Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy. It seemed to me that Barnes wrote this story more for himself rather than to entertain the reader, which is perfectly fine with me. The character Elizabeth Fitch compelling I would have loved to have read HER story. There is no real suspense or intricate plot to speak of rather, it is more a novel about a man’s relationship with a woman he found fascinating. We are drawn into his intellectual crush on this private, withholding yet commanding woman. Neil, the narrator, takes her class Culture and Civilisation, taught not for undergraduates but for adults of all ages. It definitely was a deviation from the summer reads I have been consuming. Julian Barnes’ novel of platonic unrequited love springs into being around the singular character of the stoic, exacting Professor Elizabeth Finch. I found this short novel somewhat interesting. The author includes this lengthy essay about Roman Emporer Julian Apostate within the pages of the novel itself. When Elizabeth dies, she leaves her academic journals, and Neil has to decide what to do with them.Īlong the way, Neil decides to write that final essay he never got around to writing all those years ago. Lunch becomes biannual event where Neil and Elizabeth meet and talk, with Elizabeth always giving Neil something to think about and paying for lunch. Although Neil loves Elizabeth’s class (Culture and Civilization), he does not write his final essay and instead invites Elizabeth to lunch. The novel serves as a homage to this woman who inspired our narrator to, well, to think. This novel is about a man named Neil who is obsessed with his university professor Elizabeth Fitch.
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