Arthur and George

This book, I found was one of the better Julian Barnes' novels - I found it pretty compelling to begin with but, it also seemed to be missing something. In Pulse there was a certain air about the whole thing that left it with a violent and bloodied undertone. But, in this novel, I think the undertone was missing - so that's what brought it down for me. On the other hand, the themes were the most well-established thing about it and I want to stress how well Scottish culture is explored in the novel. 

I found this book whilst browsing... you know the story. 

Characters:

My favourite character was Arthur. Most os the time, Arthur is composed - stressed - but composed. There's one thing about him that remains ambiguous and you are slow to discover fine details about his character. I think Barnes is really good at fine detail and that's what really makes the character so good to read. 

Themes:

Yes, the theme of culture was my favourite. There is a brilliant view of pure Scottish culture in a very realistic sense. I loved how every other theme was then branched of the theme of culture. It's like the people inside the culture perpetuate all the other themes a la chaos theory. 

Storyline:

Yes, I wasn't really impressed with the story - even though the themes were enough to redeem it. I say it is one of the better Barnes novels because of its themes. The constant mystery wasn't there - but that was probably because of themes such as race and identity. The storyline - I think was not bad, but it was missing something vital. It just felt a little empty after I finished it. 

Verdict:

I give this book 8/9

100% for characters: I really got into the characters of Arthur and George. They were brilliant. 

100% for themes: I was well intrigued by themes of Scottish culture, it is not what I'm used to reading. 

2/3 for storyline: Again, it was just missing a slight something. I don't know what - maybe a classic Barnes undertone or two - but it was missing something.