A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, Julian Barnes (3.5)
This is really 10 marginally connected short stories and
an essay. Each story has a place in
human’s history – though often with a little twist. It starts with a retelling
of the story of Noah and the ark, from the point of view of a stow-away (who
pops up in many of the subsequent chapter/stories). This stow-away paints Noah
and his family in a very different light – such as revealing the various animal
pairs who did not make it and why (how did you think the human’s fed
themselves??). Each story is thoughtful and interesting, though generally not
easy to read. This may have been due to the fact that I lost the point of some
of them. Mr. Barnes is obviously a gifted writer with a strong imagination and
a good sense of humor. Though I felt a little dull when I couldn’t get the
point of a story, the book is worth reading for the first and last chapters
alone.
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