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yvkhan's review against another edition
5.0
I've always been somewhat biased against Julian Barnes. I first stumbled upon him through school, as one often does, and soon found that I was rather unexcited by his writing. The Sense of an Ending, though readable, seemed to lack any real humanist impulse, rendering it merely intellectual and rather lifeless. A History of the World in 10½ Chapters wasn't much better - I dropped that one about a few chapters in.
This impression of Barnes wasn't exactly improved by my adoration of his infamous rival in love, Jeanette Winterson. In contrast with Barnes, Winterson seemed all the more emotional and passionate, with Barnes' writing rendered all the more lifeless. It wasn't very fun to feel as if I was rooting for the adultress, so I decided to frame it as rooting for the lesbian, which suits me far more, hopefully. Anyways, because of all this, I began to half-ironically rally against Barnes - hatred for its own sake. Well, eventually, I started to feel a little guilty for judging him so harshly after reading so little of his writing, so I decided to pick up one other book of his to give him another shot. A book about adultery seemed all the more hilarious and ironic for my irreverent little brain, though it also hinted at a possible depth in Barnes' reaction to his wife's adultery, perhaps a sort of sympathy? My overactive imagination was excited at the possibility. Perhaps Pat Kavanaugh simply had a type - adulterers. Wouldn't that be fun?
However, I found myself rather impressed by this novel. It contained an emotional depth and intensity I was not expecting from Barnes, revealing a versatility to his writing. Barnes has a gift for writing not just memorable but realistic, self-aware narrators who are all too aware of their own biases and possible shortcomings. Here, he executes it with poignant effect, illustrating the decay of a teenager's first love and his own innocence in the process. With new, suppressed memories and the reframing of events previously recounted in the novel, Barnes' work reflects the way in which human sentimentality and nostalgia constantly inform and alter our perspective of our past. The revisiting of certain memories and motifs, even a certain dream, further adds to the realism of such a novel in the way it mimics our experiences with life, with our constant mental preoccupations, and the way the world around us, with all its symbols and euphemisms, all gain new significance with the forging of memories and increases in knowledge. Other details, including the changes from first to second to third person, the questioning of previous memories and even the forgetting of past memories reveal Barnes' understanding of the power and potential of the novel in its absolute ability to dictate the experience of the reader.
The novel doesn't simply excel in craft, it also paints a beautiful portrait of a youth, initially full of idealism and innocence, that eventually gets torn down and grounded by the world around him. His initial beliefs that love is all we need, that excitement is more important than anything else, that Susan is just as inexperienced as him, just as youthful and wide-eyed, are torn down one by one. His hatred for MacLeod, Susan's husband, and his parents as well, slowly fades throughout the novel as experience adds nuance to his perspective. His view of love is continuously questioned - eventually, one of the most poetic things Paul can say about love is that there is nothing that can be said for certain about it at all. Eventually, so are his ideas of maturity. Paul's older self critiques his younger self's ideas of age constantly, revealing their inevitable flaws as notions of one who is not yet experienced with the ways of the world. The character of Eric, representing the best of Paul's childhood years, eventually grows embittered, with even his own idealistic kindness ultimately broken in the face of the world's hardships. Paul eventually recollects a moment where he abandoned Eric out of fear when the two were confronted by bullies, throwing doubt on the idea of youth as a time of pure courage and ideals. Perhaps most heartbreakingly, the eventual surrender of Susan to her daughters, a culmination of adultery, deception and alcoholism, reveals the finite nature of our idealism, and the way it must, inevitably, end.
However, ultimately, Paul does not look down on youth. Rather, he continues to uphold it and treasure the emotions he experienced as one, with his love for Susan being "The Only Story", the only narrative that matters in his eyes. The complexity of such a perspective on youth as simultaneously a transcient, foolish time in our lives and yet one that could not be more valuable makes this novel all the more captivating. Ultimately, as painful and tragic Paul's love affair in Susan was, this pain cannot be separated from the passion and beauty that came with it, or perhaps, because of it.
All in all, I have, despite myself, been thoroughly impressed by Julian Barnes. Hopefully, this won't be "The Only Story" that I'll enjoy!
This impression of Barnes wasn't exactly improved by my adoration of his infamous rival in love, Jeanette Winterson. In contrast with Barnes, Winterson seemed all the more emotional and passionate, with Barnes' writing rendered all the more lifeless. It wasn't very fun to feel as if I was rooting for the adultress, so I decided to frame it as rooting for the lesbian, which suits me far more, hopefully. Anyways, because of all this, I began to half-ironically rally against Barnes - hatred for its own sake. Well, eventually, I started to feel a little guilty for judging him so harshly after reading so little of his writing, so I decided to pick up one other book of his to give him another shot. A book about adultery seemed all the more hilarious and ironic for my irreverent little brain, though it also hinted at a possible depth in Barnes' reaction to his wife's adultery, perhaps a sort of sympathy? My overactive imagination was excited at the possibility. Perhaps Pat Kavanaugh simply had a type - adulterers. Wouldn't that be fun?
