It is hard to understand the way memory works – we remember things that we’d preferred to have forgotten or forget things that we wanted to remember. We usually don’t tend to process, store, and recall all situations that confront us unless they hold substantial meaning or could be threatening to important goals. Often, we don’t even register moments as they happen – this is the blankness one feels during a disaster. At the same time, different versions of the same person may exist in memory – you could be a poetic presence or a chatterbox depending on the observations people make.

As Julian Barnes writes in his book ‘The Sense of an Ending’, “What you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed.” Be it a traumatic plane crash or a natural disaster – there is a significant gap in our memory that cannot be entirely truthful to the events we have experienced. That void is present in our perceptions about various circumstances in life. Take the example of ‘historical amnesia’ where historians call into question the relevance or authenticity of various manuscripts and historical accounts. Memory can be faulty and that could lead to distorted concepts of history. It is commonly said, ‘history is written by the victors’ but this statement is altered by Barnes who believes that history is the “lies of the victors” and the “self-delusions of the defeated.” It is a rather meaningful perspective. There are always two sides to a coin.

According to ‘Trace Theory’, a shorter time interval between a certain memory and recalling that information ensures better memory and retention. In some cases, we fail to remember things because of poor retrieval cues, or because they haven’t been stored in long-term memory at all. Memory is imperfect and tends to distort our perceptions over time as it alters, fades, and undergoes change. However, a simple painting or a mere conversation can take our minds back to those seemingly unclear moments. They continue to exist in the back of our heads and all it takes is a faint idea to trigger it.

We hear poets telling us to ‘seize the day’ and it feels that life is made wholly of memories that we make every millisecond; some holding greater significance than others. No two seconds last forever and the malleability of time leaves everyone questioning the norm. In the ‘Sense of an Ending’, the characters are seen as they evolve through time. This reflects choices made during adolescence that have an ironic impact in adulthood. However, the lessons learned are understood much later as the characters look back into their past and introspect. Much like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, this is a coming of age novel – or bildungsroman – that is written from the perspective of an adult. It could also be called a moralistic work that pieces together past remembrances and builds over time, as Barnes explains that time “first grounds us and then confounds us.” The amount of time we are given may never be enough, and amidst our daily hassles we tend to forget that. It is a universal truth that cannot be denied. Time cannot be conquered, let alone outrun.

As Barnes writes, “Time… give us enough time and our best-supported decisions will seem wobbly, our certainties whimsical.”