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dorisxdw's review against another edition
1.0
It started off interesting fand then just totally lost me
mimosa234's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Julian Barnes' style, the character building was ace and the main idea of creating a second England is really interesting. Unfortunately, this book just got a little slow in the middle and I think some of Sir Jacks' story could've been cut for a more detailed description of the growth of the island/project. It could've actually been weirder if it wanted and I probably would've liked it even more.
d_wnks's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
bookishphase's review against another edition
1.0
aliilman's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
definebookish's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
corallig's review against another edition
3.5
"And there was another reason for mistrust. If a memory wasn't a thing but a memory of a memory of a memory, mirror set in parallel, then what the brain told you now about what it claimed had happened then would be coloured by what had happened in between. It was like a country remembering its history: the past was never just the past, it was what made the present able to live with itself. The same went for individuals though the process obviously wasn't straightforward. Did those whose lives had disappointed them remember an idyll, or something which justified their lives ending in disappointment. Did those who were content with their lives remember previous contentment, or some moment of well-arranged adversity heroically overcome? An element of propaganda, of sales and marketing, always intervened between the inner and the outer person. [...] A continuing self-deception as well. Because even if you recognized all this, grasped the impurity and corruption of the memory system, you still, part of you, believed in that innocent, authentic thing - yes, thing- you called a memory."
"After the age of twenty-five, you were not allowed to blame anything on your parents. Of course, it didn't apply if your parents had done something terrible - had raped and murdered you and stolen all your money and sold you into prostitution - but in the average course of an average life, if you were averagely competent and averagely intelligent, and more so if you were more so, then you were not allowed to blame your parents. Of course you did, there were times when it was just too tempting. [...] You're on your own, kid. Damage is a normal part of childhood. Not allowed to blame anything on them any more. Not allowed."
"Her experience with Russell also caused her to doubt whether love was ever attained by striving or by active decision; whether individual worthiness was relevant. Further, where was it laid down that anything beyond a sweet companionable piggishness was possible?"
"Perhaps she had passed the age when there could be new beginnings; only familiar ones."
" "That's ex-actly what I mean. Change the subject, ask a question, avoid c-ontact."
[...] Did that make any sense? She tried to think of a question that wasn't a means of avoiding contact. She'd always thought asking questions was a form of contact. Depending on the answers, of course."
" 'I'm falling in love with someone else' was always easier on the vanity than 'I'm falling out of love with you.' "
"And perhaps it was also the case that, for all a lifetime's internal struggling, you were finally no more than what others saw you as. That was your nature, whether you liked it or not."
"After the age of twenty-five, you were not allowed to blame anything on your parents. Of course, it didn't apply if your parents had done something terrible - had raped and murdered you and stolen all your money and sold you into prostitution - but in the average course of an average life, if you were averagely competent and averagely intelligent, and more so if you were more so, then you were not allowed to blame your parents. Of course you did, there were times when it was just too tempting. [...] You're on your own, kid. Damage is a normal part of childhood. Not allowed to blame anything on them any more. Not allowed."
"Her experience with Russell also caused her to doubt whether love was ever attained by striving or by active decision; whether individual worthiness was relevant. Further, where was it laid down that anything beyond a sweet companionable piggishness was possible?"
"Perhaps she had passed the age when there could be new beginnings; only familiar ones."
" "That's ex-actly what I mean. Change the subject, ask a question, avoid c-ontact."
[...] Did that make any sense? She tried to think of a question that wasn't a means of avoiding contact. She'd always thought asking questions was a form of contact. Depending on the answers, of course."
" 'I'm falling in love with someone else' was always easier on the vanity than 'I'm falling out of love with you.' "
"And perhaps it was also the case that, for all a lifetime's internal struggling, you were finally no more than what others saw you as. That was your nature, whether you liked it or not."