false 2982466 10 <p>Two years after the best-selling <i>Arthur & George,</i> Julian Barnes gives us a memoir on mortality that touches on faith and science and family as well as a rich array of exemplary figures who over the centuries have confronted the same questions he now poses about the most basic fact of life: its inevitable extinction.<br><br>If the fear of death is “the most rational thing in the world,” how does one contend with it? An atheist at twenty, an agnostic at sixty, Barnes looks into the various arguments for and against and <i>with</i> God, and at the bloodline whose archivist, following his parents’ death, he has become—another realm of mystery, wherein a drawer of mementos and his own memories (not to mention those of his philosopher brother) often fail to connect. There are other ancestors, too: the writers—“most of them dead, and quite a few of them French”—who are his daily companions, supplemented by composers and theologians and scientists whose similar explorations are woven into this account with an exhilarating breadth of intellect and felicity of spirit.<br><br>Deadly serious, masterfully playful, and surprisingly hilarious, <i>Nothing to Be Frightened Of</i> is a riveting display of how this supremely gifted writer goes about his business and a highly personal tour of the human condition and what might follow the final diagnosis.</p> 3012871 2 9 2008 Nothing to Be Frightened Of total:370|5:86|4:128|3:110|2:36|1:10| 370 1354 944 127 2 18 false false Sun Sep 07 12:38:52 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 13:35:56 -0700 2008
i almost like your book. almost. it's a fun synthesis of all the thoughts you (and many of us) have had regarding death. and there are great historical and personal anecdotes. and tons of interesting hypothetical situations and philosophical either/ors... but i object to your ...more...]]> 1 10 false false Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 01:34:52 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 17:26:15 -0800 2009 MASSIVE FURBALL ALERT!!!!

In this massive eructation of self-indulgent, rambling, repetitive prose, Julian Barnes contemplates his mortality. At considerable, punishing, length. Where does it get him? To paraphrase another writer: And the end of all his exploring is to arrive where he b...more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Oct 08 14:18:34 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 10:21:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Oct 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 05 18:58:11 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 16:28:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 26 14:42:56 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 19 16:12:40 -0700 2008 1
By which I mean, it doesn't have a narrative arc or set out to take us through Barnes' life or any particular chronological section of it. In fact, it leaves lots out--his marriage and his professional ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 21:32:19 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 25 18:42:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 09 22:02:18 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 06 16:09:39 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 31 17:04:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 17:22:29 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 09:31:38 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 14:04:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Nov 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 17:20:07 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 18:09:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 22:54:24 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 22:56:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Apr 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 01:19:49 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 01:38:08 -0700 2009
In this book the author Julian Barnes muses on his own mortality, his fears about death and the process of dying, the unreliability of memory and th...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 02 13:09:58 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 13:11:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 07:17:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 20:24:05 -0700 2009
About 50 pages in I started wondering when chapter 1 was going to end, come to find out that it wasn't. I hadn't realized how habitually I read books chapter by chapter until there were no chapters by which to bide my time. Metaphor much? This is me i...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 08:57:43 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 09:04:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 10 08:07:11 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 08:17:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 11:51:51 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 12:03:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 11 10:59:49 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 11:16:24 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 15:35:28 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 15:41:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 08 06:00:18 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 06:00:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2982466