England, England
Bill Gregory (Jacket illustration), Julian Edelste New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. First American Edition,Second Printing before publication [stated]. Hardcover. [8], 275, [5] pages. Signed by the author on the title page. Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending, having been shortlisted three times previously with Flaubert's Parrot, England, England, and Arthur & George. Barnes also writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh. In addition to novels, Barnes has published collections of essays and short stories. In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honors also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was awarded the 2021 Jerusalem Prize. After graduation, he worked as a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary supplement. He then worked as a reviewer and literary editor for the New Statesman and the New Review. From 1979 to 1986 he worked as a television critic, first for the New Statesman and then for The Observer. England, England is a satirical postmodern novel by Julian Barnes, published in 1998. While researchers have also pointed out the novel's characteristic dystopian and farcical elements, Barnes himself described the novel as a 'semi-farce'. England, England broaches the idea of replicating England in a theme park on the Isle of Wight. It calls into question ideas of national identity, invented traditions, the creations of myths and the authenticity of history and memory. From a writer acclaimed by everyone from Graham Greene to John Fowles to John Irving, a new novel, short-listed for the Booker Prize, which The Sunday Times of London calls "both funny and serious, a double-act that English novels rarely manage . . . A commanding imaginative achievement." Picture an England where all the pubs are quaint, the Royals behave themselves (more or less), and the cliffs of Dover actually are white. Now imagine that the principal national treasures--from Stonehenge to Buckingham Palace--are grouped together on the Isle of Wight. This is precisely the vision that Sir Jack Pitman seeks to realize: a "destination" where tourists can find replicas of Big Ben, Wembley Stadium, the National Gallery, Princess Di's grave, and even Harrods (conveniently located inside the Tower of London), and visit them all in the course of a weekend. As this land of make-believe takes on its own comic and horrible reality, Barnes delights us with a novel that is at once a philosophical inquiry, a burst of mischief, a hilarious romp, and a moving elegy about authenticity and nationality. Julian Barnes, according to The Sunday Times, "has written nothing more poignant and enticing." Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Fiction, England, Theme Parks, National Identity, Farce, Isle of Wright, Jack Pitman, Big Ben, Wembley Stadium, National Gallery, Princess Diana's Grave, Harrods, Tower of London, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, Royals, Traditions, Myths, History, Mem
ISBN: 0375405828
[Book #83949]
Price: $125.00