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Nothing to Be Frightened Of

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Nothing to Be Frightened Of

By: Julian Barnes
Narrated by: Julian Barnes
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About this listen

 Selected as one of the Telegraph's 50 Best Summer Reads, 2009.

Julian Barnes' new book is, among many things, a family memoir, an exchange with his brother (a philosopher), a meditation on morality and the fear of death, a celebration of art, an argument with and about God, and homage to the French writer Jules Renard.

Though he warns us that 'this is not my autobiography', the result is a tour of the mind of one of our most brilliant writers.

©2008 Julian Barnes (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Art & Literature Authors Death & Dying Religious Studies Sociology Morality

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All stars
Most relevant
Interesting ramble through the vagaries of memory, and the thoughts assorted writers have had about death, along with the author's experience of his own family. An unusual, chatty, book to play as background to mundane tasks.

Interesting

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The content is in discord with the title. When audible said "before you go" at the end seeking my a rating I thought, for a moment that they were talking about death. It was a bit rambling but made me think.

10 hours about DEATH!

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I haven’t read any Julian Barnes for over twenty years. I don’t know why. My mum died recently so I turned to this book. I love the way JB thinks here. Very therapeutic. Thought provoking and made my laugh out loud! Not an easy feat with this topic!

Fabulous

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I always enjoy Julian Barnes. A complicated soul. Interestingly the more complicated ppl become the further they move from the simplicity of faith & spend so much time in search of something to believe in.

A grief observed?

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Julian Barnes fails to define what the nature of this book is and therein lies it's strength - as well as the sheer frustration I felt when I finished it. It is neither an autobiography nor a novel but more like the reminiscences of an old friend (and as a reader of all of his books thus far, he feels very much like an old friend) over the course of a good meal and bottle of wine.

Early on I was rather irritated by the way in which he fails to define the terms on which he is writing. Why his atheism/agnosticism? Why not "stand up and be counted" and give rational scientific reasons for his stance? Does he even know why he has the attitudes he has?

I gradually realised that many of our conversations have a logic of their own and listening to Julian Barnes reading his own work had a rationale that goes beyond face value. Yes, he fails to give a reason for why he thinks as he does; often I want to shout "justify that" or "explain yourself". But that's not what it's about nor came to realise is what satisfies. As Patrick Kavanagh says in his poem Advent, "Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder". The book isn't meant to give all the answer - what it did for me is make me ask myself the same question and try to answer it for myself.

No, I don't agree with everything he said (or indeed most of it). But I like the way he says it and that's the attraction of the book.

Get it, listen to it and engage with him. Whether or not you agree with it isn't the point. It's not the best introduction (by a long shot) to the work of Julian Barnes but it is a great insight to all that he has written thus far.

Frustrating but worth persevering with.

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