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    Vanessa Guignery, Ryan Roberts - Conversations With Julian Barnes (Literary Conversations) -University Press of Mississippi (2009)

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    171 views109 pages

    Vanessa Guignery, Ryan Roberts - Conversations With Julian Barnes (Literary Conversations) - University Press of Mississippi (2009)

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    LorenaGeorgiana

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    Conversations with Julian Barnes Edited by Vanessa Guignery and Ryan Roberts University Press of Mississippi Jackson wwapressstatemeus ‘The University Fress of Missisippisa member of te Association of American University Presses, Copyright © 2009 by University Press of Mississipi Al ight reserved “Manutctured inthe Uned States of America First printing 2009 Barnes Julian, CConrersations wth fulan Barnes/ edited by Vanesa Guignery and Fyan Roberts P. cm,~ (Literary conversations series) Includes index ISBN 978-1-60473-203-9 (alk. pager) — ISBN 978-4-60473-204-7 (pbk. :alk paper) 1 Barnes, Julian—Interviews 2. Authors, English—2eth century—Interviews I. Guignery, Vanessa IT Roberts, Ryan I Til PR60sa.A66s7255 2009 saying Bea 200803704 British Library Catalging-in-Publication Data availble Books by Julian Barnes Novels [Netroland, London: Jonathan Cape, 1980. Before She Met Me. London: Jonathan Cape, 982. Rauber’ Parrot. London: Jorathan Cape, 1984 Staring atte Su London: Jenathan Cape 986 History ofthe Word in 1015 Chapters. London: Jonathan Cape, 989. Tlking Ie Over London: Jonathan Cape, 93 ‘The Poreupine. London: Jonathan Cape, 192 gland, England, London: jonathan Cape, 199. lave et Landon: Jonathan Cape, 2000. Arthur & George. Londo: Jonathan Cape, 2005, Short Story Collections ross Chantel, London: Jonathan Cape, 196. ‘The Lemon Table London: Jonathan Cape, 200, Nanfition Liters from London 1990-19. London: Picado, 1995 Something io Declare. London: Picador, 2002, ‘The Pedantin the Kitchen. Landon: Atlantic, 2033 Nothing t Be Frightened Of London: Jonathan Cape, 2008 Detective fiction under the pseudonym of Dan Kavanagh Duffy London: Jonathan Cape, 980. Fiddle City-London: Jonathan Cape, 981 -uting the Boot I. London: nathan Cape, 15 CCoing tthe Dogs London Viking, 1987 “Translation The Truth cbout Dogs By Volker Kriegel. London: Bloomsbury 198. Ia the Landof Pain. By Alphense Datdet. London: Jonathan Cape, 2002. Contents Introduction ix Chronology xvii Julian Barnes in Interview Roneld Hayman 3 Escapefrom Metroland. Caroline Holland 7 Julian Barnes Patrick McGrath 1. "The World’s History and Then Some in 10% Chapters. Bruce Cook 20 Into the Lion’s Mouth: A Conversation with Julian Barnes. Michael March 23 [He's Turned Towards Python (But Not the Dead Flaubert’s Parrot Sketch ... Interview with Julian Barnes Observer 27 “Novels Come out of Life, Not ost of Theories”: An Interview with Julian Barnes Rudolf Freiburg. 31 “History in Question(s)":An Interview with Julian Barnes Vanesa Guignory 53, Jalian Barnes: The Art of Fiction CLV. Shushe Guppy 64 Julian Barnes, te. Robert Birnbaum 83 Intervews: Julian Barnes. Peter Wild 96 Julian Barnes in Conversation Vanessa Guignery 101 ‘Cool, Clean Man of Letters Nadine O'Regan us Big Ideas—Program 5~“Julian Barnes” Ramona Koval 18 “Tes for Self Protection’ Stuart fefries 129 Interview with Julian Barnes Xess Fraga 134 Julian Barnes: Are You an Oldie? Margaret Crick 148 Julian Barnes: The Fi Index 189 Interview Vanessa Gugnery and Ryan Roberts 161 Introduction 11983, Julian Barnes was selected by the Book Marketing Council as one of the “Best Twenty Young British Novelists” in list which included Martin Amis, Pat Barke:, William Boyd, Kazuo Ishigure, lan McBwan, Salman Rushdie, and Graham Swift. Some twenty-five years later, these novelists have all confirmed their talent and many of their works can easily be considered as classics. Julian Barnes in particular is regarded as one ofthe most prominent contemporary au- thors, having met great success with his ten novels two volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, and four pseudonymously written detective novels. His ‘most recent book Nothing to Be Frightened Of (2008) is part essay and part mem- oir, Julian Barnes’s work as been widely translated abroad, and hehas won sev cecal prestgious literary prizes, including the Somerset Maugham Award (1981), Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (1985), E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1986), Shakespeare Prize (1993), and ‘he 2004 Austrian State Frize for European Literature. Barnes has won both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina, and in 2004 he became a Commandeur de "Ordre des Arts et des Letees in France. Three of as novels have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, ‘When gathering interviews for this volume, one is constantly reminded of Geoffrey Braithwaite, the narrator of Flauber’s Parrot, when he protests, “Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well alone? Why trent the books enough?” Indeed, in the final interview of this collection, Julian Barnes echoes this sentiment, stating, “I would warn anyone against taking an interview with a writer, however interesting and seemingly truthful, a a surer {guide to che authors intentions than the book itselé” Despite his reluctance to take part in extensive promotional work and in spte of his distant or “benign indifference” to academia literary theory, and criticism, Barnes hes been an ex- tremely generous interviewee from the beginning of his writing career. He re- ‘sponds openly and eloquently to questions, and even though he no longer reads x Introduction eviews of his books and resists becoming too self-conscious abouthis own work, [Barnes is extremely serious and thcrough when discussing his literery production. He chooses his words with meticulous care, but also displays a playful, wry, and witty sense of humor