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Staring at the Sun
A fighter pilot, high above the English Channel in 1941, watches the sun rise; he descends 10,000 feet and then, to his amazement, finds the sun beginning to rise again. With this haunting image Julian Barnes’ novel begins. It charts the life of Jean Serjeant, from her beginnings as a naïve, carefree country girl before the war through to her wry and trenchant old age in the year 2020. We follow her bruising experience in marriage, her questioning of male truths, her adventures in motherhood and in China; we learnt the questions she asks of life and the often unsatisfactory answers it provides.
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
48 people are currently reading
1284 people want to read
About the author
Julian Barnes
173 books6,753 followersJulian Patrick Barnes is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending, having been shortlisted three times previously with Flaubert's Parrot, England, England, and Arthur & George. Barnes has also written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh (having married Pat Kavanagh). In addition to novels, Barnes has published collections of essays and short stories.
In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honours also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was awarded the 2021 Jerusalem Prize.
In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honours also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was awarded the 2021 Jerusalem Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
August 10, 2021
“Gündoğumuna Yolculuk” İngiliz yazarın ilk romanlarından biri. Çoğu romanında olduğu gibi İngiltere taşrasından seçilen karakterler ile romanı kurgulamış. 100 yaşına ulaşan roman kahramanı Jean’ın çocukluğu, ergenliği, gençliği, evlililiği, anneliği, aşkları, hayalleri ve hayata dair düşünceleri Julian Barnes’ca anlatılmış.
Çok iyi bir giriş ve kurgu sonlara doğru biraz karışmış. Karışıklık içerikten dolayı aslında, metne biraz felsefe katılınca romanın örgüsünde bir karışıklık yaratmış, zaten karakter sayısı az olduğundan romanın öyküsünde bir karışıklık yok. Tanrı kavramının sorgulandığı bölüm gülümsetiyor.
Julian Barnes’a göre dünyanın yedi harikası:
1. Doğmuş olmak
2. Sevilmiş olmak (anne ve baba sevgisiyle doğuyorsunuz)
3. Hayal kırıklığına uğramak (ilk defa bir yetişkin tarafından hayal kırıklığına uğratıldığınızda, ilk defa zevkin acıyı içerdiğini keşfettiğinizde)
4. Evlenmek
5. Çocuk doğurmak
6. Sağduyulu olmak
7. Ölmek (belki bir şahika değil ama bir nihayettir.
İşte bu harikalar üzerinden yürüyerek J. Barnes gündoğumundan başladığı uzun yolculuğa günbatımında son vermiş. Zaten gündoğumu ile günbatımı kolaylıkla birbiriyle karıştırılır.
Keyifle okudum bu sevdiğim yazarı.
Çok iyi bir giriş ve kurgu sonlara doğru biraz karışmış. Karışıklık içerikten dolayı aslında, metne biraz felsefe katılınca romanın örgüsünde bir karışıklık yaratmış, zaten karakter sayısı az olduğundan romanın öyküsünde bir karışıklık yok. Tanrı kavramının sorgulandığı bölüm gülümsetiyor.
Julian Barnes’a göre dünyanın yedi harikası:
1. Doğmuş olmak
2. Sevilmiş olmak (anne ve baba sevgisiyle doğuyorsunuz)
3. Hayal kırıklığına uğramak (ilk defa bir yetişkin tarafından hayal kırıklığına uğratıldığınızda, ilk defa zevkin acıyı içerdiğini keşfettiğinizde)
4. Evlenmek
5. Çocuk doğurmak
6. Sağduyulu olmak
7. Ölmek (belki bir şahika değil ama bir nihayettir.
İşte bu harikalar üzerinden yürüyerek J. Barnes gündoğumundan başladığı uzun yolculuğa günbatımında son vermiş. Zaten gündoğumu ile günbatımı kolaylıkla birbiriyle karıştırılır.
Keyifle okudum bu sevdiğim yazarı.
February 19, 2018
A very confusing book. Barely readable. It has its mesmerising points but nothing brighter or engaging. The question that kept plaguing me, was: the protagonist, what, had some congnitive abnormalities or something? Or was it just the convoluted style that made me feel like that?
A DNF at that.
A DNF at that.
April 30, 2019
Come mai il visone è ostinatamente attaccato alla vita?
Jean è una donna ordinaria, quasi scialba. Silenziosa, un po' ingenua, poco sicura di sé stessa, non lascia trasparire emozioni, lascia scorrere gli eventi. Però è curiosa e non cessa mai di farsi domande su tutto, forse influenzata dallo strambo zio Leslie che da ragazzina le poneva gli interrogativi più assurdi.
Sarà proprio questa curiosità che l'accompagnerà durante tutta la sua vita, fino a quando diverrà centenaria. Una vita incolore, fatta di fallimenti e insoddisfazioni, ma caratterizzata dalla voglia di capire. Man mano che il tempo passa, le domande banali vengono sostituite da quelle via via più importanti, che riguardano la sua vita di donna, gli uomini, il matrimonio, l'esistenza, l'aldilà, Dio.
"Ciò che Jean andava notando era il beffardo paradosso della tarda età: tutto pareva richiedere più tempo e, nonostante ciò, le ore parevano scorrere più veloci"
Tutte queste domande convogliano al termine in un unico interrogativo: come fa la gente normale ad accontentarsi di una vita mediocre, anonima, incolore e a non farsi abbattere dalla quotidianità? Come si fa a rendere unica la nostra presenza nel mondo?
Difficile dare risposte. Anche se, forse, il trucco sta nel tentare di scovare lo straordinario in ciò che invece è ordinario, il bello nell'incolore, la diversità nella quotidianità?
"Forse devi convincerti di conoscerle le risposte, altrimenti non combini mai niente. Pensavo di conoscerle quando mi sono sposata; o meglio, credevo che sarei stata capace di trovarle. Pensavo di conoscerle quando me ne sono andata. Adesso non ne sono più tanto certa. O meglio, adesso so quali sono le risposte a domande diverse. E magari va così: sappiamo solo le risposte a un certo numero di cose a seconda del momento"
Non è affatto un libro immediato; ci vuole un po' prima di capire la morale della descrizione preziosa e dettagliata della quotidianità di Jean. Ma il contenuto vien fuori sulla distanza e terminato il libro mi sono ritrovato a rileggerne dei brani e a ripensare spesso ai suoi contenuti.
Tra l'altro, è un libro scritto da un uomo che tenta di esaminare (secondo me abbastanza bene) l'universo "femminile".
