo

“His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Village Blacksmith

St. 2.
The Village Blacksmith (1842)

“The great man folded his palms and bowed all around him. He had one of those either/or faces that all great Indian politicians have. This face says that it is now at peace—and you can be at peace too if you follow the owner of that face. But the same face can also say, with a little twitch of its features, that it has known the opposite of peace and it can make this other face yours too, if it wishes.”

Aravind Adiga book The White Tiger

The Third Night.
The White Tiger (2008)

Derek Landy photo

“With his sunglasses gone and his scarf hanging down, there was no denying that he had no flesh, he had no skin, he had no eyes and he had no face.
All he had was a skull for a head.”

Derek Landy Skulduggery Pleasant

Source: Skulduggery Pleasant

Sylvia Day photo

“You’re different,” he said, touching my face.
Of course I was. The man I loved had killed for me. A lot of things became inconsequential after a sacrifice like that.”

Sylvia Day (1973) American writer

Source: Entwined with You

Mark Twain photo

“There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate: when he can't afford it, and when he can.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Related topics