Elizabeth Finch
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- Create Date：2022-03-20 09:51:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Julian Barnes
- ISBN：1787333930
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Summary
We'd like to introduce you to Elizabeth Finch。
We invite you to take her course in Culture and Civilisation。
Her ideas are not to everyone's taste。
But she will change the way you see the world。
'The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past。 And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected。'
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher， a thinker， an inspiration - always rigorous， always thoughtful。 With careful empathy， she guided her students to develop meaningful ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness。
As a former student unpacks her notebooks and remembers her uniquely inquisitive mind， her passion for reason resonates through the years。 Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past， and explore key events that show us how to make sense of our lives today。 And underpinning them all is the story of J - Julian the Apostate， her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us。
This is more than a novel。 It's a loving tribute to philosophy， a careful evaluation of history， an invitation to think for ourselves。 It's a moment to reflect and to gently explore our own theories and assumptions。 It is truly a balm for our times。
We invite you to take her course in Culture and Civilisation。
Her ideas are not to everyone's taste。
But she will change the way you see the world。
'The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past。 And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected。'
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher， a thinker， an inspiration - always rigorous， always thoughtful。 With careful empathy， she guided her students to develop meaningful ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness。
As a former student unpacks her notebooks and remembers her uniquely inquisitive mind， her passion for reason resonates through the years。 Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past， and explore key events that show us how to make sense of our lives today。 And underpinning them all is the story of J - Julian the Apostate， her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us。
This is more than a novel。 It's a loving tribute to philosophy， a careful evaluation of history， an invitation to think for ourselves。 It's a moment to reflect and to gently explore our own theories and assumptions。 It is truly a balm for our times。
Reviews
Sam
，
Julian Barnes has written many brilliant books。 This is not one of them。 It felt like he had some knowledge to impart and forgot the story。 I couldn't believe this was the same writer。 I only hope that this not the beginning of a decline for Barnes。 Julian Barnes has written many brilliant books。 This is not one of them。 It felt like he had some knowledge to impart and forgot the story。 I couldn't believe this was the same writer。 I only hope that this not the beginning of a decline for Barnes。 。。。more
Paromjit
，
A short philosophical novel that focuses on the need to constantly re-examine and re-evaluate what we think we know about history from Julian Barnes。 A former student， Neil， inherits the papers and library of the eponymous teacher， Elizabeth Finch， a rigorous， inspiring and charismatic teacher of the adult education course on Culture and Civilisation intent on teaching them to become independent thinkers。 Their unexpected relationship continued beyond the course with their intellectual lunches f A short philosophical novel that focuses on the need to constantly re-examine and re-evaluate what we think we know about history from Julian Barnes。 A former student， Neil， inherits the papers and library of the eponymous teacher， Elizabeth Finch， a rigorous， inspiring and charismatic teacher of the adult education course on Culture and Civilisation intent on teaching them to become independent thinkers。 Their unexpected relationship continued beyond the course with their intellectual lunches for over two decades， although she remained a distant， self contained and elusive presence。 He seeks to get to know Finch better through her papers which point to her obsession with Julian the Apostate， of whom there is a essay in the middle of this novel， from which can be charted the rise of Christianity in Europe。 Although not a read for everyone， it is an engaging enough read， thought provoking， although the section on Julian the Apostate was a little too dry for me， on the impact of history on the present， on memory， truth and how difficult it is to know a person。 Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC。 。。。more
Marie （UK）
，
This book defies categorisation。 Is it non-fiction trying to wrap itself up in fact or vice versa？ Part 2 was so mind-numbingly boring I very nearly put the book down。 Parts 1 and 3 were better but not enough to make me like this book or think it worthy of recommendation。 Elizabeth Finch and her besotted would be biographer were one-dimensional people。 The former had swallowed a dictionary of modern day adages。The only sentence in the book that made me sit up and take notice was "The world is po This book defies categorisation。 Is it non-fiction trying to wrap itself up in fact or vice versa？ Part 2 was so mind-numbingly boring I very nearly put the book down。 Parts 1 and 3 were better but not enough to make me like this book or think it worthy of recommendation。 Elizabeth Finch and her besotted would be biographer were one-dimensional people。 The former had swallowed a dictionary of modern day adages。The only sentence in the book that made me sit up and take notice was "The world is poorly ordered， because God created it by himseld。 He should have asked a few friends。" I think Barnes could have availed himself of the same advice。I cannot merit it more than 1 star and this is a shame because i usually love the wroting of Julian Barnes 。。。more
Ruth
，
Elizabeth Finch is a great character and at the start of this I was really engaged。 The middle of the book felt completely out of keeping and the end was a disappointment。 His musings on biography and Julian we're lost on me。 I wish the character study had gone somewhere more interesting。 Elizabeth Finch is a great character and at the start of this I was really engaged。 The middle of the book felt completely out of keeping and the end was a disappointment。 His musings on biography and Julian we're lost on me。 I wish the character study had gone somewhere more interesting。 。。。more
Keith Currie
，
ApostateA narrator， who reveals little about himself attempts to reveal all he can about his teacher， the charismatic and idiosyncratic Elizabeth Finch。 For all her teaching prowess she has published little and guards her private life assiduously。 Her passion however is for Rome’s last pagan emperor， the man who attempted to stop Christianity in its tracks， the man known as Julian the Apostate。These three， a narrator whose family call him the man who never completes a task， the college lecturer ApostateA narrator， who reveals little about himself attempts to reveal all he can about his teacher， the charismatic and idiosyncratic Elizabeth Finch。 For all her teaching prowess she has published little and guards her private life assiduously。 Her passion however is for Rome’s last pagan emperor， the man who attempted to stop Christianity in its tracks， the man known as Julian the Apostate。These three， a narrator whose family call him the man who never completes a task， the college lecturer who never writes her book on Julian， the emperor who failed in his ambition to render Christianity an irrelevant dead end， all dominate this short novel。 We learn tantalisingly little about Elizabeth Finch， less about the narrator， and a lot of Christian calumny but little hard fact about the emperor。 A brief work this， perhaps the product of a Lockdown interest， it asks many questions， proposes various possibilities， but in the end settles for provocation rather than revelation。 。。。more
