As I've explained to my wife many times, you have to kill your wife or mistress to get on the front page of the papers. Julian Barnes explainfronthave Change image and share on social
There will always be non-readers, bad readers, lazy readers - there always were. Julian Barnes badlazyreader Change image and share on social
To look at ourselves from afar, to make the subjective suddenly objective: this gives us a psychic shock. Julian Barnes afarmakeobjective Change image and share on social
Well, to be honest I think I tell less truth when I write journalism than when I write fiction. Julian Barnes fictionhonestjournalism Change image and share on social
In Britain I'm sometimes regarded as a suspiciously Europeanized writer, who has this rather dubious French influence. Julian Barnes britaindubiouseuropeanized Change image and share on social
What is taken away is greater than the sum of what was there. This may not be mathematically possible; but it is emotionally possible. Julian Barnes emotionallygreatmathematically Change image and share on social
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. Julian Barnes admireartistbelle share on social
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. Julian Barnes artelementhighly Change image and share on social
I am death-fearing. I don't think I'm morbid. That seems to me a fear of death that goes beyond the rational. Whereas it seems to me to be entirely rational to fear death! Julian Barnes deathfearmorbid Change image and share on social
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. Julian Barnes absentartauthor Change image and share on social