and irony, as the following interviews reveal Jalian Hares does not have an exhibitionist nature and has alwys been pro- tective of his private life, which makes the conversations included bere al the ‘more unicue in that they often provide the reader with a glimpse into select as- pects of his personal life and offer insight into the person behind his writing, Ina discussion of Metroland, which Barnes acknowledges is autobiographicel in “spirit” and “topography,” Barnes reveals that, in hislate teens and early twenties, be had a “difficult and distant relationship"® with his parents, both of whom were French schoolteachers. Asan adult,he maintained a" distantly accepting” rea- tionship, but, upon their deaths he became much mare aware of their genetic and familial hold on him as an individual: “My ability to be free and discover soe particular individual essence, was rot entirely a foolish hope but it was bound around by ll sorts of governing conditions laid down by my ancestors In the {inal interview, Barnes also talks at length about his parents, and more particu- larly about their political and religious beliefs and tke effect, both personal and literary, of their deaths. ‘The interviews included in this collection reveal that Julian Barses has a re- fined and demanding view of literature and the role of writing in his life. When. ‘Shusha Guppy asks Barnes, “What isthe purpose of fiction?” he answers, “Its to tell the ruth. Ie to tell beautiful, exact, and well-constructed les which en- close hard and shimmering truths" He confirms this seemingly paradoxical idea {in another interview, stating, [Y]on write ction in order to tell the truth.”"In a conversation with Nadine O'Regan, he emphasizes the importance of writing in is life:"I don’t think Va be hapry if I just stopped writing,” he says.“ Writ ing has become necessary o me. It isa necessity a well asa pleasure” Describing this necessity, Barnes provides Rudolf Freiburg and, later, Shusha Guppy a brief ‘description of a typical working day, explaining to Guppy, “I work seven days ‘a week; I don’t think in terms of normal office hours—or rather, normal office ‘hours for me include the weekends” He tels Freiburg, “I'm never net a writer. It seems to me that lam in the happy position of having a job, a vocation, a pas- sion that occupies me tweaty-four hours of the day and everythingis grist to the mill” Julian Barnes proves equally forthcoming when the subject turns to specifics regarding iis work asa novelist, and he willingly discusses the intricacies of the Introduction xi ‘writer’ craft, offeringinsight into the composing and genesis of some of his novels. To Ronald Hayman, Baraes explains in detail why he took several years ‘to modify the various drafts of Metroland (his irst novel, published whea he ‘was thirty-four), ta try and make it less“over- instructive" and more “plausible” In interviews with Patcick McGrath in 1987 anc with Vanessa Guignery in 2002, Barnes reveals interesting aspects of the genesis of Flaubert's Parrot, disclosing, for example, tat he diopped a chapter about sex and creativity. During Guign cry’s interview, Barnes read several extracts from his travel notebook for Sep- tember 198, which provide detsils about the incident which eventually sparked the creation of Flauber’s Parvo. In his conversation with Bruce Cook, Barnes un- veils the origin of some of the chapters of A History of the World in 104 Chapters, describing the book's varied evolution: “[B]ooks are like teeth—that is, some have ‘one root and some aremolars with three or fou” When talking with Xesis Fraga, Barnes explains that his original idea for Arthu & George was to set two stories in parallel, one set inthe past about Arthur Conan Doyle and George Edalji, and the other set in the contemporary world dealing with racial prejudice, He gave up the idea of the contemporary story and also relinquished one of the early titles of the book, The Skin of Things, which was highly suggestive, drawing attention to “the surface ofthe world and what was immedately underneath it and the skin of George and the skin of Arthur” ‘Aeding to these details about the origins of his works, Barnes also remarks that his approzch to writing varies depending on whether he's writing fiction or tion. When constructing a novel, Barnespoints out,“I never stat at the beginning, [tend to start ata centeal moment and often circle round.”* Farnes appreaches each novel uniquely, believing “each book should try to be scmething. ‘new for you, a challenge.” Similarly, he tells Shusha Guppy, “In order to write the novel 'm committed to, I have to pretend that t's not only separate from every- thing I've written before, but alko separate from anything anyone in the history of the universe has waitten, Thisis a grotesque delusion and a crass vanity, but also a creative necessity.” In his interview with Roberts and Guignery, Barnes also addresses howhe approaches the composition of essays and explains in great de- tail how he chooses his subject matte. For Barnes, a clear distinction exists be- ‘tween fiction end other forms of writing, As he explains to Robert Birntaum, “Fiction is the supreme fiction. And everybody's autobiography is a fiction but ‘not the supreme fiction. I workas a novelist, and I also work as a journalist, And I ‘am very conscious ofthe essential difference othe two skills” "The conversations selected for inclusion inthis volume address a wide range nonfict xl Introduction of issues ant several common themes run through them, including death, truth, love infidelity, jealcusy, sexuality, obsession, religion. the relationship between fact and fiction, memory, history, Englishnes, and the ixetrievabilityof the past. ares sometimes fle rather uncomfortable when citice point out common topics or strategies throughoat his novels. He addresss his unease with critical approaches to his writings by clarifying, “You do often fel when you :ead aca-

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