Tony S
，
To be honest I normally love Julian Barnes however this book I suspect you will either love or hate。 It is split into three parts and the first and the last are good and the sort of read I like from the author however the second part I found boring and almost like a flight of fancy from the author and to be honest I skim read most of part two。For me a very disappointing book。
Sophie
，
I sometimes wonder how biographers do it: make a life， a living life， a glowing life， a coherent life out of all that circumstantial， contradictory and missing evidence。 They must feel like Julian on campaign with his retinue of diviners。 The Etruscans tell him this; the philosophers tell him that; the gods speak， the oracles are silent or obscure; the dreams alarm him this way， his visions propel him that way， the animals’ viscera are ambivalent; the sky says this， the dust storm and the adv I sometimes wonder how biographers do it: make a life， a living life， a glowing life， a coherent life out of all that circumstantial， contradictory and missing evidence。 They must feel like Julian on campaign with his retinue of diviners。 The Etruscans tell him this; the philosophers tell him that; the gods speak， the oracles are silent or obscure; the dreams alarm him this way， his visions propel him that way， the animals’ viscera are ambivalent; the sky says this， the dust storm and the advisory thunderbolt insist otherwise。 Where is the truth， where is the way forward？ Or maybe consistent narrative is a delusion， as is trying to reconcile conflicting judgements。 Maybe you could equally account for someone by a mere list of snagging， indicative facts。 。。。more
Alyson
，
I've previous enjoyed Julian Barnes novels so was intrigued to read this one。It begins as Neil is taking an adult education class - his teacher is the enigmatic Miss Finch。 The first section of the book deal with these classes and the relationship between the students and Miss Finch， between the students themselves and the between the students and the materials they are covering。 Thus far I coped and was intrigued by Miss Finch， but the second part of the book dives in the history of Julian the I've previous enjoyed Julian Barnes novels so was intrigued to read this one。It begins as Neil is taking an adult education class - his teacher is the enigmatic Miss Finch。 The first section of the book deal with these classes and the relationship between the students and Miss Finch， between the students themselves and the between the students and the materials they are covering。 Thus far I coped and was intrigued by Miss Finch， but the second part of the book dives in the history of Julian the Apostate， which Neil believes is central to the message Elizabeth Finch was trying to get across to them。 In the final section of the book Neil is back， making connections with those students from the early days and still trying to decide what it was that made Miss Finch so special。 I have to say， while I enjoyed the relationships with the Miss Finch， the middle section was too dry and too philosophical for me and I lost focus。 My fault probably， but I didn't enjoy this novel nearly as much as I have Barnes's previous works。 With thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK， Vintage for the early copy。 。。。more
Kerry
，
Barnes has a style， of course， but this novel reminded me， very， very much， of The Sense of an Ending in that the idea tackles memory and men looking back on their lives with a sense of yearning or disappointment。 OK， fine。 This time the character， Neil， remembers a course tutor， Elizabeth Finch， whom he remembers for her opinions and general influence on his life。 Where I think the yawnability factor kicked in， for me， was the repeated description by EF of Julian the Apostate's life and death - Barnes has a style， of course， but this novel reminded me， very， very much， of The Sense of an Ending in that the idea tackles memory and men looking back on their lives with a sense of yearning or disappointment。 OK， fine。 This time the character， Neil， remembers a course tutor， Elizabeth Finch， whom he remembers for her opinions and general influence on his life。 Where I think the yawnability factor kicked in， for me， was the repeated description by EF of Julian the Apostate's life and death - a cathartic moment where she is concerned for its effect on history， in her opinion。 I know that the characters， Neil included， seem to be trying to make sense of what she says in relation to their own lives， and I read it that Barnes is （yet again） making some philosophical point about life and death generally， but I did find myself floating off several times。It's a novel I think you need to concentrate on， which， I'd say， is what Barnes intended， but if you're in the wrong frame of mind it can be a bit of a tedious read。My thanks to Netgalley for the pre-read。 。。。more
gabby 。__。
，
i love julian barnes okay， and i appreciate the formal experimentation of this book。 it's part philosophy， part love letter to critical thinking， part biography of julian the apostate and the titular elizabeth finch。 but i just couldn't bring myself to fully enjoy it。 it's not for everyone -- that said， i love its uniqueness though it didn't quite hit the mark。i really vibed with the first third -- e。f。 （as the narrator calls her） is a wonderful character brought to life。 i think everyone's had i love julian barnes okay， and i appreciate the formal experimentation of this book。 it's part philosophy， part love letter to critical thinking， part biography of julian the apostate and the titular elizabeth finch。 but i just couldn't bring myself to fully enjoy it。 it's not for everyone -- that said， i love its uniqueness though it didn't quite hit the mark。i really vibed with the first third -- e。f。 （as the narrator calls her） is a wonderful character brought to life。 i think everyone's had a similar experience of being utterly charmed and inspired by one of their professors。 the way she argues is just so filled with clarity that i felt like i was in the lecture hall too。the rest of the book i really struggled with。 there's a long essay on julian the apostate， but i lost the argument and got a little dizzy by the end。 i enjoyed the first bit of it， but it meandered and meandered to a seemingly lackluster conclusion。 thank you to netgalley， the publishers and the author for the arc of this book！ 。。。more
Debby
，
If you’ve read Julian Barnes before， then you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect from his books， and Elizabeth Finch fits squarely within the mould of his recent oeuvre。 The eponymous Elizabeth Finch teaches a course to mature students on the subject of ‘Culture and Civilisation，’ and the reader is introduced to her through the narrator， Neil， who is a student in her class inspired and captivated by her teaching and with whom she becomes unlikely friends。Finch is presented as a Soc If you’ve read Julian Barnes before， then you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect from his books， and Elizabeth Finch fits squarely within the mould of his recent oeuvre。 The eponymous Elizabeth Finch teaches a course to mature students on the subject of ‘Culture and Civilisation，’ and the reader is introduced to her through the narrator， Neil， who is a student in her class inspired and captivated by her teaching and with whom she becomes unlikely friends。Finch is presented as a Socratic thinker firmly stuck in the past and by that， I mean， not someone who can’t accept change or looks back nostalgically at eras past， but someone who looks to history to answer the questions of the present。 Finch taught her class that humans are determined by their history， but that history is a discourse that is active， mutable， and should be investigated and always questioned。 Neil’s friendship with Finch continues for years after the course has ended and upon her death， he is left her papers and library。 