The Lemon Table

Master prose stylist Julian Barnes presents a collection of stories whose characters are growing old and facing the end of their lives--some with bitterness, some with resignation and others with raging defiance.

Review :
Reviews of Julian Barnes's "The Lemon Table" "[Julian Barnes is] one of the most gifted contemporary shapers of prose, possessed of a remarkable limberness of form and voice, and an unconstrained literary imagination." --Ruth Franklin, "The New Republic" "[A] brave, well-crafted book . . . Barnes describes the realities of aging with precision and a knack for matching narrative device to psychological reality."--Lee Aitken, "People" "Throughout the book there is a sense of a master at work, a writer in absolute control of his material, able to pack a short story with a range of perceptions and insights that would put many full-length novels to shame by comparison. Unsentimental yet full of all manner of sentiment--sweet, sour, bitter, wistful, ruminative, comic, elegiac--"The Lemon Table" is an uncommonly satisfying book . . . Barnes' consummate artistry, wit and wisdom have made it a joy to read." --Martin Rubin, "San Francisco Chronicle" "Filled with emotional resonance and hard-won wisdom, "The Lemon Table" is a virtuoso performance of remarkable clarity and insight." --Jane Ciabattari, "Los Angeles Times Book Review" "The stories in "The Lemon Table" are quite old-fashioned--in the best sense of the word. They remind one of the deceptive simplicity of the stories of Chekhov or that prodigy of the absurd, Nikolai Gogol. With their underlying classicism, their commitment to truth and beauty, Barnes's stories also harken back to a pre-existential time in which hope was still, in a tragic sort of way, possible." --Jodi Daynard, "Boston Globe" "Barnes can telescope the whole world through a single lens . . . Each story unfolds with masterly speed, diving quicklyto the heart of the matter." --John Freeman, "Louisville Courier-Journal" "'Were you as young as you felt, or as old as you looked?' This is the conundrum at the heart of "The Lemon Table, "[with] assorted pensioners, catty widows, randy old army majors, and noise-sensitive concertgoers forcefully exercising their right not to go gently into that good night."--Mark Rozzo, "Vogue" "Beautifully wrought elegies for lost youth, lost promises and lost loves [that] attest to Mr. Barnes's growing depth as a writer, his newly embraced ability to create stories that are as affecting as they are cunning, as emotionally resonant as they are prettily fashioned."--Michiko Kakutani, "New York Times" "Barnes is a top-flight precisionist, [with] the steady, pleasing wit of English comic realism, in which sheer intelligence and acute observation carry the whole production, line after line, page after page . . . "The Lemon Table," in ways both modest and grand, helps sustain a reader's faith in literature as the truest form of assisted living." --Thomas Mallon, "New York Times Book Review" "These gracefully constructed stories are subtle, erudite, and wise; they elevate us because there are few such generous observers of humanity. In a word: "The Lemon Table" is Barnes at his profound, dexterous best."--Adrienne Miller, "Esquire" "Julian Barnes has many interests [and] a variety of talents that enable him to manage them all . . . "The Lemon Table "leaves one in no doubt as to Barnes's virtuosity."-Frank Kermode, "The Guardian " Reviews of Julian Barnes's "The Lemon Table "[Julian Barnes is] one of the most gifted contemporary shapers of prose, possessed of a remarkable limberness of form and voice, and an unconstrained literary imagination." --Ruth Franklin, "The New Republic "[A] brave, well-crafted book . . . Barnes describes the realities of aging with precision and a knack for matching narrative device to psychological reality."--Lee Aitken, "People "Throughout the book there is a sense of a master at work, a writer in absolute control of his material, able to pack a short story with a range of perceptions and insights that would put many full-length novels to shame by comparison. Unsentimental yet full of all manner of sentiment--sweet, sour, bitter, wistful, ruminative, comic, elegiac--"The Lemon Table is an uncommonly satisfying book . . . Barnes' consummate artistry, wit and wisdom have made it a joy to read." --Martin Rubin, "San Francisco Chronicle "Filled with emotional resonance and hard-won wisdom, "The Lemon Table is a virtuoso performance of remarkable clarity and insight." --Jane Ciabattari, "Los Angeles Times Book Review "The stories in "The Lemon Table are quite old-fashioned--in the best sense of the word. They remind one of the deceptive simplicity of the stories of Chekhov or that prodigy of the absurd, Nikolai Gogol. With their underlying classicism, their commitment to truth and beauty, Barnes's stories also harken back to a pre-existential time in which hope was still, in a tragic sort of way, possible." --Jodi Daynard, "Boston Globe "Barnes can telescope the whole world through a single lens . . . Each story unfolds with masterly speed, diving quickly to theheart of the matter." --John Freeman, "Louisville Courier-Journal "'Were you as young as you felt, or as old as you looked?' This is the conundrum at the heart of "The Lemon Table, [with] assorted pensioners, catty widows, randy old army majors, and noise-sensitive concertgoers forcefully exercising their right not to go gently into that good night."--Mark Rozzo, "Vogue "Beautifully wrought elegies for lost youth, lost promises and lost loves [that] attest to Mr. Barnes's growing depth as a writer, his newly embraced ability to create stories that are as affecting as they are cunning, as emotionally resonant as they are prettily fashioned."--Michiko Kakutani, "New York Times "Barnes is a top-flight precisionist, [with] the steady, pleasing wit of English comic realism, in which sheer intelligence and acute observation carry the whole production, line after line, page after page . . . "The Lemon Table, in ways both modest and grand, helps sustain a reader's faith in literature as the truest form of assisted living." --Thomas Mallon, "New York Times Book Review "These gracefully constructed stories are subtle, erudite, and wise; they elevate us because there are few such generous observers of humanity. In a word: "The Lemon Table is Barnes at his profound, dexterous best."--Adrienne Miller, "Esquire "Julian Barnes has many interests [and] a variety of talents that enable him to manage them all . . . "The Lemon Table leaves one in no doubt as to Barnes's virtuosity."-Frank Kermode, "The Guardian