Julian Barnes, Levels of Life

Sue Sorensen (Canadian Mennonite University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication Apr 2013

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Multigenre/Miscellaneous
Non-Fiction

Resources

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Julian Barnes’s book

Levels of Life

blends history, personal essay, and fiction, but ultimately it is a moving memoir of the author’s own grief following the death of his wife, Pat Kavanagh. Divided into three parts (“The Sin of Height”, “On the Level”, and “The Loss of Depth”), the book first investigates, in a deceptively ambling and playful manner, the entwined histories of ballooning and aerial photography, and then probes more carefully two nineteenth century personalities, Sarah Bernhardt and Captain Fred Burnaby. This is where the fiction begins, nearly a third of the way through the book; Barnes invents a love affair between these two fearless adventurers. In the final section, Barnes suddenly introduces the reader to his definitive topic: his love for Kavanagh and…

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1066 words

Citation: Sorensen, Sue. "Levels of Life". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34908, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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