"Una volta maritatasi, Jean apprese le seguenti cose:
- come rifare il letto con gli angoli che fanno in ospedale;
- come cucire, rattoppare, lavorare all’uncinetto;
- come fare tre tipi di budino;
- come accendere il fuoco e ungere un forno;
- come lucidare i vecchi pennies immergendoli nell’aceto;
- come stirare una camicia da uomo;
- come intrecciarsi i capelli;
- come inserirsi un cappellotto anticoncezionale;
- come bollire la frutta e farne marmellate;
- come sorridere quando non si sentiva di sorridere.
Si sentiva orgogliosa di tali conquiste, sebbene non le considerasse una dote nuziale del tutto adeguata. Avrebbe voluto, per esempio, sapere:
- come ballare il valzer, il quickstep e la polca, balli dei quali la vita le era stata avara;
- come correre senza mettersi automaticamente le braccia sul seno;
- come sapere in anticipo se le proprie domande fossero stupide o intelligenti;
- come predire il tempo in base a un’alga marina appesa alla parete;
- come spiegare perchè una gallina non deponesse più uova;
- come accorgersi quando la gente la stava prendendo il giro;
- come farsi aiutare a infilare un cappotto senza sentirsi imbarazzata;
- come porre le domande giuste."
July 14, 2015
Julian Barnes has certainly improved a bit in the last 25 years. I recently read his wonderful latest book, The Sense of an Ending (review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...), and for my second Barnes, turned to this, one of his earliest, from 1986. Both books document a long life, but the style is very different. There is a promising novel struggling to reveal itself here, but this isn't it.
It is the story of Jean, told in three parts: as a late teen on the cusp of marriage at the end of WW2, in middle age, and then approaching her 100th birthday in 2020. The first two are conventional enough, but the third is too concerned with theology (15 different arguments for and against the existence of God/gods), radical feminism, euthanasia and elderly care, philosophy, "big brother" and futurology. The points of debate echo issues in earlier sections, but it just doesn't work as a coherent narrative and the character development didn't ring true.
Jean is naive and not especially intelligent or well-educated, and as the story is told from her point of view, the first section in particular is told in a rather abrupt and simple style that I didn't find very enticing. Somehow, by the middle section, she is taking expensive long-haul holidays on her own - and with her teenage son's blessing.
The coverage of sex is both poignant (reminiscent of McEwan's On Chesil Beach (review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)) and comical - especially the excerpts of a coy sex manual and appointments with a family planning doctor who merely baffles Jean.
The descriptions of loneliness are well-done, too: "He had girlfriends, but he found, when he was with them, that he never felt quite what he was expected to feel: the inaccessibility of group pleasure, he discovered, could even extend to gatherings of two. Sex didn't make him feel lonely; but it didn't... make him feel particularly accompanied. As for male camaraderie, there often seemed something false about it. Groups of men got together because they feared complications.... they wanted certainty; they wanted definite rules. Look at monasteries. Look at pubs."
The final section was written almost before the internet, but spends a lot of time describing a cross between Wikipedia and Google, and people's relationship with it ("Sessions might turn you from a serious enquirer into a mere gape-mouthed browser."). It's cleverly prescient, though not totally accurate, which exacerbates the contrast between the this section and the more realistic earlier sections.
The recurring themes are fear and bravery: fear of flying, death, sex (McEwan), state snooping, and God, but they are light in the first part and overindulged in the final section. Related to that, there's a fair amount of running away, both literal and metaphorical.
Despite my criticisms, there are flashes of the wordsmith to come:
* "The word 'prostitute' sidled into her mind like a vamp through a door."
* "Phrases dropped from the page and stuck like burrs to her winceyette nightdress."
* "What puzzled her was how closely you could live beside someone without any sense of intimacy."
* "Market towns - the sort of places with a bus garage but no cathedral."
* "The hurricane, excreting the black smoke of its own obituary."
* "The presence of this forceful girl rendering him almost translucent."
* "The night's clouds oozed drizzle onto the car."
* "Anyway I don't think you're a... lesbian... her pause disinfecting the word, making it sound distant and theoretical."
* "a very old Electrolux shaver... so old-fashioned in design that it looked like something else, perhaps a sexual appliance of unpopular function."!
It is the story of Jean, told in three parts: as a late teen on the cusp of marriage at the end of WW2, in middle age, and then approaching her 100th birthday in 2020. The first two are conventional enough, but the third is too concerned with theology (15 different arguments for and against the existence of God/gods), radical feminism, euthanasia and elderly care, philosophy, "big brother" and futurology. The points of debate echo issues in earlier sections, but it just doesn't work as a coherent narrative and the character development didn't ring true.
Jean is naive and not especially intelligent or well-educated, and as the story is told from her point of view, the first section in particular is told in a rather abrupt and simple style that I didn't find very enticing. Somehow, by the middle section, she is taking expensive long-haul holidays on her own - and with her teenage son's blessing.
The coverage of sex is both poignant (reminiscent of McEwan's On Chesil Beach (review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)) and comical - especially the excerpts of a coy sex manual and appointments with a family planning doctor who merely baffles Jean.
The descriptions of loneliness are well-done, too: "He had girlfriends, but he found, when he was with them, that he never felt quite what he was expected to feel: the inaccessibility of group pleasure, he discovered, could even extend to gatherings of two. Sex didn't make him feel lonely; but it didn't... make him feel particularly accompanied. As for male camaraderie, there often seemed something false about it. Groups of men got together because they feared complications.... they wanted certainty; they wanted definite rules. Look at monasteries. Look at pubs."
The final section was written almost before the internet, but spends a lot of time describing a cross between Wikipedia and Google, and people's relationship with it ("Sessions might turn you from a serious enquirer into a mere gape-mouthed browser."). It's cleverly prescient, though not totally accurate, which exacerbates the contrast between the this section and the more realistic earlier sections.
The recurring themes are fear and bravery: fear of flying, death, sex (McEwan), state snooping, and God, but they are light in the first part and overindulged in the final section. Related to that, there's a fair amount of running away, both literal and metaphorical.
Despite my criticisms, there are flashes of the wordsmith to come:
* "The word 'prostitute' sidled into her mind like a vamp through a door."
* "Phrases dropped from the page and stuck like burrs to her winceyette nightdress."
* "What puzzled her was how closely you could live beside someone without any sense of intimacy."
* "Market towns - the sort of places with a bus garage but no cathedral."
* "The hurricane, excreting the black smoke of its own obituary."
* "The presence of this forceful girl rendering him almost translucent."
* "The night's clouds oozed drizzle onto the car."
* "Anyway I don't think you're a... lesbian... her pause disinfecting the word, making it sound distant and theoretical."
* "a very old Electrolux shaver... so old-fashioned in design that it looked like something else, perhaps a sexual appliance of unpopular function."!
May 25, 2015
The really important questions do not have answers: and the really important answers do not need questions. Life is itself, not comparable to anything. And all the great miracles are present in the here and the now, if only we can see them... like staring at the sun through the gap between your fingers.