As their conversations were usually limited to intellectual musings， Neil hopes to discover more about her elusive personal life， however， her papers consist mostly of research that she has undertaken on Julian the Apostate。 Now， we have been on pretty solid Barnes ground already， but this is when you know you are firmly in Barnes territory， as he does tend to frame his narratives around a historical male figure: Arthur Conan Doyle， Shostakovich， Samuel Jean-Pozzi， Flaubert。 I’m not mad about it， it gets pretty intellectually heavy in these sections， but I enjoyed the discussions raised by this study of Julian， particularly regarding the foundations of Christianity as an oppressive monotheistic religion without a civilisation behind it。 It was interesting how Barnes connects these discussions with modern Britain and what the country would have been like if churches had been less monotheistic and oppressive， contemplating how British people would have mixed more freely and whiteness would not have been a supposed indicator of superiority。 Barnes also reflects on Julian’s posthumous reputation and influence throughout history。 A precursor to enlightenment thinking， his name was common currency throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries， but there are vastly different versions of him， and his ideas， represented in politics and art。 This middle section is slow and challenging and I would have preferred it if the information about Julian had been broken up and interspersed more within the main narrative。The question of reputation does connect back to Elizabeth Finch’s story eventually， as Neil realises through discussions with her brother and his other classmates， that he knew only a fraction of her， and a repeated refrain throughout the novel is ‘some things are up to us and some things are not up to us’ – there are few things that we can determine and control about ourselves and how we are perceived by others， because people look at us in different ways to how we look at ourselves。Ultimately this is a post-modern exploration （I mean， what Barnes book isn’t？） into the unreliability of historical representation， the effects of history on the present， and the impossibility of truly knowing someone。 I thoroughly enjoy reading Barnes as it makes me question and rethink previously held ideas; I appreciate the challenges of his work and always look forward to his new books。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
©hrissie ❁ Wor（l）ds*Of*Wonders [on semi-hiatus]
，
Barnes， Barnes， Barnes。 You really do know what you’re doing， don’t you？ This is beyond annoying – at one level。 Why？ Because I genuinely had every intention not to particularly like Elizabeth Finch – Part Two！ Why put your devoted readers through Part Two？ – but there is just so much Barnes for the Barnes reader that it still ends up being irresistible。 （Too much of him might also be the thing to note here。）Him？ Isn't it Elizabeth Finch's story？ Well， yes， it is。 But all you need to know is tha Barnes， Barnes， Barnes。 You really do know what you’re doing， don’t you？ This is beyond annoying – at one level。 Why？ Because I genuinely had every intention not to particularly like Elizabeth Finch – Part Two！ Why put your devoted readers through Part Two？ – but there is just so much Barnes for the Barnes reader that it still ends up being irresistible。 （Too much of him might also be the thing to note here。）Him？ Isn't it Elizabeth Finch's story？ Well， yes， it is。 But all you need to know is that she is one very idiosyncratic lecturer and intellectual， teaching Culture and Civilisation – no less！ – and made known to the reader through one of her adult students， Neil。 The rest， is 'history'。Let’s proceed， therefore， with some problematic ‘conclusions’， as opposed to ‘narratives’ – this being one of the solid recurring concepts and features of his fiction。First: that Barnes's Elizabeth Finch is， in and of itself， an act of interpretation。 Not unlike his other fiction， for that matter。What kind of interpretation， you ask？ A seemingly absurd， highly experimental one， at that。 One that was bound to ‘make a noise’。 Okay， I will tell you， because its seeds are meticulously planted in Part One， in any case。 And， this is Barnes: so irresistibly taken by his counterintuitive conception of history。 Actually， so much so that he works his entire narrative around the concept that ‘getting history wrong’ is just what the ‘crooked timber of humanity’ does; it is our speciality， if you will。 Therefore， by testing a hypothesis – an alternative to the rise of Christianity – that would have paganism prevail， this text in turn gives rise to a calm sense of disillusionment and disappointment that is so typical of Barnes。 Needless to say， the wryness and bluntness are all there。 What of this history， on a purely historical level？ It is， quite simply， that history arrives to us as always and necessarily an interpretation – an interpretation by the people。 A Barnes reader knows this， but here what we get is the Barnes-historian， doing research and interpreting his findings around the idea of monotheism – and all its counterparts – as the disaster of civilisation。 One could argue that it was only a matter of time。 He had to do this。 There is， in fact， something in the incongruity between Parts One and Two （and the coming together of both in Part Three） that is blatantly deliberate。 I would venture to say that it relates to Barnes's ultimate project: that of to some extent disqualifying or contradicting itself， thereby revealing the overarching principle of paradox in and of history – the inexorability of it。 It’s a do-a-double-take move for the reader。 Much of Part Two is simply repulsive。 And yet the logic of it is not defective。 Barnes also has fun with it， of course。 Julian the Apostate: he dismantles him！Second: he really， quite literally， dismantles Julian the Apostate！ What’s up with that？ Well， I will say that it is fairly impossible not to register a pronounced element of self-importance in this text。 It is， however， counteracted and problematised in more ways than one。 The narrator， Neil， is a bit of a loser: far inferior to and in awe of the stoic Elizabeth Finch， his lecturer from times past， with whom he stays in touch until he can no longer do so。 I would say that there is， in this sense， a sort of displacement of self-importance， though it is by no means complete。 The narrative proceeds， almost entirely， on Elizabeth Finch’s terms。 But why？ You might well ask that question。 Because， as you will find out， the fascination between student-lecturer does lead to certain fairly reasonable fantasies that rework the dynamics of the story， or suggest that other perspectives ought to be taken into account - the primary filter being ineluctably defective。 Also， Neil takes great pains to specify， time and time again， that ‘This is not [his] story’。 Another time he states: 'In my case - but my case isn't relevant。' Yet again: 'This is not my story， as I may have mentioned。' Barnes knows。 He knows that he is pushing it。 With all the ‘Julian’ talk。 Is it all self-importance and postmodernist self-referentiality？Third: and， is it all， merely， a Myth？ Is that all there is？While capturing the immanent contradictoriness of history， as well as its inconsistencies and ultimate inventiveness， Barnes also questions the mythologising tendencies of the human， and the human’s relations to other humans。 Is EF， as he tends to call Elizabeth Finch throughout the narrative， merely a myth？ 'I sometimes get confused between memory and research’， he admits towards the end of the narrative。 There is definitely a painstaking effort to intensify contrasts and polarities， formally and otherwise。 It is， moreover， excruciatingly painful for Neil to allow such an idea – EF， a myth！ – to seep through。 EF， the one person in his life who inspired in him some level of openness; who gave him ‘an idea to follow’， and follow through。 He， the King of Unfinished Projects！Is it all on EF？ How much of it is （self）constructed？ These are some of EF's preferred topics， to be fair: artificiality and authenticity。 And， well， there is much to be said about her。 Perhaps， the time has come for one important endorsement: I absolutely love Elizabeth Finch。 There， I have said it。 I love everything she represents。 The quiet yet passionate life led within the walls of a wholly unassuming apartment。 The life of the independent mind， perhaps a tad （no， scratch that – profoundly） exiled， but never completely so。 Her calm-and-collected stance。 Her lucidity。 The fact that she matter-of-factly and effortlessly opens up spaces for the inconsistencies of human nature， and affords no judgement。 Her directness of vision， and – why not？ – also her apartness， her quirkiness， and her hidden vulnerabilities。 Not to mention， her system of belief。 Oh， there we go: that myth we were talking about just a minute ago。 Mythologising literary characters！Which reminds me: I have， quite frankly， warmed up to Barnes’s at times eccentric or unpopular character choices。 Yes， even the protagonist， who is rarely presented as the ideal candidate to make head or tail of events， but is one who – probably out of boredom or some concealed desire – is willing to take the time and explore the implications of the said events。 There is also an aloneness about Barnes’ characters， usually unmarried or with a bunch of marriage failures to look back on， that I am drawn to。 It is not uncommon for the isolated protagonist， following a trail in his ‘exploration’， to contact an old acquaintance out of the blue， and re-establish a sense of momentary though awkward intimacy。 Some kind of fleeting connection。 And – this is important – it occurs through a piece of writing。 Notebooks， this time around， that lead to more writing， and the usual emailing。 Contact tracing， we could say。 What else？***Barnes’s vision is ultimately one that I find interesting， almost against my better judgement （that is， the judgement of the heart）。 He does things with literature that make me stop and think。 It is a literature that knows itself to be 'mere dispersal'， 'merely an assembly of fragments'。 There is everlasting passion there – think of how he develops the hypothesis of ‘Apostasy’！ – and yet: ‘maybe a consistent narrative is a delusion， as is trying to reconcile conflicting judgements。' Stoicism or cynicism？ What would the compromise between the two look like？ The tentative answer to that， I would say， is dissimulated in the complex movements of this text。 I feel that readers of Barnes should definitely look into this and make up their own mind about it。 Fair warning: it might test your love for him。 （Could he really be testing our loyalty？ I wonder。） But you do have to read it。Thanks go to NetGalley， publisher， and author for this one special ARC。 All thoughts expressed here are my own。 。。。more
Peter Willoughby
，
Another excellent book by Julian Barnes。Elizabeth Finch is an enigmatic lecturer who the narrator falls in love with。 The love is what I would call Platonic love， but he calls Romantic-Stoic。The other main protagonist in this novel is Julian the Apostate， and it is not easy to see how these would fit together， but the master story blender does it almost seamlessly， and I wasn’t exactly sure how they fitted together until the last paragraph of the book。It is a multi-layered book， by that I mean t Another excellent book by Julian Barnes。Elizabeth Finch is an enigmatic lecturer who the narrator falls in love with。 The love is what I would call Platonic love， but he calls Romantic-Stoic。The other main protagonist in this novel is Julian the Apostate， and it is not easy to see how these would fit together， but the master story blender does it almost seamlessly， and I wasn’t exactly sure how they fitted together until the last paragraph of the book。It is a multi-layered book， by that I mean that it can be read as a simple tale or you can search for the deep meaningfulness within it。Julian is one of the most erudite authors I read， and probably the only one that could make such a novel work， but it certainly worked for me。I will be reading the book again and will probably find some things that I missed first time。I read this book in two sittings， but if not started late at night it can be managed in one。 I have read most of Julian’s novels， and after reading this one I will go back and read some of the ones that I have not yet read， and wait patiently for his next！My thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy for honest review。 。。。more
Debra Davidson-Smith
，
This book took me by surprise – It delves into philosophy， alternative histories， psychology， and love， which would all normally be massive ticks from me， but it has been written as two sections of fiction set either side of a lengthy academic factual essay on Julian the Apostate。 So， just as I was getting really interested in the character and story of the narrator and his inspirational teacher Elizabeth Finch， I was forced to read through a lengthy biography of an ancient Roman emperor。 Yes， i This book took me by surprise – It delves into philosophy， alternative histories， psychology， and love， which would all normally be massive ticks from me， but it has been written as two sections of fiction set either side of a lengthy academic factual essay on Julian the Apostate。 So， just as I was getting really interested in the character and story of the narrator and his inspirational teacher Elizabeth Finch， I was forced to read through a lengthy biography of an ancient Roman emperor。 Yes， it’s well written and well researched but I found the imposition of this lengthy middle section frustrating and quite tedious。 If Barnes wanted to write in such detail about Julian the Apostate， he should have done this as a factual biography of the man and not tried to dress it up as a novel。I get that Julian the Apostate is a means to investigate the ‘what ifs’ of history， and the ‘what if Christianity had never triumphed’ is a really fascinating one， but I feel the theme could have been handled in a far more accessible way。 I felt disappointed that what had started out so well for me， with the story of an older man looking back on his time with an influential teacher， suddenly ground to a halt in the middle section。 So， although there were sections that I found fascinating and thought provoking， overall I found it too much of a challenge to stay engaged throughout。 With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review。 。。。more
Sid Nuncius
，
Elizabeth Finch turned into something of a tedious slog for me。 The book begins with a portrait of an inspirational teacher and scholar， the eponymous “EF”。 When Neil， the narrator， is left all EF’s papers in her will， he tries to form a view of her and to “honour” her by producing a dissertation on Julian The Apostate， whom EF plainly found fascinating。 This “essay” makes up the middle third of the book and is an undiluted scholarly treatise。 The framing sections begin by introducing EF very we Elizabeth Finch turned into something of a tedious slog for me。 The book begins with a portrait of an inspirational teacher and scholar， the eponymous “EF”。 When Neil， the narrator， is left all EF’s papers in her will， he tries to form a view of her and to “honour” her by producing a dissertation on Julian The Apostate， whom EF plainly found fascinating。 This “essay” makes up the middle third of the book and is an undiluted scholarly treatise。 The framing sections begin by introducing EF very well， but deliberately leave her as an enigma so the character really becomes a mouthpiece for some recondite quotations and a lot of Julian Barnes’s aphorisms。As a dissertation it’s well written and plainly very well researched， with some reflections on the unreliability of history， the sometimes crushing dominance of Christianity on European thought since Julian’s time， theological and philosophical discussions and so on。 However， if that’s what I’d wanted， I’d have read a scholarly work on Julian。 I’m all for intellectual rigour and serious thought and ideas in novels， but I do want them to be novels。 This dresses itself up as one， but it isn’t really。 I had the distinct feeling （as I sometimes have before in Julian Barnes’s work） that he crossed the line from intellectual depth to plain showing off， and that the character of EF is often just a vehicle for that。A friend of mine has said that she finds Barnes’s novels “self-important for no good reason”。 I think that’s at least partly the case here。 He plainly wanted to write a book about Julian but hasn’t been successful in turning that desire into a novel。 I’m sure that many critics will rave over the book’s brilliance but it didn’t do much for me。（My thanks to Jonathan Cape for an ARC via NetGalley。） 。。。more
Mr Rick Forncett
，
This wasn't quite the fictional novel that I'd expected。 It is well written of course but without much drama or action taking place。 The three sectioned format with the history essay in the middle really didn't appeal to me I'm afraid。 This wasn't quite the fictional novel that I'd expected。 It is well written of course but without much drama or action taking place。 The three sectioned format with the history essay in the middle really didn't appeal to me I'm afraid。 。。。more
Alexa
，
Although I appreciate the style of this book and what is intending to achieve， it is really not for me at the moment。 I received a copy from NetGalley which I requested， having read Julian Barnes’ work before， but I’m afraid I just didn’t appreciate this just now。 I am sure that others， more ready and able to follow the themes and thought processes will find it much more to their tastes。
Clarisa Butler
，
Julian Barnes's "Elizabeth Finch" （EF） has been an intriguing read; a novel of subtle humour， serious political intent and what I see as an ultimate tribute to AB。 It is a book not always easy to stick to as the middle of the three sections in which it is divided， the meatier， is a draft （so not yet perfectly organised） of a possible essay on the late Roman emperor Julian （AD 331-336）。This is the story， as told by Neil， of what happened when Elizabeth Finch， historian and university lecturer （me Julian Barnes's "Elizabeth Finch" （EF） has been an intriguing read; a novel of subtle humour， serious political intent and what I see as an ultimate tribute to AB。 It is a book not always easy to stick to as the middle of the three sections in which it is divided， the meatier， is a draft （so not yet perfectly organised） of a possible essay on the late Roman emperor Julian （AD 331-336）。This is the story， as told by Neil， of what happened when Elizabeth Finch， historian and university lecturer （met in his 30s when he went back to university and with whom he maintained thereafter an admiring friendship） died bequeathing her library and papers to him。 Notes， quotes， thoughts。。。 EF''s papers are witness to a wide-ranging mind interested in ideas， historical and philosophical， and the connections （obviously） from historical fact to historical assessment and reassessment。。。 Amongst them， a number relate to Julian the Apostate， a historical figure who， after Constantine， wanted to reassess the role of Christianity as the state religion and who through the centuries has been invoked in different situations and for different purposes。 Our narrator is spurred by the actuality of EF's bequest to try to understand two things: who was EF and why was the figure of Julian of interest to her。 The narrator's admiration and love for EF is equal （in fact it is expressed in exactly the same words） as the one Julian Barnes himself felt for the art historian and （later） novelist Anita Brookner （AB） ‘There was no one remotely like her’ is a quote both from the novel at hand and from an article he wrote for the Guardian （https://www。theguardian。com/books/201。。。） when AB died， and only one of a number of vignettes which can be traced to comments made by JB about his real friendship with the very real AB。 So， if EF is a fictional character， whereas Julian the Apostate isn't， the fact that EF is very clearly and openly （the many quotes are exact） inspired in a real character， AB， who actually represented at least to JB's qualities of stoicism， clarity of mind， seriousness of purpose that are at the core of the novel， embodied in both EF and J and that Neil strives for。。。。 the whole novel is thus an exploration of exemplars， that of the ethical intellectual woman， a contemporary personally known， and that of the ethical intellectual emperor， the historical figure invoked， studied， fictionalised through the centuries。 The interest of exemplars， of THESE exemplars in particular， is what makes the novel ambitious and interesting。 Clearly， Barnes is worried about the standards of public and personal discourse， the lack of knowledge and poverty of analysis devoted to the problems （political， ethical。。。） at hand， and the ever diminishing possibilities of open discussion in relation to them （the conflict of the EF narrative is pointedly defined as "The Shaming"）。 I will admit to the novel shaming me （or spurring me！！） into thinking that I should know and think more as that would definitely make me a better， more civilised， person and citizen。 All in all， an extremely interesting writing （and reading！） artifact which does give some real pleasure and loads of food for thought。 I am grateful to Penguin via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy。 。。。more
Belinda Mitchell-Innes
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I read this over two days and was constantly wanting to get back to it。 By the end I am awestruck at the quality of Julian Banes writing and his scholarship。He uses the tripartite device he used in ‘Levels of Life’。 to create a structure allowing us to examine ideas and preconceptions in a nonheated version。 Constantly changing and shifting the view/context to encourage a greater sense of ‘I hadn’t thought about it like that before。The first and third sections focus on the life of Elizabeth Finc I read this over two days and was constantly wanting to get back to it。 By the end I am awestruck at the quality of Julian Banes writing and his scholarship。He uses the tripartite device he used in ‘Levels of Life’。 to create a structure allowing us to examine ideas and preconceptions in a nonheated version。 Constantly changing and shifting the view/context to encourage a greater sense of ‘I hadn’t thought about it like that before。The first and third sections focus on the life of Elizabeth Finch， the narrator’s perception of her and the final section shows how other saw her。 Elizabeth Finch is an incredible construct， she is as credible and as magnetic as Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy Barton or the McPherson brothers in Kent Haruf’s Plainsong trilogy。I must admit I’m a bit of a nerd， so I really enjoyed the middle section and the long essay on Julian the Apostate。 Fantastic。 In this section he creates an incredible feat of writing。 It’s thought provoking and informative。 The potential of an alternative world in which the alliance of Christianity and state had not happened。On top of this you get quite a lot of philosophy！ That makes it sound as if it is dry as a bone。 It certainly isn’t。 The writing is luminous， the characters are immensely appealing and human， and you are constantly bombarded with new things to think about and take on board。 Julian Barnes creates an important sense of truth and questioning in a fictional novel。 I really enjoyed this and would heartily recommend it。 In fact， although I received a free copy via NetGalley I will be buying copies for friends when it is published。 。。。more
Brian
