Staring at the Sun

9 hrs. 0 min.

Romance & Prose

Language Russian

Author Julian Barnes

Narrator Mikhail Roslyakov

Description

Barnes is always Barnes. Always subtle, always ironic, always astonishing with the elegance of his imagination and the originality of his plots. This novel is no exception—where, in an utterly incredible way, stories of an English pilot, a wise woman whom everyone considers an incurable fool, and a quiet “modern Hamlet” who treats the “accursed questions” as personal matters are blended together.

“How do you tell the difference between a good life and a bad life—between a life you’ve lived well and one that’s been wasted?” This is what Gene, the heroine of the novel “Nothing Like the Sun,” thinks about.

With the delicacy that is his, Barnes traces how the heroine’s attitude toward life changes—how she grows up, how naivety gives way to resolve, and how optimism and trust in the world turn into weariness and disappointment.

But whatever happens in the characters’ lives, the sun continues to shine. Only some see its sunrise, while others see its sunset.