...Some of the things which I took away from this magical, unreviewable book.
Read it.
...Some of the things which I took away from this magical, unreviewable book.
Read it.
July 10, 2022
Julian Barnes’la ilişkimizi bir türlü stabilize edemedik, vallahi yoruldum. Bazen acayip iyi anlaşıyoruz, gözlerimden kalpler fışkırıyor, bazen “yok” diyorum, “olmuyor bu iş”, bazen de kendisini idare ediyorum. Bu defa üçüncüsü oldu diyebiliriz. Bundan önce okuduğum Barnes kitabı Flaubert’in Papağanı’na öyle vurulmuştum ki arayı açmayayım dedim, Gündoğumuna Yolculuk’u okudum. Gelin görün ki kafam karıştı ki zaten bence bu da kafası karışık bir kitap.
Acayip nefis, zekice ve komik kısımları var, bir yandan da süper dağınık. 99 yaşına gelmiş bir kadının hayat öyküsünü okuyoruz, fonda savaşlar oluyor, dünya ve İngiltere değişiyor, toplumsal cinsiyet rolleri yeniden biçimleniyor, biz de bunlara tanıklık ediyoruz. Aslında yazarın bilgisayarların hakim olduğu bir gelecek kurguladığı 3. bölüme dek görece daha iyi gidiyordu metin ama bu son bölümde kendisi nedense konuyu tamamen bırakıp birtakım varoluşsal sorulara yanıt aramaya girişmiş ve her ne kadar sorduğu soruların bazıları ilginç olsa da, genel olarak fazla dağılmış mesele gibi geldi.
Barnes’ın yazım tarzı her zaman biraz garip, bazen çok ukala, bazen çok mesafeli, okuması zaman zaman zor olabiliyor ama bu kitapta normalden de tuhaf geldi, diyalogların kimisi çok zorlama ve çok kesik kesikti. Tekrarlayan iki tema (cesaretin doğasına dair sorular ve ölüm korkusu) ve sürekli karşımıza çıkan metaforlar biraz fazla tekrarlıyordu diyeceğim, açıkçası öyküyü bir arada tutması için yinelenmiş olmalarına rağmen sonlara doğru biraz bıktırıcı gelmeye başladılar.
Üzücü, çünkü bence baya potansiyeli olan bir kitap bu. Çok, çok güzel yazılmış bölümleri var (mesela şu cümle: "Acılar diner, bunu biliyordu, öte yandan sözcükler cerahat toplardı"), sonu böyle olmasa epeyce başka bir hisle bitirebilirdim. Neyse, Barnes'a sevgim bâki ama, kayıtlara geçsin. "Hayatın büyük kısmı edilgendir; şimdiki zaman, icat edilmiş geçmişle tahayyül edilen gelecek arasında bir sinek ısırığı kadar can sıkıcıdır."
Acayip nefis, zekice ve komik kısımları var, bir yandan da süper dağınık. 99 yaşına gelmiş bir kadının hayat öyküsünü okuyoruz, fonda savaşlar oluyor, dünya ve İngiltere değişiyor, toplumsal cinsiyet rolleri yeniden biçimleniyor, biz de bunlara tanıklık ediyoruz. Aslında yazarın bilgisayarların hakim olduğu bir gelecek kurguladığı 3. bölüme dek görece daha iyi gidiyordu metin ama bu son bölümde kendisi nedense konuyu tamamen bırakıp birtakım varoluşsal sorulara yanıt aramaya girişmiş ve her ne kadar sorduğu soruların bazıları ilginç olsa da, genel olarak fazla dağılmış mesele gibi geldi.
Barnes’ın yazım tarzı her zaman biraz garip, bazen çok ukala, bazen çok mesafeli, okuması zaman zaman zor olabiliyor ama bu kitapta normalden de tuhaf geldi, diyalogların kimisi çok zorlama ve çok kesik kesikti. Tekrarlayan iki tema (cesaretin doğasına dair sorular ve ölüm korkusu) ve sürekli karşımıza çıkan metaforlar biraz fazla tekrarlıyordu diyeceğim, açıkçası öyküyü bir arada tutması için yinelenmiş olmalarına rağmen sonlara doğru biraz bıktırıcı gelmeye başladılar.
Üzücü, çünkü bence baya potansiyeli olan bir kitap bu. Çok, çok güzel yazılmış bölümleri var (mesela şu cümle: "Acılar diner, bunu biliyordu, öte yandan sözcükler cerahat toplardı"), sonu böyle olmasa epeyce başka bir hisle bitirebilirdim. Neyse, Barnes'a sevgim bâki ama, kayıtlara geçsin. "Hayatın büyük kısmı edilgendir; şimdiki zaman, icat edilmiş geçmişle tahayyül edilen gelecek arasında bir sinek ısırığı kadar can sıkıcıdır."
November 12, 2022
2.5*
A preposterous conjoining of two nearly unrelated narratives in the manner of (IIRC) Anto Burgess' much more exuberantly alive The End of the World News, and so a rare rounding-down from me.
You know, I don't DNF books very often, and try to give them their due 50 pages or so, and I vowed not to DNF this one cos it's for a "project"—reading the first 5 novels of a clutch late 20C authors—but
But mannnnn, literally the first three-fourths of this book is a rather dull and apparently pointless Before-and-After WWII Domestic Thingy which nevertheless does an admittedly real good job at rendering some serious psychological realism on us re: a decidedly odd young (and then middle aged) woman who is emotionally closed down for no reason we can descry, cos she wasn't all about that bass before she met her (not-double-plus, but still) ungood trad normie husband, was she?
Then, of a soudaine, she's about 100 years old and this 1986 novel is imagining its an Orwellian-with-a-human-face 2010 or so and her 60-year old son (whom we never really got to know before but who is now, like, more the main character than she is) is quizzing a laughably omniscient computer about the meaning of life and death and—
And I'm, well, like, you know, now I'm interested and stuff. The prose has come weirdly alive if admittedly in a kind of ham-Spec-Fic kind of way. But then again, there's only a few pages to go, and none of this really connects except in theory to some flyboy in his Hurricane chasing Jerry into the sun over the Channel, and so then it's over—and far too jarringly and literarily "neatly".
JB is great. I mean, really great. But this just isn't.
A preposterous conjoining of two nearly unrelated narratives in the manner of (IIRC) Anto Burgess' much more exuberantly alive The End of the World News, and so a rare rounding-down from me.
You know, I don't DNF books very often, and try to give them their due 50 pages or so, and I vowed not to DNF this one cos it's for a "project"—reading the first 5 novels of a clutch late 20C authors—but
But mannnnn, literally the first three-fourths of this book is a rather dull and apparently pointless Before-and-After WWII Domestic Thingy which nevertheless does an admittedly real good job at rendering some serious psychological realism on us re: a decidedly odd young (and then middle aged) woman who is emotionally closed down for no reason we can descry, cos she wasn't all about that bass before she met her (not-double-plus, but still) ungood trad normie husband, was she?
Then, of a soudaine, she's about 100 years old and this 1986 novel is imagining its an Orwellian-with-a-human-face 2010 or so and her 60-year old son (whom we never really got to know before but who is now, like, more the main character than she is) is quizzing a laughably omniscient computer about the meaning of life and death and—
And I'm, well, like, you know, now I'm interested and stuff. The prose has come weirdly alive if admittedly in a kind of ham-Spec-Fic kind of way. But then again, there's only a few pages to go, and none of this really connects except in theory to some flyboy in his Hurricane chasing Jerry into the sun over the Channel, and so then it's over—and far too jarringly and literarily "neatly".
JB is great. I mean, really great. But this just isn't.
June 24, 2017
THE IMPOSSIBLE ALWAYS TAKES A LITTLE LONGER
This is a very tough book to review, but a magical one to experience. The prose is close enough to a warm bed on a winter morning with a steaming cup of coffee in your hand and your favourite song playing in the background.
It is a book of questions and answers of life (not corresponding to each other) - right from the curiosity of a child to the exploration of sex and marriage to wondering if there is a life after death. It is also a book of brilliant visuals and wonders. It is also a book of simple 'truths' that make you pause, ponder and think about.
Jean Serjeant's life is the prism of Barne's early book to have conversations on page. I was blown away by the simplicity of the prose and yet the depth of the imagnation and life truths. The author has touched so many aspects of life and how we understand it - through the eyes of Jean and later through Gregory.
The best parts I enjoyed and probably highlighted @ once every 2 sentences
1. The 14 (and later 16) possible theories on the existence of God (Don't miss this one)
2. The miracle of 2 sun rises
3. The pondering of the thin lines between courage, bravery and fear
4. The bitter Male truths and the feminist argument
5. Staring at the sun go down
6. The miracle of life and.. death
7. The accurate prophesies of Julian Barnes on Google, Siri and Government (the book was written in 1980s)
8. The surprisingly true Chinese-Engish interpretation of life
Don't worry - you dont need a book to tell you a story. This enriches you.
Sample this:
"You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you."
Do read it!
This is a very tough book to review, but a magical one to experience. The prose is close enough to a warm bed on a winter morning with a steaming cup of coffee in your hand and your favourite song playing in the background.
It is a book of questions and answers of life (not corresponding to each other) - right from the curiosity of a child to the exploration of sex and marriage to wondering if there is a life after death. It is also a book of brilliant visuals and wonders. It is also a book of simple 'truths' that make you pause, ponder and think about.
Jean Serjeant's life is the prism of Barne's early book to have conversations on page. I was blown away by the simplicity of the prose and yet the depth of the imagnation and life truths. The author has touched so many aspects of life and how we understand it - through the eyes of Jean and later through Gregory.
The best parts I enjoyed and probably highlighted @ once every 2 sentences
1. The 14 (and later 16) possible theories on the existence of God (Don't miss this one)
2. The miracle of 2 sun rises
3. The pondering of the thin lines between courage, bravery and fear
4. The bitter Male truths and the feminist argument
5. Staring at the sun go down
6. The miracle of life and.. death
7. The accurate prophesies of Julian Barnes on Google, Siri and Government (the book was written in 1980s)
8. The surprisingly true Chinese-Engish interpretation of life
Don't worry - you dont need a book to tell you a story. This enriches you.
Sample this:
"You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you."
Do read it!
January 28, 2019
Julian Barnes'ın cümleleri tarif edilemez. Usta işi bir yazım, usta işi bir okuma...
April 3, 2017
This is an early Barnes book (1986) which recalled Metroland (1980), one of his first books that got me hooked on Barnes. After reading most of his last books this was both a blast in the past as well as making me realize that some of his subjects such as love, death and existence has never left him and hence, reinforces why I love his books.
This is the story of a very plain woman, Jean Sergeant who, after living through World War II meets a pilot who boasts he can stare at the sun. Intrigued by him but she decides to marry a policeman instead. Her life goes on even after an unremarkable marriage, has a child late in life, goes on to visit the Seven Wonders of the world and lives to almost 100 years. Barnes skips most of her boring parts and focuses on these main events - gotta love his brevity! Quite the life of someone who started off living a simple life. As she points out, as she gets older, she gets wiser but also realizes that much of the world really doesn't matter.
Enter her son Gregory who lives a parallel and boring life as a life insurance agent. Where Jean is plain but travels, Gregory doesn't want to risk flying (the risk is too great thanks to his day job) and grows old with his mom. Although nothing dramatic happens except for a near love affair, the last chapter jumps 50 years into the future. Now this part is a little trite compared to our technology today but Barnes does a fun job playing with the GPC (General Personal Computer). Poor Gerald is bored of life and asks for advice on life, death and god and I feel this is where Barnes elevates himself. the language is fun, witty and often reflective and his 14 points for whether god exists or not is a real hoot. I won't spoil the ending but Barnes delivers.
Sadly after Flaubert't Parrot, Metroland and The Wolrd in 10 1/2 Chapters, I drifted on to other writers but came back to him about 10 years ago. After reading this book I do want to track down his middle period. There is a reason why he won the Booker - good stories that make you think.
This is the story of a very plain woman, Jean Sergeant who, after living through World War II meets a pilot who boasts he can stare at the sun. Intrigued by him but she decides to marry a policeman instead. Her life goes on even after an unremarkable marriage, has a child late in life, goes on to visit the Seven Wonders of the world and lives to almost 100 years. Barnes skips most of her boring parts and focuses on these main events - gotta love his brevity! Quite the life of someone who started off living a simple life. As she points out, as she gets older, she gets wiser but also realizes that much of the world really doesn't matter.
Enter her son Gregory who lives a parallel and boring life as a life insurance agent. Where Jean is plain but travels, Gregory doesn't want to risk flying (the risk is too great thanks to his day job) and grows old with his mom. Although nothing dramatic happens except for a near love affair, the last chapter jumps 50 years into the future. Now this part is a little trite compared to our technology today but Barnes does a fun job playing with the GPC (General Personal Computer). Poor Gerald is bored of life and asks for advice on life, death and god and I feel this is where Barnes elevates himself. the language is fun, witty and often reflective and his 14 points for whether god exists or not is a real hoot. I won't spoil the ending but Barnes delivers.
