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Newbie
Apr 10, 2013 14:20:48 GMT -5
Post by casualreader on Apr 10, 2013 14:20:48 GMT -5
Well here I am - rocked up at JB's discussion board - a 'newbie' to literary discussion. At school, when I had subject options, I took Physics over English Literature and whilst I continue to understand why you should never leave electric wires coiled, I do feel I have missed out on some of the finer points in life.
So, JB - I have started to read his works. It started with Nothing to be frightened of, not a particularly cheerful topic but relevant to me because I teach death and dying issues. I followed with A sense of ending - a novel that had good pace and a sense that a jigsaw was being assembled, piece by piece. Both books engaged me and I liked the 'voice' that came through - some gentleness, some humour - both relaxing and leaving me to want more. Now I have started Through the window and I brought up short by my lack of knowledge of the literati. I have just read the chapter on George Orwell, which, as often happens in life, is a bit of a co-incidence, as the other book by my bedside is Orwell's The road to Wigan Pier - a book that is both fascinating in its details of life in the early 30s, as well as recognising the parallels in society some 80 years later.
So I am pleased to have found this board and the opportunity to give and recieve comment. Thank you JB, for the words I have read so far and the novels and non-fiction that I have yet to explore.
I failed physics, by the way.
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Newbie
Apr 18, 2013 11:48:55 GMT -5
Post by andrew1966 on Apr 18, 2013 11:48:55 GMT -5
I am new to Julian Barnes's work, too. I read an interview with him in the Saturday edition of 'The Guardian' newspaper recently, and I followed this up by reading his new book, 'Levels of Life'. I thought that it was a very absorbing read. As the person stated in the previous message on this thread, I liked the narrator's voice, a sympathetic authorial presence, but with an ironic sense of humour. I think the book dealt with the subject of grief over the death of a loved one very candidly. It made me think of my own experiences of dealing with the deaths of close family members, which has been quite devastating for me and has still left its emotional scars, and how much worse it must be to lose your life partner, as Mr Barnes did when his late wife Pat Kavanagh died.
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