Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes

Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
There is one thing in life that we can be certain of - we are all going to die, sooner or later, and there is nothing that we can do about it.

In this book the author Julian Barnes muses on his own mortality, his fears about death and the process of dying, the unreliability of memory and the temptation to try and apply a narrative to your life. He considers the lives of his parents and their respective declines into infirmity and death, as well as the life of his grandfather about whom he knows little other than from a few scraps of letters and a photograph album. He shares conversations and letters with his philosopher brother, where they compare memories of childhood. He also muses on the non-existence of God opening the book with the sentence "I don't believe in God, but I miss him" - a sentiment that his brother dismisses as "soppy".

This is not an autobiography or a structured academic work, but rather it is constructed of short essays that amble through thoughts and themes, turning them over and revisiting them. He returns to particular subjects, bringing different perspectives to bear each time and not being afraid to change his mind as he goes.

Is this the work of someone approaching death, hoping to placate the grim reaper by staring him in the face? Perhaps, but I think it is something that we all need to do in one form or another.


View all my reviews.