A delirious ode to a favorite teacher; Julian Barnes brings forth a short novel of a man who completely idolizes his former teacher. After a college course leads to a decades long relationship, Neil is left with the papers and writing of his former professor. From here, Neil tries to decipher what to make of the life of his enigmatic former professor. A short novel which manages, sadly, to feel far too long.

Wordy and eloquent. At times the technical information gets to be too much, but just keep going. To behest, it was a bit too intellectual for my taste.

I really have nothing to say about this book. I didn't enjoy it but I didn't hate it. It was just boring but kept me company while cleaning.

Neil falls under the spell of Professor Elizabeth Finch when he takes her adult education class on culture and civilization. I found her to be pretentious and boring, but Neil was fascinated. After Elizabeth dies he inherits her books and jottings and he concludes that she wanted him to research Julian the Apostate. Part 2 of the book is all about Julian and early Christianity. Unfortunately, it reads like the author had a lot of research notes and just copied them randomly into this book. If
I wanted to learn about Julian, I wouldn’t have chosen this book. Part 3 of the book consists of Neil trying to research Elizabeth’s life. By the way, Neil is not an historian or researcher, he’s a former actor who is just nosy. I have enjoyed books by this author in the past, but not this one. I feels extremely self indulgent.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

Elizabeth Finch is a lecturer in Culture and Civilisation. The book is told from the viewpoint of one of her pupils. It is fair to say that not all of her pupils responded well to her method of teaching, but she certainly stayed in their minds.
This book very much starts off in the vein of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and is highly enjoyable telling how some pupils came under her spell including the narrator.
I became a little lost in the middle though when they focused on her theories and studies and felt this took my enjoyment from the book.
It may be one I read again, as I very much a fan of Julian Barnes.
The narration for this audio book did add to the enjoyment and the voice of the narrator is very much as you imagine the character to be.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

Although I found the narrator irritating I enjoyed following his journey to understand his relationship with his enigmatic teacher. This turns into an education into the history of the Christian church, revealing the history of Julian the Apostate - an unexpected but interesting turn.

I will score this a middle rating as this is a book outside of usual genre and therefore, I don’t feel my opinion should be used to influence others.

I feel the language in this was overly complicated and I was so bored throughout. Even at 2x speed, I felt the narrator was dull and I could have used this more as a bed time story than a pleasure read.

As I said, this is not my usual genre and many friends have enjoyed this so I will rate fairly

Elizabeth Finch was an interesting character study. I didn't much care for the background into Elizabeth's research, it got a bit boring.

"So...What have you got for me, then?"

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, and Recorded Books for the ARC audio book of ELIZABETH FINCH by Julian Barnes.

The line I quoted above is one of the most titillating lines I've ever heard spoken from a female character, and it marks the intensity between two people sharing and enjoying an unrequited love affair. Unrequited love is one of my favorite tropes, and I love that this book explores this sort of love with courage, and without the burden of agrandizing or effacing self-analysis.

Barnes writes ELIZABETH FINCH in an arguably experimental form, which I typically enjoy, but didn't in this case, for its blockiness. One long section, for example, removes entirely from the narrative and delivers an essay on Julian the Apostate, which is essentially a literary metaphor Barnes uses throughout the book. Yes, very clever and meta, but difficult. The section could be interpreted romantically, as a metaphor also for Neil, the narrator's, affection for Elizabeth Finch. But the narrator is so unrelentingly dry that it's difficult to read into this very academic material and see the romance.

In the end, I enjoyed this book, but didn't love it. I wish Barnes had spent more time developing Elizabeth Finch. I still feel like I don't know enough about her. But my turtle really loved the narration, so I listened to it with her the whole time!

