The writer: Julian Barnes was born in Leicester, the son of two
teachers, and moved from Magdalen College, Oxford, to work first in publishing
and then as a journalist on the New Statesman.
Now 52, he has written seven novels including Flaubert's Parrot, which
was also shortlisted for the Booker.
The plot: Sir Jack Pitman, an entrepreneur with flair, has turned
the Isle of Wight into a huge heritage park, recreating Hampton Court Maze,
the White Horse, Buckingham Palace and the White Cliffs of Dover, all under
his Creative Team of employees, including Martha, whose cynicism is undermined
by love.
Critic's View: Ideas usually supply a flamboyant exo-skeleton
for Barnes's fiction, protecting shyer emotions underneath.
Here the character of Martha is one of his best achievements, particularly
in the closing pages with their salving intimations of mortality and humanity.
The once sassy driven feminist ages, believably, into celibacy in a
scruffy village . . .going to church, noticing at last the seasons and
the stars.
Jonathan Cape (£15.99)
29
August 1998: [Review] A vision of England
