Details:
- author: Julian Barnes
- full title: Elizabeth Finch
- narrator: Justin Avoth
- genre: literary fiction
- topics: #biography, #platoniclove, #culture, #religion, #history, #philosophy
- publisher: Recorded Books
- publish date: 16.08.2022
- timing: 5:17:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙
- narration: 💙💙💙💙💙
My Thoughts:
Ebook & Audiobook. Content 3 stars, 4 for an audiobook format because it makes this book more accessible and easier to read.I love Julian Barnes and his writing. The two of his novels I appreciate the most are: The Sense of an Ending and The Noise of Time. But I have read nothing like this before. Julian Barnes combines historical facts, theology, and philosophy in a fictional novel about Elizabeth Finch.
Elizabeth Finch, or EF, is a charismatic professor who teaches adult students. The narrator, Neil, is a student in her “Culture and Civilization” class. He finds her very intriguing, even “seductive, but not in any conventional way.” Even when he finishes his classes, they remain in contact and meet for lunch every three years in a span of twenty years.
I liked the first part of the novel the most. In the middle, we can read an essay about Julian The Apostate’s life, and this part was a bit off-putting for me. Here, my interest in this novel fell a bit. And the third part continues the narrator’s exploration of EF.
Elizabeth Finch is a novel about platonic love and admiration for one person. This novel generally deals with biography - EF’s, Julian The Apostate's, and partly also narrator’s. The theological part discussed in this novel is not particularly interesting to me. Although this novel is very good and imaginative, it is also complex. Overall, it is not a novel for general readers. I’m guessing that author never meant it to be this way. So a lower average rating wouldn’t surprise me at all. As I mentioned, this novel is not a lightweight read, and I struggled a bit with some parts while reading just an ebook. But the audiobook format improved this a lot.
I was lucky to receive ARC and ALC and partly listened to an audiobook and read an ebook together. Both formats are very good, but those who would find this novel overwhelming could find an audiobook a better option. Readers who want to reread and dissect the novel or its parts will find an ebook or physical copy best. Both formats together are also an excellent choice.
About the Author:
