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Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes Quotes

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Famous Julian Barnes Quotes

“We live with such easy assumptions, don't we? For instance, that memory equals events plus time. But it's all much odder than this. Who was it said that memory is what we thought we'd forgotten? And it ought to be obvious to us that time doesn't act as a fixative, rather as a solvent. But it's not convenient--- it's not useful--- to believe this; it doesn't help us get on with our lives; so we ignore it.”

BelieveSaidHelpingEasyMemoriesOur LivesEventsOughtForgottenObviousInstanceAssumptionPlusConvenient
Author:Julian Barnes
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“What is history? Any thoughts, Webster?' 'History is the lies of the victors,' I replied, a little too quickly. 'Yes, I was rather afraid you'd say that. Well, as long as you remember that it is also the self-delusions of the defeated. ... 'Finn?' '"History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation." (quoting Patrick Lagrange)”

WellsLittlesLongSelfRememberLyingMemoriesCertaintyDelusionImperfectionDefeatedInadequacyQuotingDocumentationSelf Delusion
Author:Julian Barnes
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“But I’ve been turning over in my mind the question of nostalgia, and whether I suffer from it. I certainly don’t get soggy at the memory of some childhood knickknack; nor do I want to deceive myself sentimentally about something that wasn’t even true at the time—love of the old school, and so on. But if nostalgia means the powerful recollection of strong emotions—and a regret that such feelings are no longer present in our lives—then I plead guilty.”

IfsWantMindMeanFeelingsSchoolSufferingStrongMemoriesPowerfulEmotionOur LivesChildhoodRegretNostalgiaGuiltyDeceivingRecollectionOld SchoolTime LoveStrong Emotions
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“When you are in your twenties, even if you're confused and uncertain about your aims and purposes, you have a strong sense of what life itself is, and of what you in life are, and might become. Later.. later there is more uncertainty, more overlapping, more backtracking, more false memories. Back then, you can remember your short life in its entirety. Later, the memory becomes a thing of shreds and patches.”

IfsMightRememberPurposeStrongMemoriesTwentiesAimUncertaintyConfusedUncertainPatchesShort LifeEntiretyOverlappingBacktracking
Author:Julian Barnes
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