Posts tagged Julian Barnes

I used to read reviews of a book online before reading it, and realised that I was being prejudiced by reviews.  So I read Love, etc. by Julian Banes without reading any reviews or even blurb.  I found the book brilliant.

Love, etc. is a story of three people – Oliver, Stuart and Gillian, from each of their perspectives. The entire story is narrated by the three main characters with occasional inserts by other characters of the story.  Each of the three characters elicits a different emotion in you. To me, Oliver is an irritating, good-for-nothing leach, and his narration makes me want to slap him hard.  Stuart starts off as an endearing simpleton, but ends up being, without even realising it, a stalker and cold businessman.  Gillian, despite considering herself a victim of circumstances, is a very confused but manipulative woman who complicates matters by her many deceptions.  The story from each of their angles is interesting because a single event is seen in three different ways by them.  The ending is open.  You can’t help wondering how they settled the mess they have created for themselves.

As I read the reviews after finishing the book, I realise that Love, etc. is a sequel to another book – Talking it Over.  However, as I understand, there is no need to read the earlier book to enjoy this one.  A good book for the weekend.

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Book: Love, etc.

Author: Julian Barnes

Year of Publication: 2002

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