One silly misstep in the novel is Barnes’s attempt to convey the modern rite of cancellation. What’ll it be, then - Elizabeth the Great? Elizabeth the Minor Scholar Who Published a Book on Female Anarchists in London Between 18, Now Out of Print? Or something in between? If her memory is to abide, the task will fall to his shaping of her private materials. Through his studies of Julian, eternally labeled by history’s victors as a heretic, Neil tussles with how he might contribute to Elizabeth’s posthumous reputation. George and the Dragon” a “freeze-frame from an action movie.”Īnother of this novel’s concerns is legacy. One of her teaching strategies is to couch history in terms that her students can grasp - thus the Roman gods were “famous multitaskers” and Carpaccio’s painting “St. Elizabeth Finch may or may not be a credibly intoxicating thinker as far as the reader is concerned that isn’t relevant. This is a tale of reverence, and a contemplation of whether that state - with its mingled elements of devotion, self-abasement and love - is possible as a secular exercise. Julian Barnes, whose new novel is “Elizabeth Finch.” Credit. Neil, casting himself as disciple, scours the notebooks and discovers that his instructor’s scholarly interests centered around Julian the Apostate - Roman emperor, soldier, scholar and denouncer of Christianity.

Upon Elizabeth’s death, a lawyer notifies Neil that she has left him her books and papers. He is, if not quite a glutton for punishment, then at least someone with a hearty appetite for it. What Neil gets is the opportunity to be outwitted by a woman of formidable reticence and intellect. It’s unclear what Elizabeth gets out of the meetings. When the course ends, Neil bravely invites his crush to lunch, and for 20 years they dine twice or thrice annually. Intrigued by Finch’s poise, dazzled by her confidence, he concocts wild fantasies about her extracurricular life: silk pajamas, Italian lakes, French vineyards, mysterious lovers. On the first day of class, Elizabeth outlines her pedagogical method: “I shall not attempt to stuff you with facts as a goose is stuffed with corn this would only lead to an engorged liver, which would be unhealthy.” Neil is besotted. The narrator is her student, the somewhat dimwitted but diligent Neil. The siren is Elizabeth Finch, a teacher of adult education courses in London two decades ago. These qualities may not scream “racy” or “seductive” or “exotic” to you, but you are not the narrator of Julian Barnes’s 25th book. A discreet brooch pinned to her blouse, a formal manner of speaking, a keen interest in antiquity and a tendency to suffer from migraines. A woman dressed in brown suede brogues and a below-the-knee skirt, her legs obscured by stockings.

$26.Īre you prepared for a vision of sizzling sexuality? Picture this. ELIZABETH FINCH By Julian Barnes 178 pages.

Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes