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Quote by Julian Barnes

“In an oppressive society the truth-telling nature of literature is of a different order, and sometimes valued more highly than other elements in a work of art.”

Quote by Julian Barnes

Book:Conversations with Julian Barnes

Work

Conversations with Julian Barnes

This book offers an insightful look into the thoughts, experiences, and creative process of Julian Barnes, a prominent figure in contemporary literature. more

Author

Julian Barnes, born on January 19, 1946, is a distinguished British writer. His works span across various genres including novels, essays, and criticism, known for their unique literary style and profound insights into human nature. more

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“In Britain I'm sometimes regarded as a suspiciously Europeanized writer, who has this rather dubious French influence.”

Sometimes Influence Britain Dubious

Book:Conversations with Julian Barnes

Source: Conversations with Julian Barnes

“It took me some years to clear my head of what Paris wanted me to admire about it, and to notice what I preferred instead. Not power-ridden monuments, but individual buildings which tell a quieter story: the artist's studio, or the Belle Epoque house built by a forgotten financier for a just-remembered courtesan.”

Years Stories Wanted Artist House Individual Clear Building Built Forgotten Studios Admire Remembered Paris Monument Belle Financiers Courtesans

Author:Julian Barnes

“Most of us remember adolescence as a kind of double negative: no longer allowed to be children, we are not yet capable of being adults.”

Kind Children Remember Capable Adults Negative Adolescence

Author:Julian Barnes

“Often the grind of book promotion wearies you of your own book - though at the same time this frees you from its clutches.”

Book Promotion Grind Clutch

Author:Julian Barnes

“Paris is certainly one of the most boastful of cities, and you could argue that it has had a lot to boast about: at various times the European centre of power, of civilisation, of the arts, and (self-advertisingly, at least) of love.”

Art Self Cities Various Arguing Paris Centre Boast Civilisation

Author:Julian Barnes

“Reading and life are not separate but symbiotic. And for this serious task of imaginative discovery and self-discovery, there is and remains one perfect symbol: the printed book.”

Book Self Reading Perfect Serious Discovery Tasks Remains Self Discovery Symbols Imaginative Printed Printed Books

Author:Julian Barnes

“Reading is a majority skill but a minority art. Yet nothing can replace the exact, complicated, subtle communion between absent author and entranced, present reader.”

Art Reading Reader Skills Majority Complicated Subtle Minorities Communion Absent

Author:Julian Barnes

“The ways in which a book, once read, stays (and changes) in the reader's mind are unpredictable.”

Way Mind Book Reader Unpredictable

Author:Julian Barnes

“There will always be non-readers, bad readers, lazy readers - there always were.”

Author:Julian Barnes

“To look at ourselves from afar, to make the subjective suddenly objective: this gives us a psychic shock.”

Giving Looks Objectives Shock Psychics Subjective Afar

Author:Julian Barnes