A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (Picador Books) - Softcover

Julian Barnes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330313991 ISBN 13: 9780330313995

Publisher: Picador, 1990

Synopsis

A stowaway aboard Noah’s Ark gives us his account of the Voyage – a surprising, subversive one, quite unlike the official version – which explains a lot about how the human race has subsequently developed. A guest lecturer on a cruise ship in the Aegean has his work interrupted by a group of mysterious visitors who place him in a cruel dilemma. An ecclesiastical court in medieval France hears a bizarre case... Barnes creates a kaleidoscope of narrative voices – from fiction and fact, painting and snatches of autobiography – that comes slowly and compellingly into focus.

‘You will want to read it again and again, and why not? There’s nothing around to touch it.’ Anne Smith, Literary Review

‘There is more moral and intellectual fodder, and more jokes, here than you will read in a month of Sundays... storytelling and teaching which captivate, liberate, and above all, enchant’ Financial Times

‘Funny, ironic, erudite, surprising, and not afraid to take a dive overboard into the depths of sorrow and loss. My novel of the year’ Nadine Gordimer

About this title

Book Description:

Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. The series will be extensive and open-ended and will provide school students with a range of edited texts taken from a wide geographical spread.

From the Inside Flap:

This is, in short, a complete, unsettling, and frequently exhilarating vision of the world, starting with the voyage of Noah's ark and ending with a sneak preview of heaven!

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0330313991
• ISBN 13: 9780330313995
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320