Sadly after Flaubert't Parrot, Metroland and The Wolrd in 10 1/2 Chapters, I drifted on to other writers but came back to him about 10 years ago. After reading this book I do want to track down his middle period. There is a reason why he won the Booker - good stories that make you think.
September 15, 2019
Barnes inizia col raccontare una storia apparentemente banale , tanto che nella prima parte dei suoi romanzi - è il terzo che leggo ( dopo “ il senso di una fine “ e “ l’unica storia “ ) - pensi : “ beh , tutto qui ? dove vuole andare a parare? , poi il libro decolla sempre più scorrevole, non ti interessa il finale ma ti ritrovi a sottolineare le frasi che ti piacciono di più, le riflessioni che lui riesce ad infilare qua e là in maniera semplice senza affaticare la lettura, riflessioni che ti fanno pensare, le rileggi , ti soffermi , ti ci ritrovi e dici : quanto mi piace Barnes !
( lasciatemelo dire - so che è un valore aggiunto- ma , per Barnes, Einaudi ha studiato delle copertine fantastiche! )
( lasciatemelo dire - so che è un valore aggiunto- ma , per Barnes, Einaudi ha studiato delle copertine fantastiche! )
April 6, 2014
2.5 stars
Either I'm not smart enough for this book or it's not as good as I hoped it would be. Or both.
The good:
1. I love Jean. She's curious but naive and no one will tell her anything about anything. It's no wonder she agrees that she must be stupid when really she's anything but.
2. Other characters are inconsistently developed, but filtered through Jean and their interactions with Jean, they are interesting, especially Tommy Prosser, Uncle Leslie, and Rachel.
3. There aren't a lot of writers who use language as well as Julian Barnes-- never overly-stylized, always reader-friendly, but not dumbed down, with plenty of really lovely sentences that make you immediately think, Wow, this is why I read.
The... Bad? The only ok?
1. About halfway through the book, Jean's son Gregory becomes a POV character. Why? I thought this was Jean's story?
2. The last of three sections is set in the future (at time of writing, about 35-40 years, but now only 5 years or so). The risk of writing about the future is that you get it wildly wrong; or worse, come close but fall short and the result is just silly and kind of dumb where it should have been provocative. The latter is what happens here. Barnes could not have foreseen the shape of the internet, google, Wikipedia, and socio-cultural change, so it's not his fault it comes off as silly and short-sighted, but it does. On a much smaller scale, he certainly couldn't have predicted the porcelain tower of Nanking would be rebuilt.
3. The last section is suddenly about death and god. Was the rest of the book about death and god and I just missed it entirely? I spent the first two sections thinking, I don't get what this book is about, then suddenly there are Themes, and I can't figure out how they connect to the rest of the book. Or to Jean, as they are predominantly filtered through Gregory, and isn't this supposed to be the story of Jean's life?
Either I'm not smart enough for this book or it's not as good as I hoped it would be. Or both.
The good:
1. I love Jean. She's curious but naive and no one will tell her anything about anything. It's no wonder she agrees that she must be stupid when really she's anything but.
2. Other characters are inconsistently developed, but filtered through Jean and their interactions with Jean, they are interesting, especially Tommy Prosser, Uncle Leslie, and Rachel.
3. There aren't a lot of writers who use language as well as Julian Barnes-- never overly-stylized, always reader-friendly, but not dumbed down, with plenty of really lovely sentences that make you immediately think, Wow, this is why I read.
The... Bad? The only ok?
1. About halfway through the book, Jean's son Gregory becomes a POV character. Why? I thought this was Jean's story?
2. The last of three sections is set in the future (at time of writing, about 35-40 years, but now only 5 years or so). The risk of writing about the future is that you get it wildly wrong; or worse, come close but fall short and the result is just silly and kind of dumb where it should have been provocative. The latter is what happens here. Barnes could not have foreseen the shape of the internet, google, Wikipedia, and socio-cultural change, so it's not his fault it comes off as silly and short-sighted, but it does. On a much smaller scale, he certainly couldn't have predicted the porcelain tower of Nanking would be rebuilt.
3. The last section is suddenly about death and god. Was the rest of the book about death and god and I just missed it entirely? I spent the first two sections thinking, I don't get what this book is about, then suddenly there are Themes, and I can't figure out how they connect to the rest of the book. Or to Jean, as they are predominantly filtered through Gregory, and isn't this supposed to be the story of Jean's life?
March 20, 2014
I'd like to think I'd have been brave enough to be a woman, but somehow I doubt it. It remains to be seen how I'll cope with the tedious matter of death but I'm no rush to sit that test.
Dazzlingly thought provoking, brilliantly written (as always) and with a charming foretelling of our world of Google, Wikipedia and Siri - imagination, pathos and a morbid honesty.
I will read everything Julian Barnes has written because failing to do so would be unforgiveable.
Dazzlingly thought provoking, brilliantly written (as always) and with a charming foretelling of our world of Google, Wikipedia and Siri - imagination, pathos and a morbid honesty.
I will read everything Julian Barnes has written because failing to do so would be unforgiveable.
June 25, 2012
One of the most remarkable books I ever read. I'm generally stuck in either whodunit or historical ruts, and it has to be said I'm happy there.
But this is one of the few exceptions that has, as we stuck in the '60s insist on saying, 'blown my mind'. It is such a mixture of tragedy, comedy, trivia and deep philosophy as to keep the reader on his toes throughout. And it's not a page-turner; every so often, you just have to slip in a bookmark and think. Then re-read the chapter that MADE you think.
The language is easy...no 'look how clever I am' passages. It's just conversation on paper. Brilliant.
Barnes is my new hero. I've just ordered everything he's ever done.
But this is one of the few exceptions that has, as we stuck in the '60s insist on saying, 'blown my mind'. It is such a mixture of tragedy, comedy, trivia and deep philosophy as to keep the reader on his toes throughout. And it's not a page-turner; every so often, you just have to slip in a bookmark and think. Then re-read the chapter that MADE you think.
The language is easy...no 'look how clever I am' passages. It's just conversation on paper. Brilliant.
Barnes is my new hero. I've just ordered everything he's ever done.
May 27, 2018
I absolutely love Julian Barnes' writing. He has a way with words and also with stories. Jean, the main protagonist, is a likeable character. The book is about her life and, in the last part, about her son's life too. It is also a book that raises - and answers questions about life and death, about humanity and how we live our lives. This book was first published in 1986 but the story ends in 2020. Barnes painted a picture of the future that is not far off.
I'm so happy that there are still so many Julian Barnes books for me to read. So far I've not been disappointed in his books. This one: Staring at the Sun, is highly recommended.
I'm so happy that there are still so many Julian Barnes books for me to read. So far I've not been disappointed in his books. This one: Staring at the Sun, is highly recommended.
