Something to Declare: Essays on France and French Culture
Julian Barnes
(Author)
Description
For anyone who loves France (or just feels strongly about it) comes a "beautifully written" collection of essays (The New York Times Book Review) on the country and its culture--from the bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes's appreciation extends from France's vanishing peasantry to its hyper-literate pop singers, from the gleeful iconoclasm of nouvelle vague cinema to the orgy of drugs and suffering that is the Tour de France. Above all, Barnes is an unparalleled connoisseur of French writing and writers. Here are the prolific and priapic Simenon, Baudelaire, Sand and Sartre, and several dazzling excursions on the prickly genius of Flaubert. Lively yet discriminating in its enthusiasm, seemingly infinite in its range of reference, and written in prose as stylish as haute couture, Something to Declare is an unadulterated joy.Product Details
Price
$16.00
Publisher
Vintage
Publish Date
September 09, 2003
Pages
320
Dimensions
5.14 X 8.0 X 0.64 inches | 0.64 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781400030873
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About the Author
Born in Leicester, England, in 1946, Julian Barnes is the author of nine novels, a book of stories, and a previous collection of essays. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. In France he is the only writer to have won both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina, and in 1988 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He lives in London.
Reviews
"Beautifully written. . . . There is much to amuse and delight in this collection, and reflections of considerable worth." --The New York Times Book Review
"Offers insight into the political, literary and sporting culture of a nation, with brilliant and engaging results. . . . Barnes displays here his nose for the extraordinary detail and the comic moment of phrasing." --San Francisco Chronicle "Julian Barnes seems to have done more for Anglo-French relations than anyone since Edward VII." -Daily Telegraph (London) "Our finest essayist." --Financial Times "Barnes does indeed have numerous things to declare . . . and he does so with profound insight and biting intelligence. . . . Barnes conveys his passions with infectious vigor." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "Something to Declare is supremely enjoyable. . . . A tour de force." --Fort Worth Star-Telegram "[Barnes'] insights are intelligent and provocative, his turn of phrase stylish and witty." --Winston-Salem Journal "[A] Tour de France-and a tour de force." --Booklist (starred review)
"Barnes is humorous throughout this collection, attenuating the stress of cultural intersections." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Offers insight into the political, literary and sporting culture of a nation, with brilliant and engaging results. . . . Barnes displays here his nose for the extraordinary detail and the comic moment of phrasing." --San Francisco Chronicle "Julian Barnes seems to have done more for Anglo-French relations than anyone since Edward VII." -Daily Telegraph (London) "Our finest essayist." --Financial Times "Barnes does indeed have numerous things to declare . . . and he does so with profound insight and biting intelligence. . . . Barnes conveys his passions with infectious vigor." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "Something to Declare is supremely enjoyable. . . . A tour de force." --Fort Worth Star-Telegram "[Barnes'] insights are intelligent and provocative, his turn of phrase stylish and witty." --Winston-Salem Journal "[A] Tour de France-and a tour de force." --Booklist (starred review)
"Barnes is humorous throughout this collection, attenuating the stress of cultural intersections." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch
