Acton reviewed Love, etc. by Julian Barnes
Review of 'Love, etc.' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
My short summary: Stuart and Gillian were married until Stuart's best buddy Oliver stole her away. Stuart never got over Gillian, so when Oliver and Gillian hit a rough patch, Stuart finds a way of moving back into her life. Their lives.
That plot is not unique, but the way Julian Barnes goes about telling it certainly is. You, the reader, are the interviewer, and Gillian, Oliver, and Stuart are telling you their points of view. There are also statements from Gillian and Oliver's daughters, Stuart's second ex-wife, Gillian's mother, and Oliver's psychiatrist, and a coworker of Gillian's who dated Stuart.
When I first started reading this, I was confused; I went into this cold, and had no clue where it was headed. I also changed my mind a couple times about which member of the "love" triangle should win The Most F*cked Up Award. Now that I've read it …
My short summary: Stuart and Gillian were married until Stuart's best buddy Oliver stole her away. Stuart never got over Gillian, so when Oliver and Gillian hit a rough patch, Stuart finds a way of moving back into her life. Their lives.
That plot is not unique, but the way Julian Barnes goes about telling it certainly is. You, the reader, are the interviewer, and Gillian, Oliver, and Stuart are telling you their points of view. There are also statements from Gillian and Oliver's daughters, Stuart's second ex-wife, Gillian's mother, and Oliver's psychiatrist, and a coworker of Gillian's who dated Stuart.
When I first started reading this, I was confused; I went into this cold, and had no clue where it was headed. I also changed my mind a couple times about which member of the "love" triangle should win The Most F*cked Up Award. Now that I've read it all, it is my opinion that there is a hands-down winner. Love, etc. would be a wonderful topic for discussion.
Note: I went into this thinking it was going to be some kind of light-hearted romantic comedy. It's much more serious than that.
This is incredibly well done. I admire the way Barnes assumed all of these voices. The fact that Gillian, Oliver, and Stuart are not normal or very likable is obscured by the quest to figure out what, exactly, has taken place and--what now? Very thought-provoking.
I would definitely recommend this!