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Elizabeth Finch consists of three loosely-connected parts。 The first is a description of the eponymous Ms Finch， a lecturer at an unspecified institution of higher education for whom the narrator， also called Julian （Oho！ what’s he doing here？） a middle-aged， divorced actor whose career is on the slide， develops an intellectual crush。 From this portrait， the narrator （and possibly the author， too） seems to expect us to find her as fascinating as he does。 Unfortunately， I must confess I found her Elizabeth Finch consists of three loosely-connected parts。 The first is a description of the eponymous Ms Finch， a lecturer at an unspecified institution of higher education for whom the narrator， also called Julian （Oho！ what’s he doing here？） a middle-aged， divorced actor whose career is on the slide， develops an intellectual crush。 From this portrait， the narrator （and possibly the author， too） seems to expect us to find her as fascinating as he does。 Unfortunately， I must confess I found her annoying， supercilious and glib。After her death， Elizabeth leaves the narrator all her papers and from a few hints in a notebook he discerns a posthumous injunction to examine the life of the fourth-century Roman emperor who was his namesake。 There follows a longer second section in the form of an extended essay on Julian the Apostate and his failed attempt to reverse the Christianization of the Roman empire – the moment when history took a wrong turn in the narrator’s opinion。 This eventually gives way to a brief final section of speculation about formative incidents in Elizabeth Finch’s life。It's an exploration of identity， both personal and historical， and no doubt some readers will find that intriguing。 However， I’m afraid this is my idea of a really bad novel。 Formless and hectoring， lacking in any drama， indeed almost bereft of incident， it seems to me to be little more than an exercise in self-indulgence。 。。。more
Lucie
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I was really enjoying this until part two。。。3。5
Theediscerning
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"I doubt there are too many people interested in the answer to that question。" Now that is more of the throwaway remark by our author/narrator， originally in relation to his life and what he got out of it。 But it might just as well refer to the question of the book itself， and its other main， nay title， character。 Our guy， Neil， is a mature student on some graduate-level history course or other， and is fascinated with his quietly， unshowily， enigmatic tutor。 What she says in class， what leading "I doubt there are too many people interested in the answer to that question。" Now that is more of the throwaway remark by our author/narrator， originally in relation to his life and what he got out of it。 But it might just as well refer to the question of the book itself， and its other main， nay title， character。 Our guy， Neil， is a mature student on some graduate-level history course or other， and is fascinated with his quietly， unshowily， enigmatic tutor。 What she says in class， what leading questions she puts into her note-free lectures， all fascinate the small coterie of friends he has on the course， but she is ever unknowable。 Until things conspire to be different – Neil asks her out socially at the end of the course， they bond three times a year or so over a quiet little pasta meal and much erudite conversation， and in the end， when she dies， her documents and books and papers are handed down to him。 Will he find anything to 'solve' her？What he will find is the impetus to finish his coursework off – partly the reason for the meals in the first place is that he never did。 And so we get his academic paper as the middle chunk of this book。 And we find the subject of this academic paper， who I won't bother to name however many other reviewers have not thought it a spoiler， is of note to the whole proceedings not because he disagreed with the early Christians when it comes to beards and hygiene， but because he could blame said early Christians for homogenising sexuality。I mean the end of part one kind of killed off all surprises about the title character， but that and the essay about him kind of make the entire two thirds redundant。 And that of a book I had long been skipping – the waffle she'd been spouting in class of no interest to me whatsoever。 That's by far the biggest hurdle this book has – it is written by someone very erudite for people very erudite， and hang the bloody rest of us。 And so， however much we kind of agree with the moral – the world was a better one with paganism and a pantheon and no hetero mono-sexuality in sight – this is a moral given in the most dry， stilted， grey fashion。 This has no more pizazz to it than Finch's skirts gained when she added a jumbo safety pin to them， as they did in the 1970s。 There has always been a case to be said that Alan Bennett is the only homosexual the elderly Daily Mail reader dare to allow their approval。 This seems to be the only case for rampant 'be and shag who you want to'-ness suitable for the fuddy old academic Gentlemen's Club。 It's the dullest， most conservative plea for pansexuality you might imagine， and it really isn't at all entertaining as a result。 One and a half stars。 。。。more
Thomas Vos
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Een extra ster als hij op de valreep dat tweede hoofdstuk wat inkort。 Lees je mee， Julian？
Laura Spira
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I found this book disappointing。 It seemed to me that Julian Barnes had long cherished a desire to write about this other Julian， the emperor known as Julian the Apostate， and decided to wrap a biographical essay into a novel， using Elizabeth Finch， an unusual academic， as a device。The first section is a relatively straightforward account of the narrator's relationship with an inspiring lecturer。 Had I wanted to read a biography of Julian the Apostate I would have sought out other sources and I I found this book disappointing。 It seemed to me that Julian Barnes had long cherished a desire to write about this other Julian， the emperor known as Julian the Apostate， and decided to wrap a biographical essay into a novel， using Elizabeth Finch， an unusual academic， as a device。The first section is a relatively straightforward account of the narrator's relationship with an inspiring lecturer。 Had I wanted to read a biography of Julian the Apostate I would have sought out other sources and I found the central section of the book tedious because I wanted to know more about Elizabeth。 However the final section illuminated very little， which seemed possibly to align with the intention of the book which I’m afraid I didn’t understand。 The speculation about Elizabeth's Jewishness involved some gratuitous stereotyping and seemed irrelevant。 The opacity of her life could have been emphasised in other ways。Using fiction to consider the problem of historical truth and the difficulty of constructing biography could have been interesting but this reader prefers fiction with interesting characters and none of these were， even Elizabeth。 Reading an electronic version made it impossible to see what bits of text were quotations but some of that was probably intentional in the context of a memoirist sifting through a personal archive。Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC 。。。more
Heidi Drake
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A gripping narrative， or should that be set of narratives， that I devoured in one day。 I thoroughly enjoyed the explorations of story telling and mythology and how that contributes to individual and cultural identity。 Amongst all the high philosophy and classical history， however， there were real characters。 And I found myself almost as taken with Elizabeth Finch as the narrator was。 The reader is left to construct Elizabeth。 Rarely hearing from her herself and this contributes further to the ex A gripping narrative， or should that be set of narratives， that I devoured in one day。 I thoroughly enjoyed the explorations of story telling and mythology and how that contributes to individual and cultural identity。 Amongst all the high philosophy and classical history， however， there were real characters。 And I found myself almost as taken with Elizabeth Finch as the narrator was。 The reader is left to construct Elizabeth。 Rarely hearing from her herself and this contributes further to the exploration of narrative and how it creates reality（ies）。I will be adding this to my A Level reading lists。 。。。more
