Product Description

A stowaway aboard Noah's Ark gives us his account of the Voyage - a surprising, subversive one, quite unlike the official version - that explains a lot about how the human race has subsequently developed. A guest lecturer on a cruise ship in the Aegean has his work interrupted by a group of mysterious visitors who place him in a cruel dilemma. An ecclesiastical court in medieval France hears a bizarre case . . . Julian Barnes creates a kaleidoscope of narrative voices - from fiction and fact, painting and snatches of autobiography - that comes slowly and compellingly into focus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6590 in Books
• Published on: 1990-07-27
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Salman Rushdie, Observer
`Frequently brilliant, funny, thoughtful, iconoclastic, and a delight to read'

Anne Smith, Literary Review
`You will want to read it again and again, and why not? - there's nothing around to touch it'

Synopsis
A stowaway aboard Noah's Ark gives us his account of the Voyage - a surprising, subversive one, quite unlike the official version - which explains a lot about how the human race has subsequently developed. A guest lecturer on a cruise ship in the Aegean has his work interrupted by a group of mysterious visitors who place him in a cruel dilemma. An ecclesiastical court in medieval France hears a bizarre case ...Barnes creates a kaleidoscope of narrative voices - from fiction and fact, painting and snatches of autobiography - that comes slowly and compellingly into focus.'You will want to read it again and again, and why not? There's nothing around to touch it' - Anne Smith, "Literary Review." 'There is more moral and intellectual fodder, and more jokes, here than you will read in a month of Sundays ...storytelling and teaching which captivate, liberate, and above all, enchant' - "Financial Times." 'Funny, ironic, erudite, surprising, and not afraid to take a dive overboard into the depths of sorrow and loss. My novel of the year' - Nadine Gordimer.

Customer Reviews

Yup.
An honestly brilliant book. There's a section toward the end where the author slips into a first person narrative and talks about his wife subconsciously 'baring the nape of her neck for him'. It very nearly brought me to tears on the train whilst I read it. Utterly human, empthatic and masterly. This fictional biography of the earth is somehow completely ridiculous at the same time as being very believable. I don't read as much as I used to but I'm delighted that I picked this up last year.

Believe the hype, this book is fabulous
Subverting history should not be this much fun. But somewhere in the midst of stowaways aboard Noah's Ark, an absurd trial in Medieval France, and a visit to heaven, we come to realise just what a ridiculous species Human Beings are. Absolutely ridiculous. Even the Earthworms think so. 10 ½ stories, 10 ½ narrative voices covering the entire scope of humanity. This is a secular history more divine and inspirational than any dogmatic text could ever be. I believe in Julian Barnes, he has earned my praise.

A really interesting take on history
We all take history to be factual; well, I did anyway! Then I grew up a bit, and realised that there are two sides to every story. Julian Barnes cleverly presents a third viewpoint - one that might have happened, set in a brilliantly quirky and yet astonishingly believable perspective. I was so taken with the chapter on the Wreck of the Medusa, I went to visit the actual painting in the Louve, Paris, and marvelled at how Barnes had come up with his version of events. Well worth a read. In fact, read it two or three times!