Advantages: Easy read and enjoyable subject matter Disadvantages: A bit of an obvious lead character
This is Julian Clarys debut novel and a fairly good read it is.
Plot
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Johnny Debonair (aka JD, aka Johnny D!) grows up with his slightly odd mother and no father in Kent before being taken to stay at his Grandmothers in London when his mother gets a little too 'odd'.
It's here that Johnny begins to get a sense of himself through his Grandmothers more focused attention. Johnny moves back home and embarks on a relationship with the local high society boy before heading to Drama School. This quickly takes a peculiar turn when his new flat mate Catherine, introduces him to a dark and seedy new profession.
As Johnny's life begins to get more and more macabre he is suddenly given an opportunity to start on TV and he quickly becomes the best thing to hit the screen. But a dark past never stays hidden for long ...
On my recent holiday to Malta i stayed in Le Meridien Hotel, located in Saint Julian's. I would not normally have stayed in a 5 star hotel, but I was lucky enough to win some money towards a holiday from the company that I work for. Obviously, with free money, you are going to push the boat out a bit, and I am glad we did!!
Location/Area
We arrived at the hotel in the dark, quite late on a Friday night. The taxi brought us round a few small streets and then up quite a steep hill, thus bringing us to the reception of the hotel. My first impression was that it was in quite a strange location, but this is because i had only just seen where we were, and also it was dark, so everything seems different. The doors to the reception are round the back of the hotel and on the ground level floor.
The hotel itself is situated on top ...
10 1/2 Chapters? Not only does Julian Barnes manage to condense the history of, not only the world, put the workings of the human psyche into under 11 chapters, he skilfully provides an extremely intriguing title to his novel. This gimmick is successful, as once you embark upon the journey of his tale you will not be disappointed.
Each chapter of the book relates a self-contained short story and yet each chapter is inextricably linked from the rest of the book, through themes, topics, emotions and the human condition.
1. The Stowaway
Barnes starts his epic journey by recounting the events surrounding the flooding of the earth and the 'rescue' of the animals by Noah in the Ark.
This is certainly the most unique depiction of this story. The chapter is written in the first person and, it slowly transpires that it is being ...