Neil
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Well， this was unexpected: a writer called Julian writes about a man called Julian and uses a protagonist called Neil while I， also called Neil， read。 While I can see that the “Neil reads Neil” bit is coincidental， I am not so sure about the “Julian writes Julian” side of things: is that coincidence or is Mr Barnes trying to tell us something by including a long factual essay about Julian the Apostate？ I’m not sure I can answer that question。The factual essay forms the central part of this book Well， this was unexpected: a writer called Julian writes about a man called Julian and uses a protagonist called Neil while I， also called Neil， read。 While I can see that the “Neil reads Neil” bit is coincidental， I am not so sure about the “Julian writes Julian” side of things: is that coincidence or is Mr Barnes trying to tell us something by including a long factual essay about Julian the Apostate？ I’m not sure I can answer that question。The factual essay forms the central part of this book and is sandwiched between two more “normal” fiction sections。 These two parts of the book are very reminiscent of Barnes’ previous novels “The Sense of an Ending” and “The Only Story” as an older man looks back on his slightly disappointing life and a person who had a major influence on him。 In all these three books it seems to that the narrator recognises limitations of memory whilst trying to understand a person better and recognising that this is， in many ways， an effort that can never truly succeed。The influential person here is the titular Elizabeth Finch who taught Neil when he attended a course called “Culture and Civilisation”。 The opening section， the best bit of the book for me， gives us a fascinating portrait of Elizabeth Finch （Neil always calls her by her full name or by her initials， EF）。 She’s a memorable character with， as the book blurb suggests， challenging views。The central essay of the book concerns Julian the Apostate and I have to acknowledge that I found this dull to read， although it is probably central to what Barnes is doing。 Elizabeth Finch describes the death of Julian the Apostate as ”the moment history went wrong” （this is repeated several times to make sure we notice it） and Neil， like others of Barnes’ narrators， is looking for clues to this moment in his own life。 There is a repeated phrase in the book where ”Getting its history wrong is part of being a…” and you can end that phrase with nation （a quote from Ernest Renan）， family， religion or， crucially， person。 This links to the ideas about false memory。For me， this is a better book when I sit down after reading it and think about it than it was during the actual reading。 。。。more
Meike
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Wow， Julian Barnes: This edgy， challenging， formally experimental novel doesn't exactly aim to be a crowd pleaser， and I respect that。 Told as a retrospective， our narrator Neil depicts how he， when he was in his-mid-thirties， attended a class on "Culture and Civilization" that was specifically aimed at grown-ups。 His rigorous teacher was the title-giving Elizabeth Finch， with whom he developed an unusual friendship。 After her death， Neil inherits her notes， and starts writing。。。her biography？ H Wow， Julian Barnes: This edgy， challenging， formally experimental novel doesn't exactly aim to be a crowd pleaser， and I respect that。 Told as a retrospective， our narrator Neil depicts how he， when he was in his-mid-thirties， attended a class on "Culture and Civilization" that was specifically aimed at grown-ups。 His rigorous teacher was the title-giving Elizabeth Finch， with whom he developed an unusual friendship。 After her death， Neil inherits her notes， and starts writing。。。her biography？ His autobiography？ The biography of Julian the Apostate？Elizabeth Finch， as Neil describes her， took a Socratic approach to teaching， involving her students in debates， and she deeply believed that Greek and Roman history and culture still influence people living today。 Neil calls the distant， composed， discrete teacher whom he then proceeded to meet for regular lunch dates for more than 20 years， a "Romantic Stoic"; much about her life has remained unknown to him， so he sets out to investigate with the help of the notebooks she left behind， her brother Christopher and some other of her former students。 Now that description might make it seem as if Barnes straight up tells us a story， but that would be way too easy and， furthermore， it wouldn't illustrate the point he is trying to make。 So Barnes gives us a semi-structured narrative from an， as Neil himself professes， unreliable narrator， intersects it with many， many notes quoted from Elizabeth's notebooks， and then tops it off by turning the whole middle section of the book， a substantive chunk of the novel， into a paper on Julian the Apostate which Neil writes because he had failed to do so back in Finch's class。 While Barnes' latest effort， the fantastic The Man in the Red Coat， was a history-heavy ode to past scientific and cultural exchanges between the UK and continental Europe， "Elizabeth Finch" ponders the relationship between ancient history and average people， and how we can learn to think about and grasp the world by trying to understand the people we have lost， be it the famous Julian or the infamous Elizabeth。 "The Man。。。" required a decent amount of focus to process its content， but "Elizabeth Finch" really pushes the envelope in that area， and I applaud Barnes for that: This celebrated author could just relax and serve some easygoing Klara and the Sun-type of stuff， but no， Julian the literary Apostate Barnes attacks us with philosophy， history， and extravagant structural choices。 Elizabeth saw truth in artifice， Neil is a trained actor， and Barnes also knows a thing or two about aesthetics。 While Neil's life seems to be mentioned only at the side， there is a sub-story running through the text in which he reflects himself in Elizabeth and emperor Julian， pondering his career， divorces and children。 Julian the Apostate， the last pagan emperor of Rome， the man whose death Elizabeth describes as "the moment history went wrong"， becomes a foil for both of them。 But did the lives of the three of them go wrong？ Who is the judge of that？At the same time， Neil contradicts any easy conclusions his intellectual efforts might suggest: For him "life， much as we would like it to be， does ot amount to a narrative - or not a narrative such as we understand and expect。" This is why his book has no clear text form， and the connections between Elizabeth， the historic figure and him are not fully resolved or brought to a conclusion: "Perhaps the fact is that I 'know' and 'understand' Elizabeth Finch no better - if in a different way - than I 'know' and 'understand' the emperor Julian。"Yup， that's complex， but there is also an accessible theme that's easier to grasp， but （as in real life） cannot be fully unpacked: Neil has loved Elizabeth in a multi-faceted manner。 Barnes frequently investigates different forms of love， and how he deals with the topic in this novel， also relating to other characters Neil meets or has met， is particularly interesting。 This is a book to be discussed， re-read and dissected， an ambitious work of art that challenges those who dare to pick it up。 While I have to admit that I， too， struggled with some sestions， I see what Barnes aims to do here。 This 75-year-old literary superstar still surprises readers， there is zero complacency in his texts。 I'm already curious what he will come up with next。 。。。more
Kid Ferrous
