Thursday Post

Well, I must say that thus far I am enjoying this book quite a bit. I think that Julian Barnes is in fact hilarious. The man is incredibly witty and uses this to aid in the telling of the story. Unlike many of the other stories we have read this year, I believe that much of this story was meant for entertainment purposes. One can argue that all literature is created for one sort of entertainment or another but what I mean by this is that unlike many of the stories we read this year whose context is educational, insightful, etc., this story thus far seems to be just that: a story. Of course, it has had some insightful aspects and one can definitely tell that the author is an educated man besides being brilliant as not only is he insightful but he also references numerous intellectual works, including works that we have studied in class.

On another note, the story sort of took an unexpected turn when it jumped ahead in time. At first I thought that the story was being told not from recollection but as it occurred. Then the time skip occurred and my perception of the story was altered. I sort of expected it to be the story of four friends in high school and the trouble they would get in but of course I was wrong. Furthermore, I noticed a relationship between one of the insightful comments made by Adrian and the actual story. Adrian comments on how history is unreliable. The narrator then goes on to mention a few times how his recollection may not be very precise. I believe that these two things were intentionally put there by Barnes, and I am waiting to see what exactly he will use them for.