England, England by Julian Barnes (English novel)
England, England by Julian Barnes is a post modern satire, with a writing style that is a bit old-fashioned, if you are a lover of Dickens and the typical British humor, you will definitely enjoy this!
The plot of England, England
The story recounts the tale of Sir Jack Pitman, a tycoon of dubious origins that gives life to an island, “England, England“, is a miniature version of the real England. The island attracts many tourists from around the world because it contains replicas and features commonly associated with the culture and history of England; from Robin Hood, to the pub, to Buckingham Palace. Everything is concentrated into a limited space and the tourist doesn’t miss a thing. It is a state in it’s own right with a parliament and even a king of England that is under contract. A new nation that the reader sees flourish while “the old” England is declining.
Martha Cochrane
The “protagonist” of England, England is called Martha Cochrane, whom the reader follows as she grows up from birth, a girl that likes to put together puzzles of the counties of England, she loses one of the pieces which her father promptly finds after a long search. And then one day he leaves the house to search for another piece of the puzzle and never returns. In the second part of the novel Martha is in her forties and has begun working with Sir Jack Pitman while in the third part, decades later, she returns to her old village in the countryside. Martha has the viewpoint of a typical outsider, none of her thoughts differ from those of the people around her and character is never fully defined. The first sentence of the book, “What is your first memory?”, is a question that Martha will never answer. She says: “Your first memory isn’t something like your first bra or friend(…). It isn’t something solid and substantial, that time, with its hardworking and fun ways, can decorate the years with extravagant details (…). A memory by its definition is not a thing, it is…a memory.”
How to enjoy England, England
This book by Barnes is a text that is a little ‘busier’ than a typical novel, for this reason, to fully understand it, it is useful to have some knowledge of English history. Barnes also has a writing style that is very heavy and isn’t a novel that you want to read before you go to sleep to help you go to bed; every word and every sentence is carefully thought out and you cannot afford even a moment of distraction. Finally, there are also varied and elaborate descriptions, a feature that could result in boring you if this isn’t your kind of novel.
The author
Julian Barnes is considered to be the perfect example of a post modern writer; with eclectic talent and genius, he is one of the greatest English writers whose work impresses with its ability to fuse together many different genres and styles.
One of his aphorisms reads: «To write you have to convince yourself that you are at a new starting point yourself. It is not just a new starting point for you, it is for the entire history of the novel.»
This is the address to his website, while here you will find a short but interesting video interview in which he talks about himself as a writer.
