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Loading... Arthur and Georgedoor Julian Barnes
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zeker iets voor jou Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek mooi zult vinden.  Sharon62 | Mar 16, 2010 |  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his involvement with an persecuted British Indian (  ) CynthiaScott | Feb 9, 2010 | An engrossing story, masterfully presented in a convincing Victorian tones, but it all remains a little distant, a little flat. Well worth reading, however: I know others who have been far more enthusiastic. (  ) annbury | Jan 24, 2010 | Arthur & George intertwines the stories of two historical figures: Arthur Conan Doyle, who you all know, and George Edalji, who you all should. As George becomes the victim of a ruthless smear campaign (and worse) while he struggles to make it as an Edinburgh solicitor (also publishing an excellent little book on railway law for the educated man on the train), Arthur marries his wife, invents Sherlock Holmes, and embarks on an affair. Barnes is adept, and I was drawn in almost instataneously: both characters come alive, but especially George. I think mostly because so many bad things happen to him, really allowing us to see his character from every possible angle. Arthur's not quite so fully fleshed out, but despite the title it's really George's novel, so that's okay. I like well-written, literary novels, and I like well-plotted, gripping novels. But (if I'm going to make a wide and probably inaccurate generalization) it's rare that a novel has both characteristics. Arthur & George knocks it out of the park on both pitches. As I said, both leads are strongly characterized, and Barnes is simply marvelous to read as a writer; his prose is very strong and very insightful. But at the same time, I was very nearly always on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what happened next, especially during the trial sequences. It's a detective novel in some ways, but it's a detective novel that has something to say about how we look for truth and how we hold up in the face of it. Absolutely fantastic, I was hooked all the way through, and I can't recommend it enough. The best book I've read in ages. 1  Stevil2001 | Jan 13, 2010 | When I first opened, this book, I was a bit afraid - it starts out with one chapter that's a page long about Arthur, then one about George, etc. I tend to get characters confused until I'm well into the story, and page-long chapters back and forth seemed like a setup for failure for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised - Arthur and George were both so different in personalities, family situations, successes, and fears, that they were easy for me to keep straight - but then such differences had me caught up in the story right away, wondering how their lives could possibly intertwine. I don't want to give away any spoilers, as one of the characters turns out to be someone well-known to probably anyone that speaks the English language, and I enjoyed having that secret revealed to me later on. Even after finding out the identity of that character, it still wasn't apparent how the two characters would meet later on; this novel focuses on a lesser-known event in the famous character's life. I loved this novel. Both the main characters were so real, and getting to know them since childhood (in the early chapters) revealed so much about their later actions. This is a work of historical fiction that was incredibly well-researched. Plus, the research was done so well that it blended in with the story, and made all of the events seem more real. I've read historical fiction before and finished it thinking, "Now I am going to look that up and see what *really* happened." I didn't have that sense while reading Arthur & George - it was almost like reading two sets of memoirs. (  ) jtho | Jan 5, 2010 |  geen besprekingen | voeg een recensie toe
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The victimization of George takes the form of nasty letters, the theft of a school key, and finally, the accusation that he has mutilated animals. Meanwhile, Arthur is becoming more and more famous for creating Sherlock Holmes, whom he tries to kill off once and is forced to resurrect because of his fans' outcry. He marries, fathers two children and then, when his wife is invalided by consumption, falls madly in love for the first time with Jean Leckie.
The novel's style is smoothly revelatory. We slowly come to realize that George is half-Indian, that Arthur is the famous Doyle, that the woman he loves, chastely, is not his wife and, sadly, that George will not prevail over the forces ranged against him.
When George, desperate to resume his law career after imprisonment, sends Arthur the sad chronicle of his history, Arthur sees immediately that he could not be guilty and sets out to clear his name. This case of George's lifts Arthur from the slough of despond into which he has sunk after his wife, Touie, dies. He is guilt-ridden, constantly wondering if he was attentive enough, if she could possibly have known about Jean. Realizing the immense injustice George has suffered, he is shaken out of lethargy and, in Holmesian fashion, sets out to solve the case.
Julian Barnes is a gifted writer of enormous accomplishment. This novel is thoroughly engrossing, filled with Barnes's trademark themes of identity and love, longing and loss, and ultimately, an examination of man's inhumanity to man. --Valerie Ryan
(opgehaald bij Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:58:32 -0500)
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The characterisation of both Arthur and George is excellently crafted and I warmed greatly to both characters. Both are naive and innocent in different ways and the subtle humourous style Barnes uses makes this a charming and uplifting story
A book I can highly recommend and a good holiday read (