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Having been an admirer of Julian Barnes’ work since “Metroland”， a new book by him is always a highlight of my reading year。 Barnes’ latest， “Elizabeth Finch”， is a succinct character study of the eponymous teacher， a kind of slightly more intellectual Miss Jean Brodie， who’s inspiring life and legacy is uncovered by one of her former students， Neil， who narrates the story。We first meet Elizabeth Finch teaching a course entitled “Culture and Civilisation”， introducing her philosophy on education Having been an admirer of Julian Barnes’ work since “Metroland”， a new book by him is always a highlight of my reading year。 Barnes’ latest， “Elizabeth Finch”， is a succinct character study of the eponymous teacher， a kind of slightly more intellectual Miss Jean Brodie， who’s inspiring life and legacy is uncovered by one of her former students， Neil， who narrates the story。We first meet Elizabeth Finch teaching a course entitled “Culture and Civilisation”， introducing her philosophy on education to a lecture hall of unsuspecting students。 “Dead Poets Society” vibes are strong。 Barnes vividly brings Elizabeth to life， starting with her clothes; a brogue-wearing， conservatively dressed unmarried woman， not a little iconoclastic。 She is the teacher we all wish we’d had in school or university。 Through Neil’s study of Elizabeth’s notebooks， he reveals her passionate defence of rational thinking and desire to challenge society’s monotheistic thinking。 The recurring historical figure of Julian the Apostate - the Roman Emperor who rejected Christianity - is revealed as a kind of soulmate or muse to Elizabeth。 “Elizabeth Finch” is as intelligent and well-written a book as one would expect from Julian Barnes， and I enjoyed it immensely。 Naturally， Elizabeth Finch dominates the book， sometimes to the detriment of the other characters who don’t seem quite so interesting， but her life story， once explored， is colourful and passionate， making the book an engaging read。 It is a rallying cry for independent thinking， with a strong thread about the love of ideas throughout， and one of Julian Barnes’ best books。 。。。more
Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer
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I sometimes wonder how biographers do it: make a life， a living life， a glowing life， a coherent life out of all that circumstantial， contradictory and missing evidence。 They must feel like Julian on campaign with his retinue of diviners。 The Etruscans tell him this; the philosophers tell him that; the gods speak， the oracles are silent or obscure; the dreams alarm him this way， his visions propel him that way， the animals’ viscera are ambivalent; the sky says this， the dust storm and the adv I sometimes wonder how biographers do it: make a life， a living life， a glowing life， a coherent life out of all that circumstantial， contradictory and missing evidence。 They must feel like Julian on campaign with his retinue of diviners。 The Etruscans tell him this; the philosophers tell him that; the gods speak， the oracles are silent or obscure; the dreams alarm him this way， his visions propel him that way， the animals’ viscera are ambivalent; the sky says this， the dust storm and the advisory thunderbolt insist otherwise。 Where is the truth， where is the way forward？ Or maybe consistent narrative is a delusion， as is trying to reconcile conflicting judgements。 Maybe you could equally account for someone by a mere list of snagging， indicative facts。 Julian Barnes previous 13 literary novels have between them garnered 3 Booker shortlistings and a Booker win （in 2011） – this is his latest novel due to be published in April 2022 and I have to be honest the only of his that I have read that left me disappointed in very large part down to the non-fictional biography at the heart of the novel （both in how it is executed and in my own lack of interest in the subject）。The book can perhaps be best characterised as a layered （auto-）biography – with the narrator Neil giving us details of his own life （two times divorced – the second time shortly before the book begins， a stop start acting career， a kind of drift in life and desire to educate himself） but really fascinated by the book’s titular character – a singular “Romantic-Stoic” （in Neil’s much considered description） who he first encounters in what is ostensibly an adult education course she runs on “Culture and Civilisation” but which ends up， for those who embrace her teaching （with Neil at the centre of this） as more of an intellectual guide to religion， history and philosophy and an invitation to question assumptions。 You might think me old-fashioned （but my case is not relevant）。 You might think Elizabeth Finch equally， if not more， old-fashioned。 But if she was， it was not in the normal way， that of embodying a previous generation whose truths had now proved wan and withered。 How can I put it？ She dealt in truths not from previous generations but previous eras， truths she kept alive but which others had abandoned。 … 。 She was outside of her age in many ways。‘Do not be taken in by time，’ she once said， ‘and imagine that history – and especially intellectual history – is linear。’ One of her key tenets seems to be a view of Roman imperial history and its interaction with the rising religion of Christianity which follows in the footsteps of the Enlightenment as well as Edward Gibbon – she is particularly obsessed with Julian the Apostate and the famous quote attributed to him by Swinburne: she instead seeing Julian as a hero whose death fatally altered the flow of human history。At one point （when rather oddly suggesting her pupils study Hitler） she says: ‘I am suggesting that we familiarise ourselves with those who oppose us and whom we oppose， whether it be a living or a dead figure， whether it be a religious or political opponent， or even a daily newspaper or weekly magazine。 And to be honest this challenge is the only reason I carried on reading the book as I found myself almost entirely disagreeing with the world view expressed by her – a view of history which rather than abandoned truths I would describe as discredited distortions。 Neil and Elizabeth Finch （he only really sees her – even he confesses in his fantasies – as having her full name） strike up a many year friendship meeting for lunch monthly when she puts him through his intellectual paces。 After her sudden （to Neil） death he finds she has left him her notes and library – initially unsure what to do with them （other to reproduce some of them in the text – which makes for a slightly oddly aphoristic few pages， he decides to write a short biography of Julian: this forms the middle third of the book and I have to be honest and say I could not engage any real interest in it at all。The third part of the novel returns to Neil trying to piece together more clues about Elizabeth’s Finch’s life – which does allow for some musing on the difficulty of really knowing another。I struggled a little with the author’s choice of his own namesake as the base for the book – is he trying to claim some form of mantle for himself as an Apostate or provocative and independent thinker， as the anti-Christian views expressed seem to be both completely dominant in literary fiction and lacking in depth。Overall this was a novel that I was interested to read but which did not really work for me at all – but will I think for others 。As a final comment for the many readers who I think will be fascinated by and find themselves agreeing with Finch’s views – then taking her instructions to engage with opposite views I would suggest Tom Holland’s “Dominion: The Making of the Western World”My thanks to Random House， UK Vintage for an ARC via NetGalley 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Elizabeth Finch
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Elizabeth Finch&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Elizabeth Finch&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0