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On the surface, at first, Julian Barnes's book is the tale of an elderly English doctor's search for some intriguing details of Flaubert's life. Geoffrey Braithwaite seems to be involved in an attempt to establish whether a particularly fine, lovely, and ancient stuffed parrot is in fact one originally "borrowed by G. Flaubert from the Museum of Rouen and placed on his worktable during the writing of Un coeur simple, where it is called Loulou, the parrot of Felicité, the principal character of the tale."
What begins as a droll and intriguing excursion into the minutiae of Flaubert's life and intellect, along with an attempt to solve the small puzzle of the parrot--or rather parrots, for there are two competing for the title of Gustave's avian confrere--soon devolves into something obscure and worrisome, the exploration of an arcane Braithwaite obsession that is perhaps even pathological. The first hint we have that all is not as it seems comes almost halfway into the book, when after a humorously cantankerous account of the inadequacies of literary critics, Braithwaite closes a chapter by saying, "Now do you understand why I hate critics? I could try and describe to you the expression in my eyes at this moment; but they are far too discoloured with rage." And from that point, things just get more and more curious, until they end in the most unexpected bang.
One passage perhaps best describes the overall effect of this extraordinary story: "You can define a net in one of two ways, depending on your point of view. Normally, you would say that it is a meshed instrument designed to catch fish. But you could, with no great injury to logic, reverse the image and define the net as a jocular lexicographer once did: he called it a collection of holes tied together with string." Julian Barnes demonstrates that it is possible to catch quite an interesting fish no matter how you define the net. --Andrew Himes
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Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6120631-n
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'An intricate and delightful novel' (Graham Greene) from Booker prize-winning author Julian BarnesShortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for FictionFlaubert's Parrot deals with Flaubert, parrots, bears and railways; with our sense of the past and our sense of abroad; with France and England, life and art, sex and death, George Sand and Louise Colet, aesthetics and redcurrant jam; and with its enigmatic narrator, a retired English doctor, whose life and secrets are slowly revealed.A compelling weave of fiction and imaginatively ordered fact, Flaubert's Parrot is by turns moving and entertaining, witty and scholarly, and a tour de force of seductive originality. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for FictionFlaubert's Parrot deals with Flaubert, parrots, bears and railways; A compelling weave of fiction and imaginatively ordered fact, Flaubert's Parrot is by turns moving and entertaining, witty and scholarly, and a tour de force of seductive originality. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099540083
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780099540083
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780099540083
Book Description Condition: New. pp. 192. Seller Inventory # 5285285
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Seller Inventory # 9780099540083-GDR
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 192 pages. 7.80x5.04x0.63 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0099540088
Book Description Condition: New. In. Seller Inventory # ria9780099540083_new
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for FictionFlaubert's Parrot deals with Flaubert, parrots, bears and railways; A compelling weave of fiction and imaginatively ordered fact, Flaubert's Parrot is by turns moving and entertaining, witty and scholarly, and a tour de force of seductive originality. Seller Inventory # B9780099540083
Book Description Condition: New. 2009. Paperback. Deals with Flaubert, parrots, bears and railways; with our sense of the past and our sense of abroad; with France and England, life and art, sex and death, George Sand and Louise Colet, aesthetics and redcurrant jam; and, with its narrator, a retired English doctor, whose life and secrets are slowly revealed. Num Pages: 192 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 129 x 13. Weight in Grams: 186. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780099540083