--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I must say a few words about memory. It…" description: "\"I must say a few words about memory. It is full of holes. If you were to lay it out upon a table, it would resemble a scrap of lace. I am a lover of hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png" --- # I must say a few words about memory. It is full of holes… ![“I must say a few words about memory. It is full of holes. If you were to lay it out upon a table, it would resemble a scrap of lace. I am a lover of history . . . [but] history has one flaw. It is a subjective art, no less so than poetry or music. . . . The historian writes a truth. The memoirist…” quote by David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png) > “I must say a few words about memory. It is full of holes. If you were to lay it out upon a table, it would resemble a scrap of lace. I am a lover of history . . . \[but\] history has one flaw. It is a subjective art, no less so than poetry or music. . . . The historian writes a truth. The memoirist writes a truth. The novelist writes a truth. And so on. My mother, we both know, wrote a truth in The 19th Wife– a truth that corresponded to her memory and desires. It is not the truth, certainly not. But a truth, yes . . . Her book is a fact. It remains so, even if it is snowflaked with holes.” [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory is porous like lace; history, like memoirs and novels, is subjective, each presenting a version of truth shaped by personal desire. **In simple terms:** Memory and history are subjective truths. Key Takeaway Accept subjectivity in recollection and historiography. Themes memory history subjectivity Mood analytical thoughtful Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - research - teaching - writing - family storytelling - museum curation Key Concepts philosophy literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern fact from personal bias? - What responsibilities do historians have to truth? A Different Perspective Subjectivity can distort factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The nightmare of censorship has always cast a shadow over my thoughts. Both under the previous state and under the Islamic state, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simin-behbahani/the-nightmare-of-censorship-has-always-cast-a-shadow-over-my-thoughts/) [Simin Behbahani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simin-behbahani/) > [Correctitude implies nowadays a formal or fastidious use of words; and what is wanted is not so much the correct as the living use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/correctitude-implies-nowadays-a-formal-or-fastidious-use-of-words-and/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“We began reading books together. He loved Dr. Seuss. I read those books so often I could turn the pages and say the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elder-robison/we-began-reading-books-together-he-loved-dr-seuss-i-read-those-books/) [John Elder Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elder-robison/) > [William Shakespeare was a brilliant writer and he only wrote the truth. So, if I dont believe it, I have to work really hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condola-rashad/william-shakespeare-was-a-brilliant-writer-and-he-only-wrote-the/) [Condola Rashad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condola-rashad/) > [I wrote 'Truth Is' with Julia Michaels during our first time working together. The song is about emotions we often think of but are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/i-wrote-truth-is-with-julia-michaels-during-our-first-time-working/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [“No art is possible without a dance with death, he wrote. The truth is death, he wrote. I’ve fought nicely against it as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/no-art-is-possible-without-a-dance-with-death-he-wrote-the-truth-is/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“If I wrote the truth, no one would believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stanton/if-i-wrote-the-truth-no-one-would-believe-it/) Steve Stanton > [The question may seem embarrassing, but it can be answered in a few words. For two people to live in peace they must both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/the-question-may-seem-embarrassing-but-it-can-be-answered-in-a-few/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [I don't find myself interesting as a person and the details I find boring, quite frankly. You could sum it up in a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-don-t-find-myself-interesting-as-a-person-and-the-details-i-find/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [I am a man of few words, but many riddles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gorshin/i-am-a-man-of-few-words-but-many-riddles/) [Frank Gorshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gorshin/) > [... mathematics is very much like poetry ... what makes a good poem -- a great poem -- is that there is a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lipman-bers/mathematics-is-very-much-like-poetry-what-makes-a-good-poem-a-great/) Lipman Bers > [I'd like to say a few words about one of the most popular concepts in the modern education--show and tell. Show and Tell is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/i-d-like-to-say-a-few-words-about-one-of-the-most-popular-concepts-in/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-thinks-much-says-but-little-in-proportion-to-his-thoughts-he/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Usually the characters I play are men of few words, who communicate in non-verbal ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/usually-the-characters-i-play-are-men-of-few-words-who-communicate-in/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) ## More by David Ebershoff > [Isn't it interesting what a stranger can offer? A little wisdom, a little mercy, a little love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/isn-t-it-interesting-what-a-stranger-can-offer-a-little-wisdom-a/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“There is nothing more alarming to a boy than seeing a mother, or a father, buckling. It says to him that all will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/there-is-nothing-more-alarming-to-a-boy-than-seeing-a-mother-or-a/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“Even though she was sitting next to the man, she couldn't believe he had noticed her. It felt to her as if no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/even-though-she-was-sitting-next-to-the-man-she-couldn-t-believe-he/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“My duty, I know, is to lead. I cannot offer an array of options. I must offer a long but narrow path to Salvation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/my-duty-i-know-is-to-lead-i-cannot-offer-an-array-of-options-i-must/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“I suppose my greatest disappointment has been realizing my father, like Joseph and Brigham before him, tried to shroud his passions in the mantle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-suppose-my-greatest-disappointment-has-been-realizing-my-father/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [I trust you have seen the ocean. If you have, then you have witnessed the divine. How barren the ground is in comparison! If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-trust-you-have-seen-the-ocean-if-you-have-then-you-have-witnessed/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [Last year when my grandma fell and broke her hip she couldn't paint her toenails anymore. So my grandpa started doing it for her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/last-year-when-my-grandma-fell-and-broke-her-hip-she-couldn-t-paint/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“A final note on numbers: My research shows Ann Eliza was most likely Brigham's 52 of 55 wives. As far as I can tell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/a-final-note-on-numbers-my-research-shows-ann-eliza-was-most-likely/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/faith-i-tell-them-is-a-mystery-elusive-to-many-and-never-easy-to/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [The agony of martyrdom is almost too much to bear. In the early hours, when the loss is fresh, there is no comfort in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/the-agony-of-martyrdom-is-almost-too-much-to-bear-in-the-early-hours/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“When my mom pulled the trigger my dad had a full house, three fives and a pair of ducks. He was all in. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/when-my-mom-pulled-the-trigger-my-dad-had-a-full-house-three-fives/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“Do you know what I miss most about Rosemary? Simply knowing she was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/do-you-know-what-i-miss-most-about-rosemary-simply-knowing-she-was/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“Anna's voice wasn't a beautiful voice - rough edged and sorrowful, a bit used, somehow male and female at once. Yet it had more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/anna-s-voice-wasn-t-a-beautiful-voice-rough-edged-and-sorrowful-a-bit/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“Isn't a gay Mormon like an oxymoron?' 'Do I look like an oxymoron to you?' 'An oxymormon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/isn-t-a-gay-mormon-like-an-oxymoron-do-i-look-like-an-oxymoron-to-you/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) > [“Under what circumstances does such outrage thrive? The territory of Utah, glorious as it may be, spiked by granite peaks and red jasper rocks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/under-what-circumstances-does-such-outrage-thrive-the-territory-of/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) [Explore all 17 David Ebershoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I must say a few words about memory. It is full of holes. If you were to lay it out upon a table, it would resemble a scrap of lace. I am a lover of history . . . [but] history has one flaw. It is a subjective art, no less so than poetry or music. . . . The historian writes a truth. The memoirist writes a truth. The novelist writes a truth. And so on. My mother, we both know, wrote a truth in The 19th Wife– a truth that corresponded to her memory and desires. It is not the truth, certainly not. But a truth, yes . . . Her book is a fact. It remains so, even if it is snowflaked with holes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Ebershoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-is-full-of-holes-if-you-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-is-full-of-holes-if-you-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/david-ebershoff-29756_art_i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-i_2971298.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I must say a few words about memory. It is full of holes. If you were to lay it out upon a table, it would…” — David Ebershoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Ebershoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I must say a few words...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-is-full-of-holes-if-you-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-must-say-a-few-words-about-memory-it-is-full-of-holes-if-you-were/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```