Arthur and George

published	January 9th 2007 by Vintage
first published	2005
binding	Paperback
isbn	1400097037 (isbn13: 9781400097036)
pages	464
literary awards	2005 Booker Prize Nominee
description	A real tour de force from masterful author Julian Barnes is Arthur & George, which was short-listed for the 2005 Man Booker Prize. ...more [close] A real tour de force from masterful author Julian Barnes is Arthur & George, which was short-listed for the 2005 Man Booker Prize. Late-Victorian Britain is brought to vivid life in the true story of the intersection of two lives: one an internationally famous author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the other, an obscure country lawyer, George Edalji, son of a Parsi Midlands vicar and a Scottish mother. They start out very differently. Arthur pursues a career in medicine before he discovers that he is really a writer; George, on his way to becoming a lawyer--near-sighted, timid and friendless--is victimized by locals because he is easy to scapegoat--a half-Indian in lily-white Great Wyrley. 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 [close]
date added	01-31-07 edit book

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Stephanie rated it:

04/03/08

Read in April, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Arthur and George is a novelization of the relationship between the very famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the not so famous George Edalji. It is a true story and the book reads much like a journalistic account of a miscarriage of justice taken on by an indignant Doyle. From my “extensive” research (wikipedia and a short google search), the author Barnes seems to stick pretty close to the facts. His contribution to this story seems to be in the fleshing out of the two men’s characters a...more Arthur and George is a novelization of the relationship between the very famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the not so famous George Edalji. It is a true story and the book reads much like a journalistic account of a miscarriage of justice taken on by an indignant Doyle. From my “extensive” research (wikipedia and a short google search), the author Barnes seems to stick pretty close to the facts. His contribution to this story seems to be in the fleshing out of the two men’s characters and their motivations. In fact the first 240-ish pages of the 386-page novel is set up. We are introduced to each man separately and are led on an examination of their lives leading up to the point where their paths intertwine and the plot really begins.

This is a very British book and cultural identity is definitely a theme. George is half Indian (his father is from Bombay) who identifies himself as wholly British and rejects any notion that the things that happen to him are a result of race prejudice. Arthur is also a bit of a half-breed – half Scottish, half Irish – who seems to revel in his difference while what the world sees is a quintessential English gentleman. This idea of what it is to be “British” comes up several times in the novel and Barnes seems to view his fellow countryman with reluctant and exasperated affection.

I found the first part of the book interesting but it dragged a little. Once the plot takes off it became more engrossing and takes on more of a mystery type feel. Barnes’ characterization of the two men is interesting and he manages to make George sort of cold and difficult to like while still producing a feeling of indignation in the reader at his ill treatment. The narrative is written with an almost journalistic style, detached unidentified 3rd person, occasionally swooping in to give a closer view of each character’s internal life. I’m not sure I really liked this tone – I think it was a main reason I failed to engage with the first part of the book.

This is one of three books by Julian Barnes that has been shortlisted for the Booker prize and the writing is good. “The anchovy eggs were dispatched and Blanch Anson could sense the male restiveness farther down the table. They were eager for the curtained study, the poked fire, the lit cigar, the glass of brandy, and the opportunity, in as civilized a way as possible, to tear great lumps out of one another. She could scent, above the odours of the table, something primitive and brutal in the air. She rose, and bade the combatants good night.” This passage to me illustrates the richness of the descriptive prose, the undercurrent of mocking wit, and the “britishness” that I speak of above.

Overall, I would recommend it. If I could I would've given it 3 1/2 stars.
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Kelly rated it:

02/26/08

bookshelves: did-not-finish, fiction, truly-dreadful

Unfortunately, Mr. Barnes, I am afraid that I must decline to finish this novel. Not since attempting the Painted Veil a little while ago have I been so deceived in anyone. I will blame the pile of five star reviews for this, as well as a very clever publisher who created an intriguing 100 words to grab me on the back of the novel, and information given to me that you had written the geniunely quality A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters.

Did you just get lazy after that? Is this what sitt...more Unfortunately, Mr. Barnes, I am afraid that I must decline to finish this novel. Not since attempting the Painted Veil a little while ago have I been so deceived in anyone. I will blame the pile of five star reviews for this, as well as a very clever publisher who created an intriguing 100 words to grab me on the back of the novel, and information given to me that you had written the geniunely quality A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters.

Did you just get lazy after that? Is this what sitting on your laurels produces? Could you not see the screen properly when you were typing due to the awkward angle of said laurels? By the way, have you looked at them lately? They're in dire need of some watering, I should say.

I found your storytelling uninspired, to say the least, your characterization shallow, and you clearly have no idea of what the definition of the word "exposition" means, as I stopped reading at about page 200, and you still had not ceased with the sort of hurried, flat writing that is only excusable when one is trying to dispense necessary information and get to a point. You offered me hope once or twice with some sentences that sprang out of the dullness... and then disppointed me again. I found it all very off-putting, distancing... and there's really no excuse for that because it isn't as if your story itself didn't have the potential to be interesting. There's drama left and right to be found, issues that really should be addressed- nationalism, racism, delusions, the literary mind. But after mentioning that these situations are there, you move on and don't deal with them. And if you do, it is the most obvious way possible. And it isn't as if you didn't think up interesting situations- an Indian man in the Victorian working world, a wife's distressing illness, Arthur's interactions with literary lights of the day, the creation of one of the most famous characters in literature- Sherlock Holmes-... and you passed over all of it like it was nothing. You passed over them with just a sentence, just when I thought, "oooh, this should be good." Which is what I thought of your book before you oppressed my lunch hour reading with boredom and vapidity in this way.

So, in conclusion: I may try to finish this book someday, but I wouldn't hold out hope, Mr. Barnes. Get back up off the matt and really write again.

PS: "Ripping good yarn"? NYT, what are you smoking?
PPS: Robert, you were right. You may now gloat as much as you choose. This didn't inspire me to wrath like you, but it did inspire me to a genteel distaste, and a desire to bypass Barnes' name in Barnes (ironic) and Noble the next time I am there. I will listen to your wise counsel next time....less

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Helen rated it:

(review of isbn 0224078771)

01/30/08

bookshelves: historical-fiction

"I enjoyed this novel a lot, although it's rather oddly constructed. The first part of the book describes the early years of George Edalji, the son of a Parsi vicar and Scottish mother, and those of Arthur Conan Doyle. George becomes a solicitor, Arthur studies to become a doctor but of course it is as a writer that he makes his name. [return][return]Barnes paints a convincing and engrossing picture of middle-class Edwardian England (Arthur is married to tubercular Touie and must wait over ...more

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