However, I found myself rather impressed by this novel. It contained an emotional depth and intensity I was not expecting from Barnes, revealing a versatility to his writing. Barnes has a gift for writing not just memorable but realistic, self-aware narrators who are all too aware of their own biases and possible shortcomings. Here, he executes it with poignant effect, illustrating the decay of a teenager's first love and his own innocence in the process. With new, suppressed memories and the reframing of events previously recounted in the novel, Barnes' work reflects the way in which human sentimentality and nostalgia constantly inform and alter our perspective of our past. The revisiting of certain memories and motifs, even a certain dream, further adds to the realism of such a novel in the way it mimics our experiences with life, with our constant mental preoccupations, and the way the world around us, with all its symbols and euphemisms, all gain new significance with the forging of memories and increases in knowledge. Other details, including the changes from first to second to third person, the questioning of previous memories and even the forgetting of past memories reveal Barnes' understanding of the power and potential of the novel in its absolute ability to dictate the experience of the reader.
The novel doesn't simply excel in craft, it also paints a beautiful portrait of a youth, initially full of idealism and innocence, that eventually gets torn down and grounded by the world around him. His initial beliefs that love is all we need, that excitement is more important than anything else, that Susan is just as inexperienced as him, just as youthful and wide-eyed, are torn down one by one. His hatred for MacLeod, Susan's husband, and his parents as well, slowly fades throughout the novel as experience adds nuance to his perspective. His view of love is continuously questioned - eventually, one of the most poetic things Paul can say about love is that there is nothing that can be said for certain about it at all. Eventually, so are his ideas of maturity. Paul's older self critiques his younger self's ideas of age constantly, revealing their inevitable flaws as notions of one who is not yet experienced with the ways of the world. The character of Eric, representing the best of Paul's childhood years, eventually grows embittered, with even his own idealistic kindness ultimately broken in the face of the world's hardships. Paul eventually recollects a moment where he abandoned Eric out of fear when the two were confronted by bullies, throwing doubt on the idea of youth as a time of pure courage and ideals. Perhaps most heartbreakingly, the eventual surrender of Susan to her daughters, a culmination of adultery, deception and alcoholism, reveals the finite nature of our idealism, and the way it must, inevitably, end.
However, ultimately, Paul does not look down on youth. Rather, he continues to uphold it and treasure the emotions he experienced as one, with his love for Susan being "The Only Story", the only narrative that matters in his eyes. The complexity of such a perspective on youth as simultaneously a transcient, foolish time in our lives and yet one that could not be more valuable makes this novel all the more captivating. Ultimately, as painful and tragic Paul's love affair in Susan was, this pain cannot be separated from the passion and beauty that came with it, or perhaps, because of it.
All in all, I have, despite myself, been thoroughly impressed by Julian Barnes. Hopefully, this won't be "The Only Story" that I'll enjoy!
slugabed's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nattynatchan's review against another edition
5.0
"Though sometimes, first love cauterises the heart, and all any searcher will find thereafter is scar tissue."
a touching piece on the bravado of young love, and how that self-righteousness falls apart on the physical and mental disintegration of a loved one, slowly and painfully and with full cognizance
a touching piece on the bravado of young love, and how that self-righteousness falls apart on the physical and mental disintegration of a loved one, slowly and painfully and with full cognizance
slm_7's review against another edition
3.0
About how being in love does not make you the superhuman you sometimes are made to believe happens
awhittz's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the tone of this, and the way the story unfolded on a wave of memory.
readmetwotimes's review against another edition
2.0
Quanto è difficile parlare di questo libro. Un libro osannato in patria, uno scrittore altrettanto osannato. Ho arrotondato per eccesso le stelle solo per il finale, che mi è parsa l'unica cosa sincera del libro. Mi ha dato l'impressione che l'autore abbia partorito due o tre frasette a effetto e ci abbia poi costruito questo racconto lungo intorno. Niente, non riesco a farmi piacere Barnes, e sono al secondo libro. Mi è profondamente antipatico, lui e quel suo modo di scrivere pseudointellettuale e arrogante. Ma d'altra parte stiamo parlando di un inglese con la puzza sotto il naso, non di altro. Bah, probabilmente avrei dovuto mettere una stella -.-
triptofun's review against another edition
2.0
La storia è buona, una specie di rivisitazione del laureato in cui però sappiamo cosa accade dopo che il ragazzino e la donna di mezza età si mettono insieme. è un libro ben scritto, ma è talmente senza speranza e deprimente che non sono riuscita a godermi la lettura.
essjay1's review against another edition
3.0
In some ways more an essay than a story, a rumination on love and loss. Beautifully written of course.