JULIAN BARNES is the author of twenty-four books, for which he has received the Man Booker Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the David Cohen Prize for Literature, and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the French Prix Médicis and Prix Femina; the Austrian State Prize for European Literature. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d’honneur. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He lives in London.
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
“Beautiful and funny. . . . An elegant memoir and meditation, a
deep seismic tremor of a book that keeps rumbling and grumbling in
the mind for weeks thereafter.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Brilliantly written and also funny . . . cunningly composed . . .
held together in a rather Proustian fashion . . . Barnes has an
extremely lively mind, and a distinctive voice, which gives a
certain welcome jauntiness or gaiety to his darker musings.”—Frank
Kermode, The New York Review of Books
“A delicious mix of personal reminiscence, family history, literary
criticism, and philosophical speculation.”—The Philadelphia
Inquirer
“Barbarously intelligent [and] a rare thing in literature . . .
marvelously engaging, even uplifting . . . Briskly, rigorously,
this unusual book gives us something to think about until that
nothingness comes knocking."—NPR
“Beautifully done . . . an extended meditation on human mortality,
but one that is neither clinical nor falsely consoling. Instead,
the witty and melancholic author simply converses with us about our
most universal fear.”—The Washington Post
“Surprisingly jocular–although also dead earnest . . . highly
literary, thoughtful but playful.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Very entertaining and, best of all, wholesomely provocative.”—O,
The Oprah Magazine
“Barnes is a writer of impulsive insights, many of them remarkable
. . . of humane irony, antic imagination, and unsettling
perceptiveness. He constructs a many-leveled scaffolding of
argument, memoir, literary reference, and musings all around the
dark pit.”—The Boston Globe
“For those who think that facing death is life's most pressing
test, Barnes is an amiable and articulate companion [who] sees
humor in the impossibility of finding lasting comfort . . . His
contemplation of death invariably becomes a treatise on
living.”—The Tennessean
“[Nothing to Be Frightened Of] call[s] to mind Woody Allen . . .
Touching–and very funny.”—Providence Phoenix
“Just try to put this memoir down . . . A dazzling blend of wry
humor, keen philosophy and perceptive observations as Barnes
ruminates about the inevitability of death and what it all
means.”—Rocky Mountain News
“Barnes is a great conversationalist, and this is a humorous book
in spite of its serious subject.”—St. Petersburg Times
“Erudite and entertaining.”—Playboy
“A brilliant bible of elegant despair . . . that most urgent kind
of self-help manual: the one you must read before you die.”—Men's
Vogue
“Unexpectedly jaunty . . . On virtually every page there is a good
joke, even when–or perhaps especially when–Barnes is writing about
the grimmest events. Julian Barnes is wonderful at keeping awe and
flippancy in perfect balance . . . One of the joys of this book is
that it contains so many playful asides, so many exhilaration
diversions from its gloomy central theme."—Mail on Sunday
(London)
“Speculative and precise, intimate and metaphysical, capacious and
democratic in the variety of voices, alive and dead, that are
invited to counsel the author as he edges his way towards the
void.”—Times Literary Supplement (London)
“Julian Barnes is a delightful companion and much of the book (its
informal tone included) is like an extended and very interesting
conversation.”—Literary Review (London)
“Compelling . . . witty and erudite . . . consistently interesting
and entertaining.”—Val Hennessy, Daily Mail (London)
“Both fun and funny. It is sharp, too, in the sense of painful as
well as witty . . . You are in the presence of a nimble mind in
complete mastery of, and engagement with, his chosen subject.”—New
Statesman (London)
“Intensely fascinating.” —The Times (London)
“Entertaining, intriguing, absorbing and so expansive that I was
startled, on finishing, to note its brevity . . . Irresistible
reading.”—Financial Times (London)
“Superb . . . [Barnes’s] funniest and frankest work yet.”—Daily
Telegraph (London)
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOK OF THE
YEAR
"Beautiful and funny. . . . An elegant memoir and meditation, a
deep seismic tremor of a book that keeps rumbling and grumbling in
the mind for weeks thereafter."-The New York Times Book
Review
"Brilliantly written and also funny . . . cunningly
composed . . . held together in a rather Proustian fashion . . .
Barnes has an extremely lively mind, and a distinctive voice, which
gives a certain welcome jauntiness or gaiety to his darker
musings."-Frank Kermode, The New York Review of Books
"A delicious mix of personal reminiscence, family history,
literary criticism, and philosophical speculation."-The
Philadelphia Inquirer
"Barbarously intelligent [and] a rare thing in literature
. . . marvelously engaging, even uplifting . . . Briskly,
rigorously, this unusual book gives us something to think about
until that nothingness comes knocking."-NPR
"Beautifully done . . . an extended meditation on human mortality,
but one that is neither clinical nor falsely consoling. Instead,
the witty and melancholic author simply converses with us about our
most universal fear."-The Washington Post
"Surprisingly jocular-although also dead earnest . . . highly
literary, thoughtful but playful."-San Francisco
Chronicle
"Very entertaining and, best of all, wholesomely
provocative."-O, The Oprah Magazine
"Barnes is a writer of impulsive insights, many of them remarkable
. . . of humane irony, antic imagination, and unsettling
perceptiveness. He constructs a many-leveled scaffolding of
argument, memoir, literary reference, and musings all around the
dark pit."-The Boston Globe
"For those who think that facing death is life's most pressing
test, Barnes is an amiable and articulate companion [who] sees
humor in the impossibility of finding lasting comfort . . . His
contemplation of death invariably becomes a treatise on
living."-The Tennessean
"[Nothing to Be Frightened Of] call[s] to mind Woody Allen . . .
Touching-and very funny."-Providence Phoenix
"Just try to put this memoir down . . . A dazzling
blend of wry humor, keen philosophy and perceptive observations as
Barnes ruminates about the inevitability of death and what it all
means."-Rocky Mountain News
"Barnes is a great conversationalist, and this is a humorous book
in spite of its serious subject."-St. Petersburg Times
"Erudite and entertaining."-Playboy
"A brilliant bible of elegant despair . . . that most urgent kind
of self-help manual: the one you must read before you
die."-Men's Vogue
"Unexpectedly jaunty . . . On virtually every page there is a good
joke, even when-or perhaps especially when-Barnes is writing about
the grimmest events. Julian Barnes is wonderful at keeping awe and
flippancy in perfect balance . . . One of the joys of this book is
that it contains so many playful asides, so many exhilaration
diversions from its gloomy central theme."-Mail on Sunday
(London)
"Speculative and precise, intimate and metaphysical, capacious and
democratic in the variety of voices, alive and dead, that are
invited to counsel the author as he edges his way towards the
void."-Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Julian Barnes is a delightful companion and much of the book (its
informal tone included) is like an extended and very interesting
conversation."-Literary Review (London)
"Compelling . . . witty and erudite . . . consistently interesting
and entertaining."-Val Hennessy, Daily Mail (London)
"Both fun and funny. It is sharp, too, in the sense of painful as
well as witty . . . You are in the presence of a nimble mind in
complete mastery of, and engagement with, his chosen
subject."-New Statesman (London)
"Intensely fascinating." -The Times (London)
"Entertaining, intriguing, absorbing and so expansive that I was
startled, on finishing, to note its brevity . . . Irresistible
reading."-Financial Times (London)
"Superb . . . [Barnes's] funniest and frankest work
yet."-Daily Telegraph (London)
Ask a Question About this Product More... |