July 17, 2023
Il racconto di una vita ordinaria diventa pretesto per riflessioni su vita e morte, tema caro a Barnes, purtroppo la scrittura puntuale e raffinata non salva del tutto dalla sensazione di scollamento della parte finale.
January 9, 2012
In his recent Booker Prizewinning The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes' middle-aged character tries to make sense of a pivotal event in his life many years ago. Barnes had written about an elderly character looking back on a life once before in Staring at the Sun, one of his earlier works written in 1985, and the difference between the two books is instructive. Both are massively ambitious. Whereas The Sense of an Ending explores the nature of history, Staring at the Sun tries to tell whether you can "tell a good life from a bad life, a wasted life."
Jean Sargent did not lead an exciting life. Brought up before the second world war, she drifted into a loveless marriage. It was only the prospect of her son's birth that made her leave her husband and drift around various poorly paid jobs and rented flats. Looking back on her long life from a vantage point in 2020, she reflects on her dodgy Uncle Leslie, who fled to America during the war, and Hurricane pilot Tommy Prosser, who was grounded when he lost his bottle.
She looks back on bringing up her son, Gregory, whose existential crisis causes him to interrogate the General Purposes Computer's Absolute Truth module why he is afraid of death. And Jean takes up travelling, going to China. There someone asks how you can tell good jade from bad and is told "you look at it and by looking you can tell its qualities."
There are two main problems with this book. The first is that it is over-determined, a bit too writerly. Significant metaphors recur with a clunk. As a child, Jean sees a print of a mink with the caption that "the mink is excessively tenacious of life," and the phrase returns to Jean at all of life's major junctures. Similarly aeroplanes - Uncle Leslie takes her on an aeroplane to cure her whooping cough; Tommy Prosser gives the book its title by flying into the sun; Gregory makes model aircraft that cannot fly.
The second is a problem of tone in the final section of the book. After two largely realist parts which follow Jean in her youth and as a mother, we suddenly fast-forward to 2020. The General Purposes Computer is a fine example of why writers must always take care when writing about the future, since Barnes obviously hadn't envisaged as all-encompassing a vehicle for the sum of human knowledge as the Internet. Gregory's interrogation of the GPC make for interesting intellectual cut and thrust, but it is out of tone with the rest of the book.
By the end, as Gregory and his mother embark on an aeroplane and all the metaphors come together, one feels as if one has completed a particularly complex intellectual jigsaw and not a work of literature. This is a shame, as the book is beautifully written, as is always the case with Julian Barnes, and genuinely thought-provoking. However, when compared with The Sense of an Ending one can see how the mature Barnes has dealt with equally weighty issues with so much more subtlety yet directness.
Taken from my Blog http://roderick-random.blogspot.com/2...
Jean Sargent did not lead an exciting life. Brought up before the second world war, she drifted into a loveless marriage. It was only the prospect of her son's birth that made her leave her husband and drift around various poorly paid jobs and rented flats. Looking back on her long life from a vantage point in 2020, she reflects on her dodgy Uncle Leslie, who fled to America during the war, and Hurricane pilot Tommy Prosser, who was grounded when he lost his bottle.
She looks back on bringing up her son, Gregory, whose existential crisis causes him to interrogate the General Purposes Computer's Absolute Truth module why he is afraid of death. And Jean takes up travelling, going to China. There someone asks how you can tell good jade from bad and is told "you look at it and by looking you can tell its qualities."
There are two main problems with this book. The first is that it is over-determined, a bit too writerly. Significant metaphors recur with a clunk. As a child, Jean sees a print of a mink with the caption that "the mink is excessively tenacious of life," and the phrase returns to Jean at all of life's major junctures. Similarly aeroplanes - Uncle Leslie takes her on an aeroplane to cure her whooping cough; Tommy Prosser gives the book its title by flying into the sun; Gregory makes model aircraft that cannot fly.
The second is a problem of tone in the final section of the book. After two largely realist parts which follow Jean in her youth and as a mother, we suddenly fast-forward to 2020. The General Purposes Computer is a fine example of why writers must always take care when writing about the future, since Barnes obviously hadn't envisaged as all-encompassing a vehicle for the sum of human knowledge as the Internet. Gregory's interrogation of the GPC make for interesting intellectual cut and thrust, but it is out of tone with the rest of the book.
By the end, as Gregory and his mother embark on an aeroplane and all the metaphors come together, one feels as if one has completed a particularly complex intellectual jigsaw and not a work of literature. This is a shame, as the book is beautifully written, as is always the case with Julian Barnes, and genuinely thought-provoking. However, when compared with The Sense of an Ending one can see how the mature Barnes has dealt with equally weighty issues with so much more subtlety yet directness.
Taken from my Blog http://roderick-random.blogspot.com/2...
April 24, 2022
Sevgili Barnes’a ‘bu kitabın son yetmiş sayfasında neler yaşandı?’ diye sormak isterdim. Akort bozuldu, hikaye birden ritmini kaybetti.
Aslında hikayeyi, Jean karakterini, bir ömrün seyrine şahit olmayı, Lessi dayıyı çok sevmiş olmama rağmen yavan bir metin Gündoğumuna Yolculuk. Erken dönem eseriymiş, belli bir sayfa okuduktan sonra ilk baktığım da kitabın ne zaman yazıldığıydı zaten. Julian Barnes çok severek okuduğum bir yazar ancak bu kitap, ne bir Flaubert’in Papağa’nı, ne Limon Masası, ne de Bir son Duygusu etkisi yaratamadı.
***
Ayrıca Jean karakterini Breaking The Waves’in Bess’ine çok benzettim. Filmi izlerken Bess’i çok sevmiştim. Kitabı okurken de Jean’ni; hayatı sorgulamasını, isyanlarını, sorularını ve cevaplarını Bess’e çok benzettim. Filmle eş zamanlı bir okuma yaparsanız karakterler arasındaki benzerliği fark edeceksiniz muhakkak.
Aslında hikayeyi, Jean karakterini, bir ömrün seyrine şahit olmayı, Lessi dayıyı çok sevmiş olmama rağmen yavan bir metin Gündoğumuna Yolculuk. Erken dönem eseriymiş, belli bir sayfa okuduktan sonra ilk baktığım da kitabın ne zaman yazıldığıydı zaten. Julian Barnes çok severek okuduğum bir yazar ancak bu kitap, ne bir Flaubert’in Papağa’nı, ne Limon Masası, ne de Bir son Duygusu etkisi yaratamadı.
***
Ayrıca Jean karakterini Breaking The Waves’in Bess’ine çok benzettim. Filmi izlerken Bess’i çok sevmiştim. Kitabı okurken de Jean’ni; hayatı sorgulamasını, isyanlarını, sorularını ve cevaplarını Bess’e çok benzettim. Filmle eş zamanlı bir okuma yaparsanız karakterler arasındaki benzerliği fark edeceksiniz muhakkak.
