The Lemon Table (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781400076505)

In this widely acclaimed collection of short stories, the bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of The Sense of an Ending addresses the most poignant aspect of the human condition: growing old.

"A master at work.... Sweet, sour, bitter, wistful, ruminative, comic, elegiac ... A joy to read." --San Francisco Chronicle

The characters in The Lemon Table are facing the ends of their lives--some with bitter regret, others with resignation, and others still with defiant rage. Their circumstances are just as varied as their responses. In 19th-century Sweden, three brief conversations provide the basis for a lifetime of longing. In today's England, a retired army major heads into the city for his regimental dinner--and his annual appointment with a professional lady named Babs. Somewhere nearby, a devoted wife calms (or perhaps torments) her ailing husband by reading him recipes.

In stories brimming with life and our desire to hang on to it one way or another, Barnes proves himself by turns wise, funny, clever, and profound--a writer of astonishing powers of empathy and invention.

Author: Julian Barnes
ISBN-10: 1400076501
ISBN-13: 9781400076505
Publisher: Vintage
Language: English
Published: 05/01/2005
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.08h x 5.22w x 0.71d

Review Citation(s):
Ingram Advance 05/01/2005 pg. 76
New York Times 05/15/2005 pg. 34