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Julian Barnes Quotes

Julian Barnes quotes about memories

English Writer January 19, 1946

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Quotes

Memory is identity....You are what you have done; what you have done is in your memory; what you remember defines who you are; when you forget your life you cease to be, even before your death. Julian Barnes
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. Julian Barnes
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. Julian Barnes
Remember the botched brothel-visit in L’Education sentimentale and remember its lesson. Do not participate: happiness lies in the imagination, not the act. Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory. Julian Barnes
I know this much: that there is objective time, but also subjective time, the kind you wear on the inside of your wrist, next to where the pulse lies. And this personal time, which is the true time, is measured in your relationship to memory. Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes quote: "Was this their exact exchange? Almost certainly not. Still, it..."
Was this their exact exchange? Almost certainly not. Still, it is my best memory of their exchange. Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes quote: "He didn’t really like travel, of course. He liked the idea of..."
He didn’t really like travel, of course. He liked the idea of travel, and the memory of travel, but not travel itself. Julian Barnes
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. [p. 69] Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes quote: "Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you..."
Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke. Julian Barnes
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) Julian Barnes
If a memory wasn't a thing but a memory of a memory of a memory, mirrors set in parallel, then what the brain told you now about what it claimed had happened then would be coloured by what had happened in between. It was like a country remembering its history: the past was never just the past, it was what made the present able to live with itself. Julian Barnes
History isn't in the lies of the victors. I know that now. It's more the memories of the survivors, most of whom are neither victorious nor defeated. Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes quote: "History is that certainty produced at the point where the..."
History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation. Julian Barnes

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