--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In all memory there is a degree of…" description: "\"“In all memory there is a degree of fallenness; we are all exiles from our own pasts, just as, on looking up from a book, we discover anew our banishme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/john-lanchester-2601_books_in-all-memory-there-is-a-degree-of-falle_1063339.png" --- # In all memory there is a degree of fallenness; we are all… ![“In all memory there is a degree of fallenness; we are all exiles from our own pasts, just as, on looking up from a book, we discover anew our banishment from the bright worlds of imagination and fantasy. A cross-channel ferry, with its overfilled ashtrays and vomiting children, is as good a place…” quote by John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/john-lanchester-2601_books_in-all-memory-there-is-a-degree-of-falle_1063339.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/john-lanchester-2601_books_in-all-memory-there-is-a-degree-of-falle_1063339.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/john-lanchester-2601_books_in-all-memory-there-is-a-degree-of-falle_1063339.png) > ““In all memory there is a degree of fallenness; we are all exiles from our own pasts, just as, on looking up from a book, we discover anew our banishment from the bright worlds of imagination and fantasy. A cross-channel ferry, with its overfilled ashtrays and vomiting children, is as good a place as any to reflect on the angel who stands with a flaming sword in front of the gateway to all our yesterdays.”” [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory isolates us, yet we constantly revisit past fantasies, confronting our exile from imagination. **In simple terms:** We are exiles from our own memories and fantasies. Key Takeaway Recognize how memory shapes identity and imagination. Themes memory exile imagination nostalgia Mood nostalgic introspective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - book clubs - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology literary analysis existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does recalling childhood fantasies influence your present self? - In what ways do you feel exiled from your own past? A Different Perspective The metaphor may be overly abstract for practical use. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) [Exiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exiles/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [All exiles carry a map within them that points the way homeward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/all-exiles-carry-a-map-within-them-that-points-the-way-homeward/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [People who think of themselves as exiles, I find, can never really put their lives together, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-who-think-of-themselves-as-exiles-i-find-can-never-really-put/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“A place where exiles gather to talk of passion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-quinn/a-place-where-exiles-gather-to-talk-of-passion/) Joanna Quinn > [We were exiles from reality that summer. We were refugees from ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/we-were-exiles-from-reality-that-summer-we-were-refugees-from/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) > [No matter where I go or what title I may achieve, I will always be the son of exiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/no-matter-where-i-go-or-what-title-i-may-achieve-i-will-always-be-the/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [A person can only be born in one place. However, he may die several times elsewhere: in the exiles and prisons, and in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/a-person-can-only-be-born-in-one-place-however-he-may-die-several/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [The mere passage of time makes us all exiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-mere-passage-of-time-makes-us-all-exiles/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [People who feel themselves to be exiles in this world are mightily inclined to believe themselves citizens of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/people-who-feel-themselves-to-be-exiles-in-this-world-are-mightily/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“It's at moment of misfortune that we remember we're all exiles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-izzo/it-s-at-moment-of-misfortune-that-we-remember-we-re-all-exiles/) [Jean-Claude Izzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-izzo/) > [“And what, exactly, does this Band of Exiles plan to do? 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They despise each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-shirvington/griffin-stared-at-me-his-expression-grave-there-are-only-three-things/) [Jessica Shirvington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-shirvington/) > [“We are all exiles from our past , and, as such, we need to recapture it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-salaman/we-are-all-exiles-from-our-past-and-as-such-we-need-to-recapture-it/) Esther Salaman ## More by John Lanchester > [In a democracy, people tend to get the kind of government they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/in-a-democracy-people-tend-to-get-the-kind-of-government-they-deserve/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [My standard Nando's order is a chicken breast burger served 'medium,' which is still fairly spicy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/my-standard-nando-s-order-is-a-chicken-breast-burger-served-medium/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“Bastiat (1801–1850) was a strikingly clear-minded early advocate of what came to be known as liberal economics, whose central idea is that the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/bastiat-1801-1850-was-a-strikingly-clear-minded-early-advocate-of/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“What was going on here was something Smitty had seen before: a young person’s first real farewell to the world of school and college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/what-was-going-on-here-was-something-smitty-had-seen-before-a-young/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“It seemed too as if many of the people were on display, behaving as if they expected to be looked at, as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/it-seemed-too-as-if-many-of-the-people-were-on-display-behaving-as-if/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [But knowing that you had gone wrong, and knowing how you had gone wrong, were not the same thing as knowing how to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/but-knowing-that-you-had-gone-wrong-and-knowing-how-you-had-gone/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Video games are the first new artistic medium since television, but they are more different from television than television was from cinema; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/video-games-are-the-first-new-artistic-medium-since-television-but/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > ['Dead peasants insurance' is a term that sounds as if it comes straight out of Monty Python. If only that were true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/dead-peasants-insurance-is-a-term-that-sounds-as-if-it-comes-straight/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [As an outsider to and observer of the restaurant business, one of the things I most admire about it is the risks people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/as-an-outsider-to-and-observer-of-the-restaurant-business-one-of-the/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [The first ATM in Hong Kong was actually at the foot of the bank. I remember my father using it. 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The words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/fine-dining-i-d-love-to-know-who-coined-the-term-and-whether-they/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [In sport, the money goes to the talent; it goes directly to the worker - unlike a bank, which sits in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/in-sport-the-money-goes-to-the-talent-it-goes-directly-to-the-worker/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [I love London in the rare parts of the year when it's quiet, and no time is more reliably quiet than the week between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/i-love-london-in-the-rare-parts-of-the-year-when-it-s-quiet-and-no/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) [Explore all 158 John Lanchester quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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