Speed of light Quote by Lorrie Moore
““How can it be described? How can any of it be described? The trip and the story of the trip are two different things. The narrator is the one who has stayed home, but then, afterward, presses her mouth upon the traveler’s mouth, in order to make the mouth work, to make the mouth say, say, say. One cannot go to a place and speak of it; one cannot both see and say, not really. One can go, and upon returning make a lot of hand motions and indications with the arms. The mouth itself, working at the speed of light, at the eye’s instructions, is necessarily struck still; so fast, so much to report, it hangs open and dumb as a gutted bell. All that unsayable life! That’s where the narrator comes in. The narrator comes with her kisses and mimicry and tidying up. The narrator comes and makes a slow, fake song of the mouth’s eager devastation.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: “The Lost World of Mr. Larkin” by Lorrie Moore, 2005
The narrator cannot fully convey lived experience; language lags behind perception, so storytelling becomes a mediated, imperfect reconstruction.
In simple terms: Stories can’t capture the whole truth of experience.
Key Takeaway
Accept the limits of description and use other senses.
Themes
language
perception
storytelling
limits
mediation
Mood
reflective
melancholic
introspective
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- writing workshops
- travel journals
- film criticism
- teaching literature
Key Concepts
narrative theory
phenomenology
semiotics
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you bridge the gap between experience and expression?
- What non‑verbal tools can convey what language cannot?
A Different Perspective
Words often fail to match the immediacy of lived moments.
