Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised…

- Julian Barnes

To be stupid, and selfish, and to have good health are the three requirements for happiness.

- Julian Barnes

The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.

- Julian Barnes

You put together two people who have not been put together before; and sometimes the world is changed, sometimes not. They may crash and burn, or bur…

- Julian Barnes

When you read a great book, you don’t escape from life, you plunge deeper into it. There may be a superficial escape – into different countries, more…

- Julian Barnes

In life, every ending is just the start of another story.

- Julian Barnes

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

You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you.

- Julian Barnes

I don't believe in God, but I miss him.

- Julian Barnes