Quotes from book
Journey to the End of the Night

Journey to the End of the Night
Louis-ferdinand Céline Original title Voyage au bout de la nuit (French, 1932)

Journey to the End of the Night is the first novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work follows the life of Ferdinand Bardamu.

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“Love is infinity - come down to poodles'level.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

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Journey to the End of the Night (1932)

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“It's harder to lose the wish to love than the wish to live.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

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Journey to the End of the Night (1932)

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“Anybody who talks about the future is a bastard, it's the present that counts.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

Source: Journey to the End of the Night (1932), Chapter 4

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“A woman who spends her time worrying about pregnancy is a virtual cripple; she'll never go very far.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

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Journey to the End of the Night (1932)

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“As far as they were concerned, gunfire was nothing but noise. That’s why wars can keep going. Even the people who make them, who fight in them, don’t really get the picture. Even with a bullet in their gut, they’d go on picking up old shoes that “might come in handy.” The way a sheep, lying on its side in a meadow, will keep on grazing with its dying breath. Most people don’t die until the last moment; others start twenty years in advance, sometimes more. Those are the unfortunates.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

Source: Journey to the End of the Night (1932), Chapter 4

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“Living, just by itself - what a dirge that is! Life is a classroom and Boredom's the usher, there all the time to spy on you; whatever happens, you've got to look as if you were awfully busy all the time doing something that's terribly exciting - or he'll come along and nibble your brain.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

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Journey to the End of the Night (1932)

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“Almost every desire a poor man has is a punishable offence.”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

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Journey to the End of the Night (1932)

Louis-ferdinand Céline photo

“I don't think about anything," he says, "No thoughts at all! I think about not getting killed… that keeps me busy… One more day is one more day-That's what I think!”

Louis-ferdinand Céline book Journey to the End of the Night

Source: Journey to the End of the Night (1932), Chapter 4