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Loading... England, England (original 1998; edition 1998)by Julian Barnes
Work InformationEngland, England by Julian Barnes (1998)
   No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) saschenka | Mar 12, 2023 |   ) ephemeral_future | Aug 20, 2020 | The next section I found less interesting. Here we meet Sir Jack Pitman, who wants to turn the Isle of Wight into a theme park representing all things English, and Paul Harrison, an ideas catcher, who becomes Martha's lover. Not one for me, it was chosen as this month's book club read, and I discovered at the meeting that I was not the only one who had not finished it. I gather by not finishing it, I have missed some funny and interesting bits, so I've put it to one side to revisit at some point. (  ) Deborah_J_Miles | May 25, 2020 | ) karenshann | Dec 31, 2019 | )1  lisahistory | Apr 15, 2019 |
 Mit liebevoll zynischem Blick stellt Barnes in "England, England" einen ganzen Strauß von philosophischen, politischen und gesellschaftlichen Zeitphänomenen zusammen. Beispielsweise gehören die wenig familienverträglichen Reflexionen des angestellten Historikers Dr. Max über den Mythos des Freiheitskämpfers Robin Hood - über den jede und jeder Bescheid zu wissen glaubt - sicher zu den humorigen Glanzlichtern des Romans. Gelungen ist Barnes so eine komisch-absurde Satire auf die Ferienpark-Industrie und das allseits propagierte Primat der Ökonomie unter neoliberalen Vorzeichen.  Barnes uses his copious talents as a writer -- his lapidary prose, his eye for the askew detail, his ear for the circumlocutions of contemporary speech -- to turn the saga of England, England into an uproarious farce that mocks both our postmodernist suspicion of the authentic and our Disney-like willingness to turn that embrace of the ersatz into a money-making machine. He examines the arbitrary nature of history writing and the cyclical nature of history, and he satirizes the ideas that the English hold about themselves. A mischievous satire on the marketing of illusion and a trenchant analysis of a rootless woman’s interrupted pursuit of authenticity are joined in a highly original way in this consummately entertaining novel, the eighth by the dependably clever British author.
A replica of Britain is created on the Isle of Wight, complete with Robin Hood, Princess Di and replays of the Battle of Britain. It is the idea of a millionaire to show tourists the real Britain, a land with a great past and no future. No library descriptions found. 
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.26)
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