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.
Julian BarnesWhy does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough?
Julian BarnesYou grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you.
Julian BarnesI 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