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Books
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The following represents a complete
listing of books written by Julian Barnes.
For books written by Dan Kavanagh, please visit www.dankavanagh.com.
All dust jackets are from the first UK edition.
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Metroland
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Metroland was Julian Barnes's
first novel. It took between 7-8 years to write and draws heavily
on his personal experiences growing up in the suburbs of London.
Written in three parts, the first section focuses on the friendship
of Christopher and Toni and their childhood disgust for the bourgeoisie.
The second section finds Christopher in Paris during les événements
of 1968, where he misses out on the events because he is too busy
having sex. The last section outlines Christopher's life back in
the London suburbs, his marriage, his child, and his stable job.
When Toni returns to question Christopher's loss of their early
childhood philosophy, Christopher is faced with the dilemma of turning
his back on his wife and child or acknowledging that he has become
what he once despised. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award for
a first novel. |
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Before She Met Me
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Barnes's second book under his own
name. Graham Hendrick divorces, remarries, and finds himself consumed
with jealousy as he investigates his new wife's former love affairs.
The novel is gritty, shocking, and quite moving in its portrayal
of the slow deterioration of its central character. |
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Flaubert's Parrot
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Barnes's "breakthrough" novel about
an English doctor's obsession with Gustave Flaubert and his use
of Flaubert's writings to make sense of his own life. Shortlisted
for the Booker Prize. |
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Staring at the Sun
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Barnes examines the ordinary life
of Jean Serjeant from her childhood in the 1920s through her adulthood
to the year 2021. Throughout her life, Jean learns to question the
world's idea of truth while she explores the beauty and miracles
of everyday life. |
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A History of the World in 10˝ Chapters
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Connecting themes of voyage and discovery,
History has become one of Barnes's most studied and talked
about novels. The mixture of fictional and historical narratives
provides Barnes the opportunity to question our ideas of history,
our interpretation of facts, and our search for answers to explain
our interaction and placement within the grand scope of history.
"Frequently brilliant, funny, thoughtful, iconoclastic and a delight
to read." -- Salman Rushdie, Observer |
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Talking It Over
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The ostentatious Oliver falls in love
with quiet Gillian and wants to marry her. The problem? Gillian
has already married Oliver's best and oldest friend, the somewhat
stale but stable Stuart. Each character takes turns addressing the
reader in this bright and funny "he said/she said/he said" novel.
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The Porcupine
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With the collapse of Communism in
Eastern Europe, the deposed Party leader Stoyo Petkanov is standing
trial for crimes against his country. Unrepentant, Petkanov faces
his chief prosecutor, Peter Solinsky, questioning Solinsky's (and
the country's) ideas of history and nationalism. |
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Letters from London
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Barnes served as London correspondent
for the New Yorker between 1990-1995, writing a series
of essays under the collective title of "Letters from London". Gathered
here, along with a few essays published elsewhere, this collection
constitutes Barnes's first published book of non-fiction.
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Cross Channel
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A collection of short stories that
explore the connections, similarities, and differences between England
and France. |
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England, England
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Sir Jack Pitman creates a theme park
on the Isle of Wight that duplicates the tourist spots of England.
Within easy walking distance are replicas of Big Ben (half size),
Princess Di's grave, Harrods, Stonehenge, and the white cliffs of
Dover. Martha Cochrane is hired by Sir Jack as his official cynic.
The novel follows her development from childhood to retirement as
a nation struggles to retain its cultural identity. One of Barnes's
finest and funniest novels, England, England calls into
question the idea of replicas, truth vs. fiction, reality vs. art,
nationhood, myth-making, and self-exploration. |
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Love, etc
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In Talking It Over, Stuart
and Oliver fought for the love of Gillian. One of them won, but
what happened next? Love, etc catches up with this trio
after ten years only to find more chaos and confusion. Written in
the same style as the prequel, Barnes takes the form a
few steps further as the characters plead for the reader's attention.
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Something to Declare
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A collection of essays on the subject
of France and French culture written by Barnes over the previous
twenty years. Subjects include the Tour de France, French food,
and, of course, Gustave Flaubert. |
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In the Land of Pain
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A translation of Alphonse Daudet's notes written
during his suffering with syphilis.
Written by Alphonse Daudet; Edited & Translated
by Julian Barnes
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The Pedant in the Kitchen
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A collection of essays on the preparation,
consumption, and enjoyment of food. |
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The Lemon Table
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A collection of short stories on the
nuances of life and its insurmountable end.
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Arthur & George
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A novel about low crime and high spirituality;
guilt and innocence; identity, nationality and race; and thwarted
passion. |
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Nothing to be Frightened of
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‘I don’t believe in God,
but I miss him.’ Julian Barnes’ new book is, among many
things, a family memoir, an exchange with his brother (a philosopher),
a meditation on mortality and the fear of death, a celebration of
art, an argument with and about God, and a homage to the French
writer Jules Renard. Though he warns us that ‘this is not my
autobiography’, the result is like a tour of the mind of one
of our most brilliant writers.
When Angela Carter reviewed Barnes’s first
novel, Metroland, she praised the mature way he wrote about
death. Now, nearly thirty years later, he returns to the subject
in a wise , funny and constantly surprising book, which defies
category and classification – except as Barnesian.
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