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Arthur and George

By Julian Barnes

(61)

| Hardcover | 9780224077033

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Book Description

すばらしい想像力に満ちて、読まずにはいられない。ジュリアン・バーンズの新作『Arthur & George』は、遊び心とペーソスと英知に満ちた素晴らしい小説だ。

アーサーとジョージ。この二人の人生が交わることになろうとは、誰が想像するだろう。19世紀、斜陽のエジンバラで育ったアーサーは、恥ずべく父と守るべく母を抱え、人生に駆り立てられている。思いがけず作家として成功を収め富と名声を手にした彼は、世間にはすっかり立派な英国紳士として見なされるようになった。

ジョージはといえば救いようのないアウトサイダーで、そのような紳士になる見込みはない。スタフォードシャーContinue

すばらしい想像力に満ちて、読まずにはいられない。ジュリアン・バーンズの新作『Arthur & George』は、遊び心とペーソスと英知に満ちた素晴らしい小説だ。

アーサーとジョージ。この二人の人生が交わることになろうとは、誰が想像するだろう。19世紀、斜陽のエジンバラで育ったアーサーは、恥ずべく父と守るべく母を抱え、人生に駆り立てられている。思いがけず作家として成功を収め富と名声を手にした彼は、世間にはすっかり立派な英国紳士として見なされるようになった。

ジョージはといえば救いようのないアウトサイダーで、そのような紳士になる見込みはない。スタフォードシャーの田舎に牧師の息子として育ち、粘り強く論理的ではあるが変わっていて、少年時代、家族は中傷の対象となっていた。法の信頼性に安全を求めたジョージは、成長後、英国司法に絶対価値をおく事務弁護士となった。

やがてある危機が、二人の男の人生の不安定なバランスを崩す。アーサーは自責の念や卑しい感情に狼狽する。ジョージは恐ろしい犯罪に問われるという大きな試練に見舞われる。そしてこの時から二人の人生は意外な深いところで交わり始め、互いが互いの救いとなっていく。

『Arthur & George』は卑劣な犯罪と高貴な精神、罪悪感と潔白、またアイデンティティ、ナショナリティや民族を巧みに描いた小説である。しかしそれは何にも増して、私たち人間が知り、信じ、証明するものが宿命的に違うことについて、機知を働かせ深く熟考した作品といえよう。

Critics

  • Our mutual friends

    Arthur & George by Julian Barnes, 352pp, Jonathan Cape, £17.99 What a gentle journey Julian Barnes, that previously prickly writer, offers his readers now. His new book lays out a quietly intriguing real-life tale of turn-of-the-century British crime ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

  • Show me the way to go, Holmes

    Arthur & George by Julian Barnes Jonathan Cape £17.99, pp360 Julian Barnes has always fancied a detective yarn. In the 1980s, he used to have a go at them himself, under the pseudonym of Dan Kavanagh, who wrote calculatedly hard-boiled tales about Du ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

7 Reviews

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  • 4 people find this helpful

    Part facts, part fiction, this tale of two individuals from completely different worlds linked by fate and a common pursuit of justice is fascinating and enjoyable.

    Cannot be missed by fans of Sherlock Holmes as Arthur is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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    Tracy W said on Apr 12, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    My thoughts

    An interesting book about late 19th century English life as seen through the eyes of two men who seem very different but who also share some similarities. At times I felt the story lagged as the author focused on George and then a long section on Arthur, but when the two men meet and Arthur agrees t ... (continue)

    An interesting book about late 19th century English life as seen through the eyes of two men who seem very different but who also share some similarities. At times I felt the story lagged as the author focused on George and then a long section on Arthur, but when the two men meet and Arthur agrees to help George, the book regained my interest. I also liked learning about how Arthur created his fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.

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    krin5292 said on Feb 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • A true story of two people whose lives crossed at the beginning of last century. A Portrait of England of the period and of two people; the first the anonymous victim of injustice and prejudice, the second the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle who defended and partially exculpated him. A well researc ... (continue)

    A true story of two people whose lives crossed at the beginning of last century. A Portrait of England of the period and of two people; the first the anonymous victim of injustice and prejudice, the second the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle who defended and partially exculpated him. A well researched description of the costumes and mores of the era; an apt study of their personalities and the circumstances that caused their actions.

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    Ignominia said on Nov 8, 2010 | Add your feedback

  • Very readable. Loved the dichotomy between the two very different main characters and the way the formal device of a chapter per character gradually eases and the story grows.

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    Mearso said on Dec 3, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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9780224077033 Hardcover $29.50 $25.68 The Book Depository
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