Rating 3 stars
Finished September 2022
Recommended to fans of Jane Austen, unrequited love stories, romance from the Romantic period, lit fic, historical romance, academic fiction with a romantic element

It has been a while since I last read a novel by Julian Barnes, but "Elizabeth Finch" does strike me as quite similar to "The Sense of an Ending" in its wordiness. This is not meant as an insult. I just mean that his novels seem to be more interested in dialogue and reflection than in plot points and action. Also the novel feels very British - are the Brits maybe just more interested in literary depictions of scholarship and how learning changes a person? (Well, actually, two of the most important voices in that tradition - George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce - were actually Irish, so let's claim it comes from the British Isles.)

In any case: Barnes' new novel follows a man called Neil unpacking the history of his former lecturer and friend, Elizabeth Finch. This is juxtaposed with a story about Julian the Apostate, a historical figure - and it is both weird and strangely delightful.

Ostensibly an exploration of the relationship between teacher and student,Elizabeth Finch explores esoteric historical themes, a character learning about his ability to learn and think and the many ways people can hurt and/or love each other. Julian Barnes seems to invite us to an eclectic dinner party, sit us next to a stranger and leave us to it: the resulting couple of hours filled with interesting, if slightly self involved and rambling, conversation. While I don't know that I'd want to spend much more time with Neil, the protagonist, there's charm and wit in the story as a whole, and I learned something. An evening well spent, with compliments to the host.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for allowing me the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this interesting and enjoyable novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this book.

Julian Barnes is an acquired taste. I enjoy his thoughtful, eloquent writing but I believe I would be in a minority. This is not his best book. The story is about a man reminiscing about a professor, Elizabeth Finch, that he had in university. He developed a crush and unrequited platonic 'friendship' with her. When she died, she left him her library of the project she had been working on. So we meet her brother and glimpse another side of this interesting woman. It is a fairly short book and 50 pages of it discusses part of her research into Julian the Apostate. Unless the reader is interested ln history, (this is non-fiction history), it would be easy to drift and get bored.

For Julian Barnes fans, it is an elegant book of beautiful writing. But not one of his best.

My first ever Julian Barnes book, and now I can tell that postmodernism is not my thing. Hats off to Justin Avoth for the great narration. He kept me listening even when I had no idea where this story (?) was going.

I enjoyed the parts that were actually about Elizabeth Finch, but I could not make head or tail of the long treatise about Julian the Apostate and paganism. I really wanted to understand the meaning behind the words and the overall message of the book, but failed miserably.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for an Advance Review Copy.

I have read Julian Barnes before and have enjoyed him, but I'm sorry I couldn't finish this audio book. It seemed to go nowhere and was a very slow nowhere. Also the narration even on the slowest speed was too fast unlike the book. sorry. I can't recommend this book.

This is a book written for someone else. The cover and synopsis intrigued me, and the 5 hour audio sold me.

Mid way I had deja vu --- Dorian Gray. I was lost, confused, and badly wanted to understand.

The author went off on tangents as far as I could tell, and I wasn't impressed. But, there were parts where I enjoyed the dialogue.

I'm writing this off as an experience. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good; it is different.

I liked the narrator which helped pull me through a tangent one two.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for accepting my request to read and review Elizabeth Finch.

*A big thank-you to Julian Barnes, RB Media, and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
Julian Barnes wrote a novel that, being short, comprises so much! Portrayal of EF, enigmatic and charismatic teacher whose objective was to make her students think independenly, is executed in a most challenging way that kept me involved both in her story and Neil's inner analysis of himself and his interaction with EF. I was drawn to her immediately as I believe her to be a teacher with vocation, such a rare quality .... Neil, as a part of his course which he undertook being in his thirties, prepares a project on the last pagan emperor Julian the Apostate, and this part of the novel was unexpectedly fascinating for me.
I thoroughly enojed this novel and it is not easy to say exactly why. I suppose I was captured by the unreliable narrator and his efforts to comprehend who Elizabeth Finch really was.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

This is my first audiobook.

