An Unexpected Pleasure

Book prizes do serve a purpose of sorts.  When an author I've never read and know nothing about wins a major prize, I take note and often add him to a list somewhere if the work sounds appealing. That's what happened when Julian Barnes won the Booker last year.  This smug little American didn't have a clue about him, and I was intrigued by the reviews of 'The Sense of an Ending'. Turns out I love the soft self-doubting meditative tone of the book.

While wandering around Kepler's the other day (the newly revamped, i.e. shrunken independent local bookstore that nonetheless continues to please me), I noticed lots of other fiction by Barnes. I wasn't sure that I was in the mood for more foggy metaphysical speculation, having just finished the latest Banville, but I don't get to Kepler's that often, so I included one Barnes book in my haul. I chose it almost randomly.

'Pulse' is a new (2011) collection of stories, most of which had previously appeared elsewhere.  Not sure how I missed the ones that had appeared in The New Yorker, but I did. Started reading the first story and was very pleasantly surprised, indeed. Finished the book in a couple of days.

Here there is none of that 'Sense of an Ending' brooding.  And these are old-fashioned short stories.  No tricks or tweets. No vague connections among stories.  No experimental forms, no self-referential circles, no questions about writing while writing.  And unlike Carver, for example, very little happens in these stories.  Not much plot, and a narrow emotional range in each.  Just a snapshot of characters at a moment in time. How refreshing is that?

Within those boundaries Barnes is remarkably versatile. Very different settings, characters, and tones.  Dialog is a major strength.  He can absolutely nail a character with dialog.  Also very British. Very urbane. And very good on relationships and couples.

I try to stretch myself as a reader.  DFW, for example.  Now Proust is on my list.  Recently tackled Barthelme for the first time. And of course David Mitchell. So it's a relief to easily find pleasure in a more traditional high-quality author.  There's so much there to enjoy, and it feels good to have at least the illusion that my ability to understand and appreciate the writing need not be questioned. Maybe it's like swinging the weighted bat in the on-deck circle.  A normal bat then feels light and easy to control.

But enough about me.  How are you enjoying my blog? :)