September 8, 2014
Ho trovato interessante il progetto di base di questo romanzo, ma il modo in cui lo scrittore ha scelto di svilupparlo mi è sembrato fiacco e disorganico. L'ho letto sulla scia del bellissimo "Il senso di una fine", sperando di trovarvi la stessa densità di contenuti, ma le mie aspettative sono risultate in gran parte deluse.
Le pagine più originali e suggestive sono quelle relative alla vicenda della protagonista, Jean, che, ormai quasi centenaria, ripercorre gli episodi salienti della propria vita cercando di trovare una risposta alle domande che la assillano fin dall'infanzia. Interrogativi esistenziali - sul coraggio e la paura, sul matrimonio e il sesso, sul Bello nella natura e nell'opera dell'uomo - formulati con sottile ironia e una ingenuità soltanto apparente; interrogativi che non trovano risposte adeguate se non nel miracolo della vita, che si può ammirare come si ammira il sole: attraverso le dita della mano tenuta a riparo davanti agli occhi.
Peccato però che la seconda parte del libro sposti la prospettiva narrante da Jean al figlio Gregory, aprendo una parentesi confusa, proiettata in un immaginario improbabile futuro, con estenuanti avvitamenti riflessivi su Dio e sul suicidio che distolgono dal tema principale e poco o nulla hanno a che vedere con quanto precede.
In conclusione: una prova piuttosto "acerba" (o non del tutto riuscita) di Barnes.
Le pagine più originali e suggestive sono quelle relative alla vicenda della protagonista, Jean, che, ormai quasi centenaria, ripercorre gli episodi salienti della propria vita cercando di trovare una risposta alle domande che la assillano fin dall'infanzia. Interrogativi esistenziali - sul coraggio e la paura, sul matrimonio e il sesso, sul Bello nella natura e nell'opera dell'uomo - formulati con sottile ironia e una ingenuità soltanto apparente; interrogativi che non trovano risposte adeguate se non nel miracolo della vita, che si può ammirare come si ammira il sole: attraverso le dita della mano tenuta a riparo davanti agli occhi.
Peccato però che la seconda parte del libro sposti la prospettiva narrante da Jean al figlio Gregory, aprendo una parentesi confusa, proiettata in un immaginario improbabile futuro, con estenuanti avvitamenti riflessivi su Dio e sul suicidio che distolgono dal tema principale e poco o nulla hanno a che vedere con quanto precede.
In conclusione: una prova piuttosto "acerba" (o non del tutto riuscita) di Barnes.
January 21, 2009
After a mildly interesting set up for the first half of the novel, I completely loss interest when Barnes left behind the keenly observed world of human relationships for an endless, acronym filled sci-fi scenario replete with pages of sophomoric metaphysics. Gack. Like a warm beer, you just can't stomach the last few swallows...setting a record this year for unfinishable books...
June 19, 2019
A book in three parts. The first two parts develop interesting characters and ideas. Part 3 goes into an imaginary future with some sort of state controlled wikipedia which is out of keeping with the first two parts of the novel. All a bit disjointed and unsatisfactory.
August 3, 2021
Reminds me of "Nothing to be frightened of" by same author. I share his obsession with death!
July 6, 2016
A Julian Barnes story is never much about taking a journey through different places or different ages. Don’t get me wrong, those aspects are part of his stories as is the case with Staring at the Sun. But the protagonist and his or her journey is of lesser importance as Barnes seeks to strike a deeper chord with us through his ideas, ideologies, his convictions, his doubts on a whole range of topics, be it the existence of God (which you will read even in his other book Nothing to be Frightened Of) or seeking a meaning behind our existence. In Staring at the Sun, Barnes introduces us to Jean Serjeant and her journey from a young girl to an old lady, a passage which involves knowing more about life, understanding herself a bit more, and gradually learning to be content.
The book starts off on a bit more adventurous note, when a WWII fighter pilot comes to live with Jean and her parents. Her discussions and altercations with this pilot come to mould her initial thoughts on concepts like courage and fear. Life then takes her forward, into a marriage, motherhood, and more. The story though does not keep the same tone and pace over the 200-pages or so. It gets denser in the second half, more reflective, more narrative, a different kind of joy in reading such material. Barnes will tinker with your own understanding of the world, by making Jean and her son George as the mouthpiece for his thoughts, but it is worth listening to Barnes and ponder on what he has said. Staring at the Sun does not come to a close when the final page has been read but continues to linger for a fraction bit more... ain’t that a sign of a great book?
The book starts off on a bit more adventurous note, when a WWII fighter pilot comes to live with Jean and her parents. Her discussions and altercations with this pilot come to mould her initial thoughts on concepts like courage and fear. Life then takes her forward, into a marriage, motherhood, and more. The story though does not keep the same tone and pace over the 200-pages or so. It gets denser in the second half, more reflective, more narrative, a different kind of joy in reading such material. Barnes will tinker with your own understanding of the world, by making Jean and her son George as the mouthpiece for his thoughts, but it is worth listening to Barnes and ponder on what he has said. Staring at the Sun does not come to a close when the final page has been read but continues to linger for a fraction bit more... ain’t that a sign of a great book?
December 17, 2019
Ho letto la nuova pubblicazione di Einaudi su Julian Barnes, Guardando il sole
Questo è un romanzo di fine anni '80, non è tra i suoi migliori eppure leggerlo mi ha tenuto incollata allo schermo.
La protagonista è una figura di donna "ordinaria", Jean Serjeant (fra l'altro mi ha ricordato il nome di Jean Valjean de Les Miserables, non so se ci sia un riferimento , anche qui siamo in presenza di un riscatto, in effetti...) e la narrazione è spalmata su quasi un secolo di storia legata alla sua esistenza.
Per quanto dipinta come figura ordinaria, la protagonista è forzata dagli eventi della sua vita a emanciparsi da quella ingenuità che le aleggia intorno. Una maternità tardiva e difficoltosa, unita al fallimento del matrimonio, le daranno il coraggio per proporre una domanda importante : come fa la gente comune ad accontentarsi di una vita mediocre, ordinaria, anonima e incolore, e quindi a non farsi abbattere dal tedio della quotidianità?
Questo il fulcro, con picchi di emozioni si sviluppa la trama del riscatto.
In alcune parti il romanzo è molto bello (ad es. l'ultima), in altre è un po' tirato e diventa noioso. Sulla cifra di stile di JB comunque non si può scherzare, è un grande romanziere.
Questo è un romanzo di fine anni '80, non è tra i suoi migliori eppure leggerlo mi ha tenuto incollata allo schermo.