I thought audiobooks were not right for me, because I was sure my mind would wander if I was not moving my eyes down the page. I enjoy reading. However, I have a knitting project I want to complete and I can’t read and knit. I saw Julian Barnes’ new novel offered on Netgalley as an audiobook, so I decided to try listening and knitting.

I love Julian Barnes’ work and this book, Elizabeth Finch, is no exception. The narrator was easy to listen to and his British accent fit well with the content.

The narrator of the novel, Neil, is a twice-divorced ex-actor who names himself the King of Unfinished Projects. After the failure of his first marriage, he takes an adult education class taught by Elizabeth Finch and she becomes his lifelong obsession.

She teaches history/culture/philosophy and believes in discussion rather than lecturing. She wants to teach students how to think. Neil is hooked, partly by the classroom discussions but more by the woman herself. She is so unlike anyone he has ever known that he can’t stop trying to define her.

The first part of the novel focuses on Elizabeth herself, the class, the discussions, the friendships that developed during the term (and inevitably faded) and the narrator’s impressions of the course content. It’s interesting in the way that all Barnes’ work is interesting. In this novel, not much happens, but a lot is analyzed and the style is beautiful.

When the class ends, Neil tentatively invites Elizabeth Finch to lunch. She accepts. And for many years, the relationship continues as a monthly series of lunches where Ms. Finch continues to act as a mentor to the narrator. He enjoys their conversations but is always frustrated by the wall of complete privacy she has erected. Who is she? Has she ever loved? Does she have family? Etc. He wants to know!

Then, she dies. The narrator discovers she has left him her books and papers. He digs into them hoping for clarity. But instead of learning about Elizabeth Finch, he learns about her obsession: Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate.

Weird? Or ingenious?

The next part of the book is essentially a biography of Julian, an interpretation of his life and the impact it had upon world history. Neil’s thoughts on the matter are shaped by Elizabeth Finch’s teachings though he extends her research and broadens his thoughts beyond what he learned from her.

Who knew that I needed to learn about Julian the Apostate! It was fascinating! I never would have sought out a biography on this guy, but what a bonus to find it inside the novel ostensibly about this mysterious (or at least very private) history professor.

Barnes weaves together his theories about history, biography, memory, and interpersonal relationships in this gentle, somewhat didactic novel. Because the structure rests on Neil telling the story, it flowed well as an audiobook. Would I find it dull to read? Hard to know. Maybe. At any rate, I highly recommend the listening version. (And I’m nearly finished with the sweater I’m knitting!)

I made it through about half of this, and it was just painful. As in: so dull. I wasn't able to convince myself to keep reading.

After reading something like Elizabeth Finch I always find the desire to be witty enough to really enjoy the unique art of the author and applaud their depth and talents to say, "ah, I see what you did there." I did and do. However, there were times while reading that I thought, "Oh, this is good, but wasn't really written for me."

I enjoyed the questions, I enjoyed the philosophy, and I enjoyed that it followed no rules but its own. I would describe it as a slice of life, but of whose life? The narrator is a self-described bit of dry English toast. His two biggest personality traits are his obsession with Elizabeth Finch and his obsession with himself. Although I wouldn't describe him as selfish, he just is not able to understand how others feel. When he guesses about other desires or motives he is always wrong and always surprised by being wrong.

It was fascinating. I would love to see the Art house little film this book would make. Although Elizabeth Finch would probably shudder at the banality of her small story being a movie. Or she may simply reply, "How quaint." Delightful.

Thank you to Julian Barnes, RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for a chance to read this book.

Elizabeth Finch is a beautifully written lyric story for anyone who has ever had a teacher they have admired from afar. I enjoyed listening to this book as the narrator was so believable.

I finished the story thinking about what could have been as Elizabeth Finch is decidedly absent. I was left a bit bereft by the ending.

Neil, the character who tells the story, was once a student of Finch's in a community college class, and the story is really nothing more than his obsession with her.

This short novel is an easy listen, if not slightly boring and anticlimactic.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the audio ARC in exchange for my review.