Tuesday, October 27, 2009

November Not Fiction Book Discussions

Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes is a personal essay in the truest sense, both a literary composition on a single subject presenting the personal view of the author and an attempt or endeavor to understand that subject--in Barnes' case, mortality, especially his own. Identified as "a memoir" on the book jacket, the book combines unsentimental philosophical speculation on death with mordantly funny family stories and a consideration of the consolations of art. However, early on in the essay, Barnes notes, "This is not, by the way, 'my autobiography.' Nor am I 'in search of my parents.' . . . Part of what I am doing - which may seem unnecessary - is trying to work out how dead they are." He also confides, "Perhaps I should warn you (especially if you are a philosopher, theologian, or biologist) that some of this book will strike you as amateur, do-it-yourself stuff. But then we are all amateurs in and of our own lives." So what, exactly, is this book about? In an interview with The Oxonian Review of Books, Barnes said, "I think of this book as an exercise in examining myself as a case and as an answer to a question: at this point in time, what does it mean not to believe in anything and yet not be reconciled to the notion that you're going to die?" In our discussions, we will consider what Barnes' answer seems to be and whether or not it seems to console him - and whether or not it consoles us. After all, one could read the title of Barnes' essay in two very different ways . . .

We hope you will join one of our discussions of the book that Men's Vogue has called, "that most urgent kind of self-help manual: the one you must read before you die": Tuesday, November 3, at 7:00 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, November 19, at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog.