A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, Mr Golightly's Holiday and God on the Rocks

Of the eleven chapters (one is not numbered so I guess that was the half) I skipped a few. Those I did read were typical of Julian Barnes, full of ingenuity, experimentation and his usual dazzling prose. But some were just like essays which were of no interest to me. The short stories are not in fact a history of the world, this is part of the pretentious schoolboy stuff that Barnes should avoid. Very few have an actual story, except for "The Visitors" which is actually a straightforward classic linear thriller that deserves five stars on it's own. All of the "chapters" (but not as we know them, Jim) do have some similar themes and links, but I had just wished those were missing and we just had some good short stories. My three stars are an average of those with five and the others with none. 

I have to thank Hilary at book club for introducing me to Sally Vickers and her "Cleaner Of Chartres". "The Other Side Of You" was even better and "Mr Golightly's Holiday" almost as good. Our hero at first seems a troubled man, seeking to get away from his business and the people there. But not everything is at it seems.

I preferred the other inhabitants of Great Calne on the edge of Dartmoor, where he takes a short term let, with all their faults and anxieties. His next door neighbour Ellen Thomas is the best. There are some humorous digs at the author's own profession and some interesting philosophical discussions about love and humanity. But these never outstay their welcome and we remain caught up in the lives and relationships of the main characters. 

I cannot remember where I found a recommendation for this author about whom I had no knowledge. First published in 1978, it was apparently short listed for the Booker Prize. It took a bit of getting used to her style of writing, but I came to like it more and more. There is plenty of amazing dialogue between what is a fairly small cast of characters.

I liked the way it is written in the third person while using the first person for their thoughts. "Charles I harangued. He just stood there and listened. I knew that everybody was saying that I ran him. But I couldn't stop. I stopped that marriage. I knew I was doing it - hurting him nearly to death. But I still went on".