A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: "A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters" gives an entertaining, thoughtful and at times cynical look at religion, love, humanity, and historical revisionism. Many individual chapters are excellent on their own (the stowaway's view of Noah's Ark, the objective interpretation of the painting, "Scene of a Shipwreck," and the preview of heaven.). As a whole, the book brings the above mentioned themes and many others together in different situations, making the whole even stronger than the sum of its parts. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: History Repeating
Review: "History is simply the propaganda of the victors.""History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the secondtime as farce." Barnes indirectly explores these and other maximsabout history in this wonderful "novel."

"Novel"in quotes because this book is not truly a novel in the way somereaders might expect, it is perhaps better characterized as acollection of prose pieces with interlocking themes and motifs,similar in a way to John Barth's "Lost in theFunhouse."

Barnes writes: "We make up a story to cover thefacts we don't know or can't accept, we keep a few true facts and spina new story round them. Our panic and our pain are only eased bysoothing fabulation; we call it history." Barnes clearlyunderstands that history, or what we perceive as history, is reallyonly an interpretation, frought with as much difficulties andinaccuracies as the interpretion of any text. To illustrate andexplore this idea, Barnes uses an oblique approach: 10 1/2 chapters ofloosely interconnecting stories running from "Genesis" to"Revelations."

Barnes' "Genesis" is the firstchapter, and is basically a comic, revisionist telling of Noah and hisArk narrated by a woodworm stowed away on the Ark. In Barnes' world,Noah is a drunken lout who lost and/or ate some of the animals he wassupposed to save (the griffon, the unicorn, etc.). Barnes'"Revelations" chapter is about a dream of Heaven where allwishes are fulfilled, and Hell is simply "necessarypropaganda." Part of the delight in this book is the way Barnesattacks and deconstructs stories from the Bible, pointing out thefundamental (pun intended) error in relying on the Bible as anhistorically accurate text.

In between these are chapters aboutwoodworms placed on trial for eating a bishop's throne; a hostagecrisis aboard a cruiseliner (a thinly veiled retelling of the AchilleLouro incident); a trek to Mount Ararat to locate the Ark's remains;an analysis of the sinking of the Medusa and Gericault's paintingdepicting the impending rescue of the survivors, and others.References to Noah's Ark or ships' voyages figure in practically everystory, as Barnes "spins new stories" around "a few truefacts."

Many of the chapters explore the ways in which historyis recorded as subjective experience. For example, Barnes useshistorical records to illustrate that Gericault's painting likely leftout and changed certain historical details to heighten the emotionaland allegorical nature of the painting. These few pages are one ofthe best fictional meditations on the connections between life and artI have read anywhere.

The structure of the novel serves a specificthematic purpose here. The various chapters are often narrated bydifferent characters, and Barnes also shifts back and forth betweenfirst- and third-person narrative. This is done to draw the readers'attention back to one of Barnes' central themes: history is narrative,and like all narrative, it all depends on where you're standing. Theidea of reaching true understanding based on memory/narrative/historyis a theme Barnes has explored in many of his books, from"Flaubert's Parrot", to "Talking it Over," butnever has he more perfectly molded form to function as he doeshere.

It is also beatifully written, clever, and funny. Barnesshifts effortlessy back and forth between extremely diverse authorialvoices, and while certain chapters are more enjoyable, there reallyisn't a dud in the bunch. The chapters on the shipwreck in 1816 of theMedusa, and Gericault's painting on that subject are fascinating andengaging, and the chapter on the woodworm trial is hilarious.

Barnes explicitly addresses some of his themes in the half-chapter,"Parenthesis" (more than two-thirds of the way through), yetlets the reader connect the dots between the chapters, which, for me,was half the fun of the book. This is a truly original, rewarding andthought-provoking work, and one that is even more rewarding uponrereading.Àÿ

Rating:
Summary: A great read, entertaining and thought-provoking
Review: A "History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters" by Julian Barnes is a collection of ten and a half short stories or essays that are loosely connected. Very entertaining and contains many different angles on love, fear, belief, and incompetence, from Noah's ark to a post-apocalyptic world. All of which add up to a quick history of the human condition

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Book that Could've Been Better
Review: A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters is an odd piece of fiction. Barnes makes some of it a very interesting read. Unfortunately, too much of the novel comes across as boring or preachy, including the half-chapter which is supposed to contain one of the main themes of the book. The first two chapters, The Stowaway and The Visitors, are both excellent. The third chapter breaks the momentum that Barnes had been building up, but The Survivor, chapter 4, picks things up again. It goes into a tailspin from there. Shipwreck and The Mountain are both incredibly tough to read (Shipwreck seems especially out of place after reading the four previous chapters). Three Simple Stories and Upstream! are almost as entertaining as the first two chapters, but the half-chapter, Parenthesis, sounds like it belongs in a coffee bar. It tries to understand love, something that cannot be completely understood. This chapter tries to tie the entire novel together, but it doesn't quite work. Simply put, Barnes gets to the point too late. Project Ararat isn't very interesting, but The Dream ends the novel with a decent story. However, it's too little, too late. It's worth picking up this book to read the stories that are entertaining. They all can stand on their own and are definitely worth reading. However, the stories are not tied together well, and it is in this respect that the novel falls apart.

