--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Next to it on the wall was a framed…" description: "\"“Next to it on the wall was a framed postcard of Monet's berm. I recognized it immediately. 'It used to be mine, but you've owned it far, far longer th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/andre-aciman-459_andre-aciman_next-to-it-on-the-wall-was-a-framed-post_2957352.png" --- # Next to it on the wall was a framed postcard of Monet's… ![“Next to it on the wall was a framed postcard of Monet's berm. I recognized it immediately. 'It used to be mine, but you've owned it far, far longer than I have.' We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belonged to others now. Squatters, and only squatters, were the true…” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/andre-aciman-459_andre-aciman_next-to-it-on-the-wall-was-a-framed-post_2957352.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/andre-aciman-459_andre-aciman_next-to-it-on-the-wall-was-a-framed-post_2957352.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/andre-aciman-459_andre-aciman_next-to-it-on-the-wall-was-a-framed-post_2957352.png) > ““Next to it on the wall was a framed postcard of Monet's berm. I recognized it immediately. 'It used to be mine, but you've owned it far, far longer than I have.' We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belonged to others now. Squatters, and only squatters, were the true claimants to our lives.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A framed postcard of Monet’s work symbolizes shared ownership and distant connection, suggesting that true belonging belongs to those who truly inhabit a space. **In simple terms:** Art reflects shared, distant belonging. Key Takeaway Recognize authentic connections over superficial claims. Themes art belonging memory Mood nostalgic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - museum visits - personal storytelling - relationship reflections Key Concepts symbolic ownership personal history Questions to Reflect On - What objects in your life symbolize deeper connections? - How do you differentiate genuine belonging from mere possession? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Andre-aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/andre-aciman/) [Apart Belonged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apart-belonged-2709273/) [Belonged Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonged-lived-2709272/) [Belonged Squatters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonged-squatters-2709270/) [Call-me-by-your-name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/call-me-by-your-name/) [Far apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-apart/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Lost love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-love/) [Oliver-and-elio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oliver-and-elio/) [Postcard Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcard-monet-4487366/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Squatters True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squatters-true-2709271/) ## Related quotes > [“We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belonged to others now. Squatters, and only squatters, were the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/we-belonged-to-each-other-but-had-lived-so-far-apart-that-we-belonged-2/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belonged to others now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/we-belonged-to-each-other-but-had-lived-so-far-apart-that-we-belonged/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“It was just that I was hoping we'd go together.' 'You mean like the other day?' he added, as though to help me say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/it-was-just-that-i-was-hoping-we-d-go-together-you-mean-like-the/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He kissed me on the mouth, but it wasn't the kiss after the Pasquino, when he'd pressed me hard against the wall on via…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-kissed-me-on-the-mouth-but-it-wasn-t-the-kiss-after-the-pasquino/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver was Oliver,' I said, as if that summed things up. 'Parce que c'était lui, parce que c'était moi,' my father added, quoting Montaigne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-was-oliver-i-said-as-if-that-summed-things-up-parce-que-c-tait/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As I tried to doze, the incident on the piazzetta, lost somewhere amid the Piave war memorial and our ride up the hill with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-i-tried-to-doze-the-incident-on-the-piazzetta-lost-somewhere-amid/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“But all of these hours were strained by fear, as if fear were a brooding specter, or a strange, lost bird trapped in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/but-all-of-these-hours-were-strained-by-fear-as-if-fear-were-a/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Intelligent? He was more than intelligent. What you two had had everything and nothing to do with intelligence. He was good, and you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/intelligent-he-was-more-than-intelligent-what-you-two-had-had/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“You never did forgive me, did you?' 'Forgive? There was nothing to forgive. If anything, I'm grateful for everything. I remember good things only.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/you-never-did-forgive-me-did-you-forgive-there-was-nothing-to-forgive/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Two words from him, and I had seen my pouting apathy change into I’ll play anything for you till you ask me to stop,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/two-words-from-him-and-i-had-seen-my-pouting-apathy-change-into-i-ll/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“And on that evening when we grow older still we'll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-on-that-evening-when-we-grow-older-still-we-ll-speak-about-these/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The picture would remind Oliver of the morning when I first spoke out. Or of the day when we rode by the berm pretending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-picture-would-remind-oliver-of-the-morning-when-i-first-spoke-out/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“We were too close, I thought, I'd never been so close to him except in a dream or when he cupped his hand to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/we-were-too-close-i-thought-i-d-never-been-so-close-to-him-except-in/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Finally his voice came through. 'Elio,' he said. I could hear my parents and the voices of children in the background. No one could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/finally-his-voice-came-through-elio-he-said-i-could-hear-my-parents/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Fire like fear, like panic, like one more minute of this and I'll die if he doesn't knock at my door, but I'd sooner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/fire-like-fear-like-panic-like-one-more-minute-of-this-and-i-ll-die/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Andre-aciman quotes > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“But this thing that almost never was still beckons, I wanted to tell him. They can never undo it, never unwrite it, never unlive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/but-this-thing-that-almost-never-was-still-beckons-i-wanted-to-tell/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“It was just that I was hoping we'd go together.' 'You mean like the other day?' he added, as though to help me say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/it-was-just-that-i-was-hoping-we-d-go-together-you-mean-like-the/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Finally his voice came through. 'Elio,' he said. I could hear my parents and the voices of children in the background. No one could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/finally-his-voice-came-through-elio-he-said-i-could-hear-my-parents/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“If I put my foot on the floor and pretend that his is just behind the leg of the table, will that foot, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/if-i-put-my-foot-on-the-floor-and-pretend-that-his-is-just-behind-the/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I’m not wise at all. I told you, I know nothing. I know books, and I know how to string words together—it doesn’t mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-m-not-wise-at-all-i-told-you-i-know-nothing-i-know-books-and-i-know/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“We were too close, I thought, I'd never been so close to him except in a dream or when he cupped his hand to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/we-were-too-close-i-thought-i-d-never-been-so-close-to-him-except-in/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This felt special. Like showing someone your private chapel, your secret haunt, the place where, as with the berm, one comes to be alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-felt-special-like-showing-someone-your-private-chapel-your/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The picture would remind Oliver of the morning when I first spoke out. Or of the day when we rode by the berm pretending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-picture-would-remind-oliver-of-the-morning-when-i-first-spoke-out/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The thought washed over me like water on a flower shop window, like a soothing, cool lotion after you've showered and spent the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-thought-washed-over-me-like-water-on-a-flower-shop-window-like-a/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Looking at him now from the balustrade, I felt something so tender for him that it reminded me how eagerly I had rushed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/looking-at-him-now-from-the-balustrade-i-felt-something-so-tender-for/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I was happy that the room would revert to me. In my/his room, it would be easier to remember our nights. No, better keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-was-happy-that-the-room-would-revert-to-me-in-my-his-room-it-would/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“What had been in my head for so long would now be out in the real world, no longer afloat in my foreverland of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/what-had-been-in-my-head-for-so-long-would-now-be-out-in-the-real/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“And on that evening when we grow older still we'll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-on-that-evening-when-we-grow-older-still-we-ll-speak-about-these/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Browse all 65 Andre-aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/andre-aciman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Next to it on the wall was a framed postcard of Monet's berm. 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