The Porcupine

by Julian Barnes

Overview

In his latest novel, Julian Barnes, author of Talking It Over and A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, trains his laser-bright prose on the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe.

Stoyo Petkanov, the deposed Party leader, is placed on trial for crimes that range from corruption to political murder. Petkanov's guilt — and the righteousness of his opponents — would seem to be self-evident. But, as brilliantly imagined by Barnes, the trial of this cunning and unrepentant dictator illuminates the shadowy frontier between the rusted myths of the Communist past and a capitalist future in which everything is up for grabs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780099540144
Publisher:	Knopf Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/28/2009
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Born in Leicester in 1946, Julian Barnes is the author of nine novels, a book of stories, and a collection of essays. He has won both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina, and in 1988 was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He lives in London.

Hometown:

London, England

Date of Birth:

January 19, 1946

Place of Birth:

Leicester, England

Education:

Degree in modern languages from Magdalen College, Oxford, 1968

Editorial Reviews

Interesting but finally bloodless, this novel finds the deposed Communist president of an Eastern European country put on trial for the crimes he committed during his 33-year iron rule. (Oct.) Also in October, Vintage International will reissue Barnes's Staring at the Sun . ($10 *-74820-2 ), which tracks the relentlessly curious Jean Serjeant from her childhood in 1920s England to her flight into the sun in the year 2021. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The upheavals that have recenty rocked Eastern Europe provide the inspiration for Barnes's ( Flaubert's Parrot , LJ 4/1/85) latest novel, an intelligent, if strangely passionless, examination into the nature of political reality. It focuses primarily on the interaction between two men, former Communist party head Stoyo Petkanov, for 33 years the leader of his nation, and Peter Solinsky, newly appointed chief prosecutor for ``justice.'' Rather than adopt a meek, defensive posture, the recalcitrant party chief thrusts out some barbs of his own, suggesting that the new leadership is no less susceptible to lies and hypocrisy than his own government was. In any given circumstance, Barnes implies, it is simply fate that determines who becomes the accuser and who the accused. Unfortunately, Barnes's success in exploring the mind-set of a Marxist-Leninist hard-liner must be set against the story's overall pallidness. A short, interesting work for those not driven by a need for lots of action or high drama. For larger academic and public collections.-- David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.

Library Journal

"Wonderfully agile ... the provocations are as numerous as the title indicates.... [Barnes] is witty and telling and may not be outracing events by a great deal." —Los Angeles Times

"Barnes's novels have a mesmeric charm and an air of dangerous simplicity.... [He is] an exceptionally accomplished and ingenious stylist." —The New York Review of Books

"Gripping ... Barnes relates this compelling story with his usual narrative brio, sketching his characters with the broad, colorful strokes of a mythic allegory." —The New York Times

"The Porcupine is a work of power.... Barnes has woven a rich tapestry of life in a post-communist country.... [He] provides a shock befitting a master storyteller and irony worthy of a philosopher." —Chicago Tribune

"Barnes is a fluent novelist, clever and richly inventive.... The Porcupine could hardly be more up to date." —Vanity Fair

"With the artful framework of testimony, internal monologue and chorus, Barnes's imagery is spare but vivid.... The central characters ... are cunningly defined by their ambiguities.... [He is] brilliant." —San Francisco Chronicle

"One of England's most interesting and provocative novelists ... Barnes ... display[s] a remarkable versatility, a dashing wit, and a sense of irony that keeps his wonderfully idiosyncratic creations under tight control." —New Republic

"Absolutely brilliant and full of amazing possibilities." —Dallas Morning News

"Barnes is a dazzling mind in mercurial flight." —Philadelphia Inquirer

From the Publisher