Rating:
Summary: The novel is geared more toward the male readers.
Review: A History of the World in 10½ Chapters endeavors, through a series of short stories, to show how male attitudes have established and shaped the formation of a civilized world. Beginning with Noah's systematic approach for selecting qualified humans to board the ark, Julian Barnes introduces concepts, including the survival of the fittest, the dividing of society into the clean and unclean, which animals will be sacrificed and used for food in the first chapter. Mr. Barnes, using Noah as his starting point, relies on male strength and knowledge to ensure the continued existence of life on earth. Told strictly from a male perspective, male attitudes persist throughout the novel. With the exception of the segment "Upstream," women are pretty much ignored. The woman in this section is really non-existent and is given nothing to say. Charlie is caught up in a one-sided conversation intended to reinforce the male ego. A History of the World in 10½ Chapters focuses on the temperaments of the men controlling each segment of history but refusing to learn from incidents represented in the novel. Incidence of events which occurred on Noah's Ark continue throughout the story. Intolerance of people and animals aboard the Ark, the survival of the fittest (on the Ark as well as the raft) occur repeatedly in each of the 10½ chapters with men evidently preferring not to change life. Novels such as this bring issues to the readers' attention but offer no real solutions.

The novel, while bringing these similarities to light, avoids supplying possible ways to correct these events. By displaying perseverance and determination, the woodworm who stowed away on Noah's Ark survived to begin a new life after the flood. The persistence of the human race to survive beyond adversity is evident but Mr. Barnes efforts only reinforce the fact that many of the original prejudices still exist and occur regularly again without offering any possible solution.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: A really great book. Perfect timing. Unexpected connections. Just read it! :

Rating:
Summary: A Sardonic, Original, And Mischievous Mind On A Tear
Review: A stowaway that narrates the trip of Noah's Ark, simple animals tried for blasphemy in the 16th Century, an incredible stream of thought on language's three very famous words, all this, and more from an extremely original and perspective bending Author. This book is easily one of the more original works I have read in quite some time.

These collections of stories, and in one case a story within another, are all wonderful when confined within their own borders. They certainly were intended to be elements of a much more transcendent work, and when the reader finishes the parts, and becomes a ruminator of the whole, the effect is brilliant. Mr. Julian Barnes is a new Author for me, fortunately this book is not his debut so much remains to be read, and on his side, I hope, to be written.

A short time ago I read "Ghostwritten", a book that was divided into 9 tales that all had an element of commonality. I thought it was very well done. This work takes the joining of elements that could at times be superficially viewed as disparate, but are all of a singular piece when the entire book is read. The bridges that bring the reader and the elements of the books through the tale can seemingly be obvious. They are also incredibly well disguised. A cursory read through what may seem to be just a satirical romp will no doubt please, but attention paid with more vigor will yield a much more richly crafted work. And the added gift is that even when you think you have taken what the Author has offered, this work lingers, and the more and longer it is thought of, the better it continues to grow. This is a work that can easily be started again immediately after the final page is read.

Some would argue that for a work to be excellent it must be entirely original. I think that would be nice, and it does happen occasionally. Much more frequently what is offered has all the originality of a clone. Taking the familiar apart, changing the perspective, adding stylistically original and provocative thought, is as original as one can get. Generally accepted ideas or truths are not necessarily either. The ability to step back and present stand alone pieces that are fresh, that then become a symbiotic whole is a remarkable talent, and Mr. Barnes is incredibly inventive.

Show this man a Rubik's Cube with all of its colored sides intact. Then scramble the object and present him with the multi-colored curiosity. Not only will he place all the colors back so that each side is uniform, he will have changed all the colors as well.

Read this man's work, it's a wonderful trip.

Rating:
Summary: Schizophrenic brilliance
Review: A true rarity. Constructed of eleven independent sections or "chapters" (the half-chapter is one of the most thought provoking essays I have ever read), the book defies classification--it is not a novel with a characters functioning in a linear plot, yet the repeated motifs and themes that link the work make it much more than a collection of short stories. Through this method Barnes subverts the conventions we use to characterize literature while brilliantly tweaking the noses of religion and love. In the process the reader must confront both highly personal and academic questions. An excellent example of post-modernism done right.

Is it a good read? For the most part yes. The first two stories, of a termite that sneaks aboard Noah's Ark and of terrorists that sneak aboard a luxury liner, are brilliant. Some of the "chapters", though, never manage to get going despite their promise. Thankfully "A History" closes as well, if not better, than it opens; the essay "Parenthesis" anchors the work while giving it its soul and "The Dream" gives born-again Christians (and Hitler) the heaven they deserve.

Also of note is the elan with which Barnes throws off styles, at one minute telling a story with an expert journalistic style, the next mastering the epistolary form. Barnes shows himself to be a virtuoso with rare insight and skill.

Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: An almost iconoclastic work, from how Barnes questions the very essence of human life and living to his deepest and truest thoughts of love and passion. Certainly this books forces one to think and consider and most importantly question all that we take for granted, from Gopher wood to artistic works. A sometimes, cynical approach, but definitely a hugely entertaining and though provoking read

Rating:
Summary: Intellectually and emotionally stimulating - and great fun!
Review: Any book that claims to be a history of the world, in any number of chapters, has something to live up to; and this book certainly lived up to any expectations I had. Barnes' writing is lively, intelligent, and clever - while, at the same time, keeping a strong emotional, even moral core. In between sharply comical chapters as well as fascinating essays, all concerning topics such history, art, and even <gasp!> love, the author has put his "Parenthesis", the half-chapter of the title, and in my opinion the most lucid, frank and touching essay about Love, which alone makes this book worth its price.

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