Julian BarnesHe had a better mind and a more rigorous temperament than me; he thought logically, and then acted on the conclusion of logical thought. Whereas most of us, I suspect, do the oppo… ▶371Thought
Julian BarnesHow rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves. We are all lost at sea, washed between hope and des… ▶362Hope
Julian BarnesWhat is the easiest, the most comfortable thing for a writer to do? To congratulate the society in which he lives: to admire its biceps, applaud its progress, tease it endearingly… ▶373Humanity
Julian BarnesHe always thought that Touie's long illness would somehow prepare him for her death. He always imagined that grief anf guilt, if they followed, would be more clear-edged, more def… ▶363DeathSadnessThought
Julian BarnesSome of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s where we found the other person, and find them still. ✨… ▶364Love
Julian BarnesLife seemed even more of a guessing game than usual. ✨ Julian Barnes (2011). The Sense of an Ending, p.38, Random House375Life
Julian BarnesIt strikes me that this may be one of the differences between youth and age: when we are young, we invent different futures for ourselves; when we are old, we invent different pas… ▶375HopeTime
Julian BarnesThere's nothing wrong with being a genius who can fascinate the young. Rather, there's something wrong with the young who can't be fascinated by a genius.354Life
Julian Barnes..books look as if they contain knowledge, while e-readers look as if they contain information. ✨ Julian Barnes: my life as a bibliophile. www.theguardian.com. June 29, 2012… ▶376LifeReading
Julian BarnesAnd perhaps it was also the case that, for all a lifetime's internal struggling, you were finally no more than what others saw you as. That was your nature, whether you liked it o… ▶354LifeTime
Julian BarnesReading is a majority skill but a minority art. ✨ Julian Barnes: my life as a bibliophile by Julian Barnes, www.theguardian.com. June 29, 2012.311LifeReading
Julian BarnesThe best form of government is one that is dying, because that means it’s giving way to something else.366DeathPolitics
Julian BarnesHad my life increased, or merely added to itself? There had been addition and subtraction in my life, but how much multiplication? ✨ Julian Barnes (2011). The Sense of an En… ▶377Life
Julian BarnesSometimes you find the panel, but it doesn’t open; sometimes it opens, and your gaze meets nothing but a mouse skeleton. But at least you’ve looked. That’s the real distinction be… ▶377HumanityLoveTime
Julian BarnesNature is so exact, it hurts exactly as much as it is worth, so in a way one relishes the pain. If it didn't matter, it wouldn't matter. ✨ Julian Barnes: The sense of anothe… ▶322Sadness
Julian BarnesIn those days, we imagined ourselves as being kept in some kind of holding pen, waiting to be released into our lives. And when the moment came, our lives -- and time itself -- wo… ▶367ReadingTime
Julian BarnesTo own a certain book - and to choose it without help - is to define yourself.301Reading
Julian BarnesNovels tell us the most truth about life: what it is, how we live it, what it might be for, how we enjoy and value it, and how we lose it. ✨ Julian Barnes (2012). Through th… ▶378LifeReadingTruth
Julian BarnesMay you be ordinary, as the poet once wished the new-born baby. ✨ Julian Barnes (2011). The Sense of an Ending, p.144, Random House301Reflection
Julian BarnesDiscovering, for example, that as witnesses to your life diminish, there is less corroboration, and therefore less certainty, as to what you are or have been. [p. 65]312Life
Julian BarnesHistory isn't what happened, history is just what historians tell us.367Thought
Julian BarnesWe live, we die, we are remembered, we are forgotten.335Death
Julian BarnesDid you know that there is no exact rhyme in the Russian language for the word 'pravda'? Ponder and weigh this insufficiency in your mind. Doesn't that just echo down the canyons … ▶357ReflectionThought
Julian BarnesYou get towards the end of life - no, not life itself, but of something else: the end of any likelihood of change in that life. You are allowed a long moment of pause, time enough… ▶302LifeTime
Julian BarnesWhen you're young - when I was young - you want your emotions to be like the ones you read about in books. You want them to overturn your life, create and define a new reality. La… ▶313LifeReadingThought
Julian BarnesLove may not lead where we think or hope, but regardless of outcome it should be a call to seriousness and truth. If it is not that - if it is not moral in its effect - then love … ▶379HopeLoveThought
Julian BarnesThe rainbow in place of the unicorn? Why didn't God just restore the unicorn? We animals would have been happier with that, instead of a big hint in the sky about God's magnanimit… ▶281Time
Julian BarnesBut then you begin to understand that the reward of merit is not life’s business.347Life
Julian BarnesHow often do we tell our own life story? How often do we adjust, embellish, make sly cuts? And the longer life goes on, the fewer are those around to challenge our account, to rem… ▶281LifeReadingThought
Julian BarnesI dreamt that I woke up. It's the oldest dream of all, and I've just had it347Truth