La protagonista è una figura di donna "ordinaria", Jean Serjeant (fra l'altro mi ha ricordato il nome di Jean Valjean de Les Miserables, non so se ci sia un riferimento , anche qui siamo in presenza di un riscatto, in effetti...) e la narrazione è spalmata su quasi un secolo di storia legata alla sua esistenza.
Per quanto dipinta come figura ordinaria, la protagonista è forzata dagli eventi della sua vita a emanciparsi da quella ingenuità che le aleggia intorno. Una maternità tardiva e difficoltosa, unita al fallimento del matrimonio, le daranno il coraggio per proporre una domanda importante : come fa la gente comune ad accontentarsi di una vita mediocre, ordinaria, anonima e incolore, e quindi a non farsi abbattere dal tedio della quotidianità?
Questo il fulcro, con picchi di emozioni si sviluppa la trama del riscatto.
In alcune parti il romanzo è molto bello (ad es. l'ultima), in altre è un po' tirato e diventa noioso. Sulla cifra di stile di JB comunque non si può scherzare, è un grande romanziere.
October 26, 2018
i have been thinking about how to review this book, and... i just don't know. i felt like i needed to say something. i like simple things and i felt this novel was just that: simple yet, since it deals with the entire lives of two people, beautifully complex. it's just about the questions (sometimes real, sometimes not) and the answers (or lack of) of everyday life, all summed up in the fundamental question: why is the mink excessively tenacious of life?
March 5, 2018
Jean Serjeant lebt ein Leben. In drei Teilen. Bewegt von Fragen wie der, warum Lindbergh nicht alle seine Sandwiches aß.
January 11, 2020
Wonderful.
June 23, 2022
Почти все книги Барнса, которые я прочитала (а эта в особенности) напоминают мне детские разукрашки, где надо не только закрасить белые области так, как тебе вздумается, но еще и навести контур по пунктиру, а может быть, даже решить какие-нибудь примеры, чтобы получить номер цвета для соответствующего участка. Одним словом, те разукрашки, где, чтобы получить яркий рисунок мышки или медвежонка, надо изрядно потрудиться. Так и здесь... Барнс заставляет читателя работать, при чем работать безостановочно и тяжело. Это не работа мозга, как в книгах Эко, это напряженная работа души. Некоторым, думаю, покажется, что книга состоит из отрывочных, несвязанных между собой кусочков, но это и есть та калейдоскопичность, с помощью которой Барнс пытается нас вырвать из такой привычной и удобной схемы "разжевали и в рот положили".
Честно говоря, я не могу точно сформулировать, о чем книга. Ну разве что так глобально - о жизни и смерти. Хотя все книги в конечном счете о жизни и смерти. Вполне возможно, что книга о том, почему не стоит ставить крест на своих мечтах. Или о вере в широком смысле этого слова, и о вере в Бога, и о вере в себя. Или можно взять однокоренное слово с "верой" - уверенность.
Ум жаждет уверенности, которая оглушает его, как удар дубинкой.То, что ум способен понять, то, что он способен тяжеловесно доказать и одобрить, может оказаться именно тем, что он презирает больше всего. Он томится желанием, чтобы на него напали сзади в темной улице и прижали к горлу уверенность, как нож.
Ну или о чем-то еще - все ведь зависит от человека, который ее читает. Это как в случае с кляксой - один видит в ней крокодила, а другой кляксу. Эта книга подстроится под вас и покажет вам именно то, что вы хотите.
И еще я хочу сказать презрительное пфе составителям текста с обложек книг Барнса. Везде какой-то игриво-развлекательный тон, который обещает вам нечто среднее между Вудхаусом и Вуди Алленом. Помилуйте, вы книги-то вообще открывали? На моем издании "Глядя на солнце" написано "Блестящий рассказчик? - Тонкий философ!", а на обратной стороне "Смешно? Да. Грустно? Да. Талантливо? Да, милый!" Самое интересное, что смысл последнего "да, милый" становится понятным только после прочтения книги. Ну а то, что Барнсу отказали в титуле прекрасного рассказчика меня вообще возмущает. Или, может быть это по типу "Вкусный йогурт? Фруктовый!" Эх, мораль сей басни - читайте то, что внутри, а не снаружи.
10 / 10
September 3, 2020
I was looking forward to this book for quite sometime. However, when I read that part of it is set in Barnes’ imagination of 2020, I decided to wait for 2020 to read it. Ah, what a year! It begins with the an epilogue where a pilot fighting a war witnesses the sun rising twice. We, then, follow the story of a curious, English girl name Jean and her life with Uncle Leslie, Prosser (the pilot), her husband Michael and her son Gregory. In the Bildungsroman, Barnes traces Jean’s growth from childhood to old age taking account of all the significant events of her life that tests her bravery and courage. We see her making choices; some bring sadness to her and some bring peace. Jean and Gregory’s curiosity uncovers various questions that makes this novel stand out. From question of God, death, soul, bravery to fear; we see the characters grow as they keep looking for answers and find their lives taking its own turns. Frankly, the premise of this book did sound enticing and I was eager to read it. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been able to stand up to my expectations of a Barnes’ novel. Yes, the style was great but I was somehow not drawn closer to the story. It could be the external situation prevailing in the country during these times that had me completely disinterested in finishing this book or any other book for that matter. I feel bad to know that I didn’t LOVE a Julian Barnes’ book as I had expected to. I wonder what Barnes would be thinking of his imagination of 2020 and the 2020 we are witnessing today. Can’t wait for another Barnes’ work, nonetheless.
June 9, 2021
I somehow oscillated between love/hate attitude towards this book throughout my journey with it, and I ended up somewhere in the middle, which is the worst position, if you think about it. Consisiting of three parts, where the first focuses on the youth of Jean, the main character, the second on her middle ages and the third - on her approaching her venerable age of 100, the book seems to be unsure about its style and consistency. I get it: it was supposed to mature along with the protagonist, thus the first chapter is so infuriatingly naive and guileless, the second more developed and somehow quaint and the last one - overindulged in philosophy in the face of her inexorable death. But, even if we accept the rules of this game, it is still uncomfortable to read the first chapter and the change towards the third one is way too brisk. Also I really didn't enjoy the in-your-face approach with metaphors and the way Barnes assiduously brought to your attention the repetitive patterns and situations, which all build up towards the end of the book. (Or they don't.)
My main consolation was the language: he is juggling with words like the master he is, and certain thoughts and ideas struck me home. (Mainly his recurrent game with "what came first, the question or the answer?").
My main consolation was the language: he is juggling with words like the master he is, and certain thoughts and ideas struck me home. (Mainly his recurrent game with "what came first, the question or the answer?").
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