Thinking Activity :- The Only Story by Julian Barnes
About Author :
Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending, having been shortlisted three times previously with Flaubert's Parrot, England, England, and Arthur & George. Barnes also writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh. In addition to novels, Barnes has published collections of essays and short stories.
The Only Story is a novel by Julian Barnes. It is his thirteenth novel, and was published on 1 February 2018.
The Only Story is the first of Barnes' books not dedicated to his wife, Pat Kavanaugh, who died in 2008. Significantly, the familiar conundrums Paul contemplates pertain just as readily to bereft mourners as to people singed by romance gone awry. "Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?" he wonders. And: "Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more, or love the less, and suffer the less?" This latter query may be, his scorched narrator asserts, "finally, the only real question." But then, Barnes' amatory absolutist equivocates: "If you can control it, then it isn't love. I don't know what you call it instead, but it isn't love." The Only Story is about losing control, but also, losing the ability to lose control. ( Heller Mcalpin )
1.) Memory Novel (Structurally as well as thematically)
Julian Barnes explores the concept of memory in this story in a fascinating way. When we recount a narrative, such as the one told in this novel The Only Story, memory takes precedence. When we consider the history of a nation, civilization, or human people, we may wonder what it is, and it is possible that it is everyone's recollection. And history is written from that communal memory. Our personal history is written in our memories. It's a private life that takes place in private locations. The life that is recounted or not narrated, told to everyone or not only to self, or a history that is just written for self and not shared with anyone else is only written for self. So memory is personal history, and personal history is memory. If there is a link between history and memory, it implies that we do not rely on memory as well. It could be a recollection from our own past. Julian Barnes aims to show us that we must be very careful with our memories in this work.
2) Postmodern Novel:- we have seen tat julian barns brings post modernity in his work and when something is happening then it is commented . This novel also talk about the Existentialism.
“Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question. You may point out –correctly –that it isn’t a real question. Because we don’t have the choice. If we had the choice, then there would be a question. But we don’t, so there isn’t. Who can control how much they love? If you can control it, then it isn’t love. I don’t know what you call it instead, but it isn’t love.”.
3) Theme of Love - passion+ suffering :-
The very famous quote from the novel express the thing of love and suffering,
“Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question. You may point out – correctly – that it isn’t a real question. Because we don’t have the choice. If we had the choice, then there would be a question. But we don’t, so there isn’t. Who can control how much they love? If you can control it, then it isn’t love. I don’t know what you call it instead, but it isn’t love.”
-The Only Story
This quote says about love that if you love the more you will suffer the more and if you love the less you will suffer the less. So suffering is connected with love. And if you can control how much they love, that isn't the love that Barnes said. Paul is 19 and Susan is 48 year old. Still Paul has a passion for his love. And this passion was the cause of suffering. Throughout the novel we see Susan and Paul both suffer.
Q.5) Paul - the unreliable narrator
What is an Unreliable narrator? The fallible or unreliable narrator, on the other hand, is one whose perception, interpretation, and evaluation of the matters he or she narrates do not coincide with the opinions and norms implied by the author, which the author expectsthe alert reader to share. ( MH Abrams) Paul is the protagonist of the story. The story is based on the memory of Paul. Memory is something that is not trustworthy of we can say that it sifts according to individual. Paul during his conversation warns the reader. Here are the quotes which discuss Paul as an Unreliable Narrator. “You understand, I hope, that I’m telling you everything as I remember it? I never kept a diary, and most of the participants in my story – my story! my life! – are either dead or far dispersed. So I’m not necessarily putting it down in the order that it happened. I think there’s a different authenticity to memory, and not an inferior one. Memory sorts and sifts according to the demands made on it by the rememberer. “Later on, he said: I never kept a diary.
So here as a reader we should aware of the narration of Paul., So all these things prove that Paul is an unreliable narrator.
6) Critique of Crosswords
In this Novel two people are playing crosswords, one is mr. Gordon Macleaod and another is Joan.In ‘The Only Story’ Julian Barnes has captures the nuances of social life lived in the 20th century England. The crosswords was something so significant aspect of this traditional British activity that several characters of this novel are found meaningfully engaged with it.
They improve your vocabulary. ...
They increase your knowledge base. ...
They can relieve stress. ...
They boost your mood.
However, the postmodernist novelist Julian Barnes is not interested in this traditional meaning involved in crosswords.
See, how Paul Roberts, the narrator of the story, explains the hidden aspects of this British pass-time activity:
“Everyone in the Village, every grown-up – or rather, every middle-aged person – seemed to do crosswords: my parents, their friends, Joan, Gordon Macleod. Everyone apart from Susan. They did either The Times or the Telegraph; though Joan had those books of hers to fall back on while waiting for the next newspaper.
I regarded this traditional British activity with some snootiness.
I was keen in those days to find hidden motives – preferably involving hypocrisy – behind the obvious ones.
7)Joan - one who understood existential enigma:-
Joan is the formal tennis partner and friend of Susan Macleod and sister of Gerald. Gerald is the ex of Susan. She is around fifty-three and she kept yeppers with her. One Ypres died and she decided never to keep them because when you are alone and you love someone whatever they were and they died at that time you feel pain as like you lose your person. Later on, she kept another name Sible. Joan is the counter character of Susan. She had digested the philosophy of life. She spent her time with sible, she drinks, smokes,d and played tennis and crosswords.
And in the second part of the story we will come across to know more about this character Joan.There is a long conversation between Paul and Joan. In the novel, there is a very fascinating incident where Paul asked her cheating in crosswords.
‘Why do you cheat at crosswords?’ Joan laughed loudly. ‘You cheeky bugger. I suppose Susan told you. Well, it’s a fair question, and one I can answer.’ She took another pull of her gin. ‘You see – I hope you never get there yourself – but some of us get to the point in life where we realize that nothing matters. Nothing fucking matters. And one of the few side-benefits of that is you know you’re not going to go to hell for filling in the wrong answers in the crossword. Because you’ve been to hell and back already and you know all too well what it’s like
8.)Whom do you think is responsible for the tragedy in the story? Explain with reason.
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