England, England

Rating:
Summary: Margarine v. Butter
Review: While some may take this to be a one-joke book (wooing an international tourist economy by recreating all of England's most famous, market-tested landmarks into a more manageable, mini-England on the Isle of Wight), I find it to be a clever lens through which the reader can observe and consider the foibles of modern Western (not just British) society. On the way it raises many interesting questions: What is the role of memory in personal and national identities? Why and how do we seek to exercise control over others? How are we shaped by the roles we assume (regardless of our motives for accepting these roles)? When is what we choose to believe about reality more powerful than reality itself? And let's not forget, What is the role of sex in history?

While this book by Julian Barnes does not have any of the understated poignancy that I enjoyed and expected to find after reading FLAUBERT'S PARROT, it is clever and engaging in its own way. A fun read if you can handle the artifice.