Love, etc by Julian Barnes

Love, etc

Julian Barnes

Love, etc is a sequel to Talking it Over but reads well in its own right. Each character tells their own tale. Oliver's pompous, know-all wordiness got on my nerves at first and nearly put me off, but the other characters are easier to identify with and soon hooked me into their tangled web. This book talks about love like it really is - complicated, exciting, dull and dangerous. And addictive!

Extract
Gillian: ... Do 'I' still love Oliver? Yes, 'I' think so, 'I' suppose so. You could say I'm managing love ....

Stuart: ... And another thing. Beforehand, you think: when I grow up I'll love someone, and I hope it goes right, but if it goes wrong I'll love another person, and if that goes wrong I'll love another person. Always assuming that you can find these people in the first place and that they'll let you love them. What you expect is that love, or the ability to love, is always there, waiting ....

Parallels
  • Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
  • Therapy by David Lodge
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Violence
Explicit sexual Content