Julian Barnes

Based on his own memories and those of his philosopher brother, a memoir about the author's family offers a meditation on the inevitability of human mortality and the fear of death, a celebration of art, and an argument for, against, about, and with God.

Nothing to be Frightened of

"I don’t believe in God, but I miss him." So begins Julian Barnes’s brilliant new book that 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 writer Jules Renard. Barnes also draws poignant portraits of the last days of his parents, recalled with great detail, affection and exasperation. Other examples he takes up include writers, "most of them dead and quite a few of them French," as well as some composers, for good measure. The grace with which Barnes weaves together all of these threads makes the experience of reading the book nothing less than exhilarating. Although he cautions us that "this is not my autobiography," the book nonetheless reveals much about Barnes the man and the novelist: how he thinks and how he writes and how he lives. At once deadly serious and dazzlingly playful, Nothing to Be Frightened Of is a wise, funny and constantly surprising tour of the human condition. From the Hardcover edition.

Nothing to Be Frightened of

I.m. ruzz

while there's plenty to enjoy in this book i found finishing it to be an arduous task. he's so verbose, so repetitive and so roaming I had to force myself to keep going. 

he suffers an affliction uniquely british, in that cleverness is allowed to take as many pages as an author would like. this book would have been twice as meaningful in half the words. 

that said, as a man staring middle age in the face--and moving quickly towards what comes after it--it's interesting to read the thoughts of a man in his sixties regarding life and death. I expect to reread some marked chapters should i get near that age and see how my view has changed. 

if you're fascinated by your coming non existence, and have tolerance for blog-level rambling. pick it up.

Nothing to be Frightened of

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