Remember the botched brothel-visit in LโEducation 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 BarnesBut Iโve been turning over in my mind the question of nostalgia, and whether I suffer from it. I certainly donโt get soggy at the memory of some childhood knickknack; nor do I want to deceive myself sentimentally about something that wasnโt even true at the timeโlove of the old school, and so on. But if nostalgia means the powerful recollection of strong emotionsโand a regret that such feelings are no longer present in our livesโthen I plead guilty.
Julian BarnesPeople in love, it is well known, suffer extreme conceptual delusions, the most common of these being that other people find your condition as thrilling and eye-watering as you do yourselves.
Julian Barnes