When we fall in love, we hope - both egotistically and altruistically - that we shall be finally, truly seen: judged and approved. Of course, love does not always bring approval: being seen may just as well lead to a thumbs-down and a season in hell.
Julian BarnesWhen you are writing fiction your task is to reflect the fullest complications of the world
Julian Barnes(on grief) And you do come out of it, thatโs true. After a year, after five. But you donโt come out of it like a train coming out of a tunnel, bursting through the downs into sunshine and that swift, rattling descent to the Channel; you come out of it as a gull comes out of an oil-slick. You are tarred and feathered for life.
Julian Barnes