A review by keepreadingbooks
The Lemon Table by Julian Barnes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“One feeling at least grows stronger in me with each year that passes – a longing to see the cranes. At this time of the year I stand on the hill and watch the sky. Today they did not come. There were only wild geese. Geese would be beautiful if cranes did not exist.”
I like reading about old age, and about life from an old-age perspective. I’m not sure why – preparation for that stage of life, knowing that it’s something that I will (hopefully) experience eventually? It’s a thing that will probably always feel alien to those who haven’t reached old age yet, yet it’s something most of us will experience, which makes it more intriguing to me than many other topics/perspectives that are not inevitable in the same way. Julian Barnes’ The Lemon Table is a collection of short stories that address the topic of growing old, and I had high hopes but was left feeling a bit dissatisfied.
I’m not sure it’s the collection’s fault – it’s mainly a case of not matching my expectations. Only one story (Appetite) gave me the feeling I was searching for, but at least that story was really spot on. It might be in the top 10 of my most memorable and moving stories. A few others were closer, but most of them were not. I had the feeling that they were mocking the follies of old age, and I was probably looking for something more moving instead. Maybe I got the intended tone wrong, but that’s how they came across to me. Barnes is a highly intelligent writer too, and a number of the stories were too erudite, in my humble opinion.
I like reading about old age, and about life from an old-age perspective. I’m not sure why – preparation for that stage of life, knowing that it’s something that I will (hopefully) experience eventually? It’s a thing that will probably always feel alien to those who haven’t reached old age yet, yet it’s something most of us will experience, which makes it more intriguing to me than many other topics/perspectives that are not inevitable in the same way. Julian Barnes’ The Lemon Table is a collection of short stories that address the topic of growing old, and I had high hopes but was left feeling a bit dissatisfied.
I’m not sure it’s the collection’s fault – it’s mainly a case of not matching my expectations. Only one story (Appetite) gave me the feeling I was searching for, but at least that story was really spot on. It might be in the top 10 of my most memorable and moving stories. A few others were closer, but most of them were not. I had the feeling that they were mocking the follies of old age, and I was probably looking for something more moving instead. Maybe I got the intended tone wrong, but that’s how they came across to me. Barnes is a highly intelligent writer too, and a number of the stories were too erudite, in my humble opinion.