“Nothing to Be Frightened Of”

I started to read “Nothing to Be Frightened Of” by Julian Barnes because of the catchy title.  I picked up the audio book at my favourite book hang-out:  the library.  I had the benefit of both Mr. Barnes’ words and voice to invigorate my walk on a brisk March day.  Well…I have decided not to continue my “On the Road Journey” with Mr. Barnes simply because I have another book on my list that is more promising. To be fair, I should give him more time to explain his point of view, (many readers enjoyed reading this book and the reviews were positive) but he had 45 minutes of my attention.  And in that time I found out that:

1)      He loved his father more than his mother.

2)      His debates with his elder brother, the philosopher, appear to be coolly detached even though dialogues involving God, death, and relevance are quite the opposite.

3)      He doesn’t believe in God, but his misses him. (An atheist at twenty, he is now, in his sixties, an agnostic.)

4)      He appeared to be ambivalent about his parents passing.

Mr. Barnes is academically brilliant and a well-known and respected English writer, the winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, for his book, “The Sense of an Ending.” He just doesn’t appear to be passionate about life or open to the possibility of the infinite. Maybe, in  the future,  I’ll change my mind and finish the book.   In the interim, I will go on to Nelson Mandela.

Rebecca (AKA Clanmother)

P.S. Enjoyed the walk along the Sea Wall – Spring has come!