Cross Channel - Julian Barnes

For his eighth novel Julian Barnes has changed mode, writing a collection of short stories commenting on our centuries old relationship with the people of France. The stories are light and well written, and try to place the changing thrift we have with our Gallic neighbours firmly in its historical context.

The collection of anecdotes, all set within France but with a largely English cast, are treated with Barnes’ usual wit and elegance with the pen. The care taken in working the stories to reveal his characters’ personalities speaks of his craftmanship and almost make one feel the author indentifying with his crotchety composer ensconced in Normandy with only Radio 3 for company or the literary hack looking for an elusive conference. On the other hand, Barnes’ status as France’s best loved Englishman can be justified by the ‘revisionist’ historical stories that tell of England’s other, less glamourous but equally telling interactions with those sur l’autre cote de la manche. Whether as conquerors or vitners, England’s relationship with it’s half-cousin-once-removed France is lovingly detailed in this book. Barnes’ fondness for France comes through; is he perhaps the ‘old-not-elderly’ man of the last story sipping his Meursault in the reflective declination of his life?

For those who are more used to Barnes’ intricate works, Cross Channel will come as light relief on the weary mind’s eye. Although there are subtle connections between the ten stories and the reader is invited to draw conclusions through the very last story, there is a distinct lack of the intellectual pressure that was induced by some of his earlier works and notably less than that of the short stories of The History of the World in 10˝ Chapters.

A good read: it’s out there now, go and get it