--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is like an overlong drama through…" description: "\"Life is like an overlong drama through which we sit being nagged by the vague memories of having read the reviews.\" — John Updike" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/john-updike-396_drama_life-is-like-an-overlong-drama-through-w_2567372.jpg" --- # Life is like an overlong drama through which we sit being… ![“Life is like an overlong drama through which we sit being nagged by the vague memories of having read the reviews.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/john-updike-396_drama_life-is-like-an-overlong-drama-through-w_2567372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/john-updike-396_drama_life-is-like-an-overlong-drama-through-w_2567372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/john-updike-396_drama_life-is-like-an-overlong-drama-through-w_2567372.jpg) > “Life is like an overlong drama through which we sit being nagged by the vague memories of having read the reviews.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels like an endless play, haunted by past critiques that shape our present experience. **In simple terms:** Life is a long drama influenced by past reviews. Key Takeaway Reflect on past feedback to shape future actions. Themes existentialism memory self‑reflection Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - career evaluation - personal journaling - therapy Key Concepts narrative theory psychology human condition Questions to Reflect On - What past criticism still influences you? - How can you rewrite your personal narrative? A Different Perspective Past reviews can be misleading or outdated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life is like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is-like/) [Like Overlong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-overlong-1660199/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Nagged Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nagged-vague-1660198/) [Overlong Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overlong-drama-1660197/) [Reviews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reviews/) [Sit Nagged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit-nagged-1660200/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) [Vague Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague-memories-882435/) ## Related quotes > [Sadly, I have very vague memories of Burma. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-whitman/the-actual-original-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-i-have-vague/) [Mae Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-whitman/) > [I only have vague memories of the Radio 1 days because it was quite a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-ball/i-only-have-vague-memories-of-the-radio-1-days-because-it-was-quite-a/) [Zoe Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-ball/) > [Vague memories hang about the mind like cobwebs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/vague-memories-hang-about-the-mind-like-cobwebs/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I don't see how it's doing society any good to have so many members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/i-don-t-see-how-it-s-doing-society-any-good-to-have-so-many-members/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [From dream to dream and rhyme to rhyme I have ranged / In rambling talk with an image of air: / Vague memories, nothing but memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/from-dream-to-dream-and-rhyme-to-rhyme-i-have-ranged-in-rambling-talk/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Life is a nacho. 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You get better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/life-is-like-a-game-where-you-seek-to-overcome-the-obstacles-that/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Life is like the dice that, falling, still show a different face. So life, though it remains the same, is always presenting different aspects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-sanchez/life-is-like-the-dice-that-falling-still-show-a-different-face-so/) [Alexis Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-sanchez/) > [But people who think they can project themselves into deafness are mistaken because you can't. And I'm not talking about imagining what a deaf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/but-people-who-think-they-can-project-themselves-into-deafness-are/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [What would your life be like if your body were your friend and ally?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-northrup/what-would-your-life-be-like-if-your-body-were-your-friend-and-ally/) [Christiane Northrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-northrup/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Drama quotes > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. 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It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [I never wanted to be the lead on a TV drama. It just robs you of your life, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-noth/i-never-wanted-to-be-the-lead-on-a-tv-drama-it-just-robs-you-of-your/) [Chris Noth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-noth/) > [When I discovered drama, I felt a connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-fearon/when-i-discovered-drama-i-felt-a-connection/) [Ray Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-fearon/) > [Dont hate me cause ur man want me dont be jealouse cause hes thinking of when he says he loves u dont hate him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/dont-hate-me-cause-ur-man-want-me-dont-be-jealouse-cause-hes-thinking/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [I hadn't been to drama school. I hadn't been to university and acted there. I had no qualifications behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-hadn-t-been-to-drama-school-i-hadn-t-been-to-university-and-acted/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [I kind of pride myself on coming onto things that are well-oiled machines and finding a way to bring what I bring and fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-kind-of-pride-myself-on-coming-onto-things-that-are-well-oiled/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [They say that art comes from the soul. 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