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| Arthur and George | 
 enlarge | Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
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Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 27126
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0099492733
EAN: 9780099492733
ASIN: 0099492733
Publication Date: September 7, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A sincere and frank story, but rather weak June 22, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I learned about Julian Barnes after reading his short story "Evermore" - one of the saddest and brilliant short stories I have ever encountered. And then I decided to try one of his novels - "Arthur and George" was recently released, and therefore I bought it.
The novel is based on a true story which took place in England at the turn of the 20th century. George Edalji, half-Indian, is accused of crimes he never committed. He is wrongly sentenced and then released prematurely. George is both innocent and guilty. Being raised as a true Englishman, he cannot agree with such a verdict. He asks Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous creator of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for help. Sir Arthur, being a natural-born fighter for truth, helps to clear George's name in England.
This is the plot. The rest is filled with historical and biographical details, thoughts and feelings of the main characters, description of the social life at the dawn of the XX century. The strong part of the novel is its frankness and sincerity. These are the times of good ol' England, the times of gentlemen and their humane deeds and attitudes, the times of devoted women, the times when good could have been distinguished from bad, and the times when injustice could not have been left unnoticed by people of high moral standards. There is something "Dickensian" in this novel - in its best sense. Maybe because like Dickens' novels, "Arthur and George" made me nostalgic for good old times.
But... Being humane does not mean being not boring. There are some elements of a detective story, but it never goes further than what you already predicted several tens of pages before. And, besides, I found the characters of the novel to be slightly too ideal to be real - they are some romantic creatures lacking passion for life and looking sometimes so terribly similar to each other.
So... It is a sincere and nice novel, certainly worth reading. Its strong part is sincerity. Its weak side is naivete.
 Excellent June 11, 2007
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
I was charmed,enchanted,entranced with this compelling book.
I have since lent it out to many friends who have all said the same.
It is a thoroughly compelling read and very well written about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George 'A'daji (very poor in-joke)with regard to an old and long-forgotten court case that is both dramatic and touching.
Barnes has never done better.
 I loved it - thoroughly recommended April 29, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have always enjoyed Julian Barnes but sometimes he can be too clever for his own good. Not so here, this a beautifully written, thoroughly engaging novel. For me its major strength is the characterisation. The characters are totally believeable and their thought processes and emotions are deeply touching. I also loved the very slight insertion of tongue in cheek in the descriptions of Arthur. It was reminiscent of Dickens in the satirisation of a leading character. The other author this book brought to mind, strangely, was Kafka, in the utter helplessness of George in the face of malignant bureaucracy. Even though it brings to mind other authors the book is not in the least derivative and thank the lord, it is a novel set in the Victorian/Edwardian era but does not try to replicate the victorian novel. This is a thorughly modern novel. The stand out scene is that between Arthur and Anson. Very highly recommended.
My friend Kim insisted I read it - she has good taste!! April 23, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is the first of Julian Barnes' books that I've got round to reading after my friend Kim insisted I read it. She has very discerning taste so I'm not surprised that I really enjoyed this book. It's written with a great love for the two chief characters, Arthur Conan-Doyle, and George Edalji who played a small but important part in Doyle's life. The narrative concerns the early lives of both characters, through the propagation of the "Great Wyrley Mystery" that brings the two together and culminates in the memorial service for Doyle many years after George's brief role in his life has gone.
Rural Staffordshire near the end of the Nineteenth Century is brought to life tremendously well by Barnes. The characters are all believable - yes I know it is factually based but that doesn't make character realisation any easier! I liked particularly the point that whilst it was Doyle who was the great proponent of Spiritualism, in the novel he seems much more a man of this earth than the eminently sensible but otherworldly George. I greatly enjoyed the way Barnes plays on this contradiction.
The writing is excellent throughout, from the early days of Arthur and George to the final denoument at the Albert Hall. The standard never lets up. Arthur and George is well-realised and an excellent novel. Touching throughout. Well worth reading.
Sublime mastery. April 16, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Easily the best book I have read for years and definately amongst my favourite books ever. The amazing thing about this book is the understated way it which Barnes makes a complex and profound book so very easy to read. This kind of mastery of the English language - there is not so much as a single jarring WORD, never mind sentence or paragraph - reminiscent of Forster, Waugh, Orwell and Greene, is, sadly, becoming an increasingly rare ability amongst modern writers. Barnes' language is beautiful but at no point does he ever come even close to flowery poetics or pretentiousness.
The story is fascinating, moving and thrillingly told.
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