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A review by hayleybeale
Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
3.0
After a heavy diet of thrillers and romcoms, I felt it was time for something a bit more substantial. This fit the bill but should probably be savored in smaller chunks than gulped down in a couple of days in a sunny garden. Either way, the author is clearly supersmart and I learned a lot, had my thoughts provoked, and looked up lots of words and people.
Neil, an actor in his thirties, takes a class called Civilization and Culture taught by the unorthodox Elizabeth Finch. Neil and the rest of the class, he believes, have their minds expanded by the discussions EF opens up for them. Long after the class concludes, Neil continues these discussions over lunch with EF right up till her death. When he finds out from her brother that EF has left him her library and notebooks, Neil feels she has set him a task.
There seem to be two crucial learnings from EF’s class: the death of Julian the Apostate (who he? Don’t worry, you’ll find out) as a pivotal point in human history; and Epictetus’s philosophy that “There are things you can control and things you can’t control. Once you accept that, you will find happiness.”
The second section of the book is Neil’s essay about the aforementioned Julian. Neil has been called “The King of Unfinished Projects” and he is determined not to succumb to that fault, though, as the reader, we realize he does. There is a brief history of Julian’s life and then the multiple interpretations of his position in history since his death in 363 AD as well as all the speculation about what would have happened if he hadn't died at the age of 31.
The third section of the book goes back to Neil as he decides whether he wants to write a biography of EF. Though Neil believes he knew her well - she left him her library and notes! - as he talks to other members of his class and her brother, he realizes that he was blinkered by his love for her (and how that is defined) and she showed him only one facet of herself and others saw different ones.
JB is one of the storied, now old, men of English letters along with Martin Amis and Ian McEwan, though he perhaps has not achieved quite the fame of those two. His novels are always very readable if intellectually demanding. It was perhaps not the wisest choice to read this on vacation - too little plot, too much philosophy - but did make me feel I’d read something meaningful and worthwhile.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
Neil, an actor in his thirties, takes a class called Civilization and Culture taught by the unorthodox Elizabeth Finch. Neil and the rest of the class, he believes, have their minds expanded by the discussions EF opens up for them. Long after the class concludes, Neil continues these discussions over lunch with EF right up till her death. When he finds out from her brother that EF has left him her library and notebooks, Neil feels she has set him a task.
There seem to be two crucial learnings from EF’s class: the death of Julian the Apostate (who he? Don’t worry, you’ll find out) as a pivotal point in human history; and Epictetus’s philosophy that “There are things you can control and things you can’t control. Once you accept that, you will find happiness.”
The second section of the book is Neil’s essay about the aforementioned Julian. Neil has been called “The King of Unfinished Projects” and he is determined not to succumb to that fault, though, as the reader, we realize he does. There is a brief history of Julian’s life and then the multiple interpretations of his position in history since his death in 363 AD as well as all the speculation about what would have happened if he hadn't died at the age of 31.
The third section of the book goes back to Neil as he decides whether he wants to write a biography of EF. Though Neil believes he knew her well - she left him her library and notes! - as he talks to other members of his class and her brother, he realizes that he was blinkered by his love for her (and how that is defined) and she showed him only one facet of herself and others saw different ones.
JB is one of the storied, now old, men of English letters along with Martin Amis and Ian McEwan, though he perhaps has not achieved quite the fame of those two. His novels are always very readable if intellectually demanding. It was perhaps not the wisest choice to read this on vacation - too little plot, too much philosophy - but did make me feel I’d read something meaningful and worthwhile.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the digital review copy.