1 of 1 copy available
This beautiful, spare novel of platonic unrequited love springs into being around the singular character of the stoic, exacting Professor Elizabeth Finch. Neil, the narrator, takes her class "Culture and Civilisation," taught not for undergraduates but for adults
of all ages; we are drawn into his intellectual crush on this withholding yet commanding woman. While other personal relationships and even his family drift from Neil's grasp, Elizabeth's application of her material to the matter of daily living remains important
to him, even after her death, in a way that nothing else does. In Elizabeth Finch, we are treated to everything we cherish in Barnes: his eye for the unorthodox forms love can take between two people, a compelling swerve into nonfictional
material (this time, through Neil's obsessive study of Julian the Apostate, following notes Elizabeth left for him to discover after her death), and the forcefully moving undercurrent of history, and biography especially, as nourishment and guide in our current lives.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
August 16, 2022 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781705061053
- File size: 152314 KB
- Duration: 05:17:19
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
July 18, 2022
Booker Prize winner Barnes (The Sense of an Ending) delivers a tepid, talky meditation on the impact of a professor on a middle-aged man. Former actor Neil, wounded by the end of his marriage, signs up for an adult education course titled “Culture and Civilisation” taught by Elizabeth Finch, an author of two scholarly works. He’s immediately entranced by Finch’s calm, rigorous presence as she lectures on St. Ursula, the abolition of slavery, and Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor of Rome, causing Neil to feel his “brain change gear.” After the course ends, Neil meets Finch for lunch two or three times a year for two decades, though she never eases her reserved demeanor. One day, Neil learns Elizabeth has died and is astonished that she has left him her books and papers. Scouring her bequest for clues on the private life she kept hidden, he honors her frequent references to Julian the Apostate by writing the essay on the emperor that forms the novel’s central section, which, via Barnes, is reliably intelligent and perceptive. Barely characterized beyond his preoccupation with Finch’s ideas, which Barnes shares in lengthy quotations from her lectures and notebooks, Neil, though, is less character than mouthpiece. “You can see, I hope, why I adored her,” he effuses, but Finch’s appeal remains as mysterious as she does. Even devoted fans may be disappointed. -
British actor Justin Avoth does a first-rate job narrating this confounding novel, a combination of love story and foray into ancient history. Avoth does his level best to keep the listener engaged with its characters. His narration gives the self-interested, angst-ridden Neil his very British due. The man sounds grounded in his culture, and Avoth's deliberate pace and Oxbridge tone work to reveal the odd contours of his story. The titular Elizabeth Finch, the object of Neil's affection, feels very removed from the story. Want to know all about Julian the Apostate? Here is the audiobook for you. But, overall, while this is a brief listen, the novel comes up short. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
-