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>Briefly: > > Born in Leicester, Julian Barnes, after graduating >from Oxford, got a job in tax inspection. After >getting very quickly bored with this he worked instead >for the Oxford Dictionaries group. Eventually, he >started getting book reviews published in the <A >rel=nofollow target=_blank HREF= >"http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/">New Statesman</A>, >where he befriended fellow young literary types such >as Ian McEwan and, crucially, Martin Amis. The >friendship with Amis ensured credible literary >endorsement and led to the publication of his first >novel, Metroland, in 1981. > Metroland reveals Barnes' love of France; this was - >as he reveals in Something to Declare - borne out of >childhood holidays with his parents, who taught French >in England. His command of the language enabled him to >absorb Fench music, French film and classic french >novels. He developed a liking for Gustave Flaubert. > Like most British authors, though obviously not >being unable to avoid writing about Britain or at >least England, >Barnes has, in the words of Will Self, 'attatched' >himself to another country: in this case France. Amis >chose the USA. <A rel=nofollow target=_blank >HREF="http://www.geocities.com/timparks1">Tim Parks ></A> chose Italy. I can only put this down to the bad >weather, the terrible politics, and the general decay >that has afflicted Britain for the past 40 years. It >just makes for uninteresting reading, so most authors >- if they absolutely have to write about England - set >their works in central London, which of course is a >multicultural melting pot and long may it continue to >be so. > Barnes the man? Very difficult to determine, as >Erica points out. He seems to simultaneously shun >celebrity whilst secretly craving it. I've seen him at >a couple of author readings and he comes across as a >very affable, polite kind of guy. However, having >read some interviews with him and also the fascinating >insights provided by >Martin Amis in his book Experience, he's not without >resentments. > In his writing, he can often come across as >whimsical, betraying his pretty well-to-do background. > His journalism collection on France, Something to >Declare, also reveals his somewhat almost-snobbish, >nostalgic streak. He's very good on Flaubert, but >where is the stuff on contemporary French authors, >some of whom are doing a much better job than their >English counterparts? Contemporary France is still, >despite the onslaught of globalisation, a fascinating >subject.

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