A History of the World in 10½ Chapters

A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes

A History of the World in 10½ Chapters is a novel by Julian Barnes published in 1989. It is a collection of short stories in different styles; however, at some points they echo each other and have subtle connection points. Most are fictional but some are historical. One of the many recurrent motifs in the book is the portrayal of ships. This alludes to Noah's Ark — the subject of the first chapter — which plays a dominant role in the Abrahamic religions as an example of God's judgment. The woodworm who narrates the first chapter questions the wisdom of appointing Noah as God's representative. The woodworm is left out of the ark, just like the other "impure" or "insignificant" species; but a colony of woodworms enters the ark as stowaways and they survive the Great Deluge. The woodworm becomes one of the many connecting figures, appearing in almost every chapter and implying processes of decay, especially of knowledge and historical understanding.

Being a fan of Julian Barnes' writing, this title was one that had escaped my attention until I saw a copy in a second-hand bookshop.  I bought it.  I was knocked out by the first chapter.  Barnes is such a clever, gifted writer and I loved the wonderful wit he exhibited in the writing of 'The Stowaway'.

As I wrote to my niece Kat " Oh yes, on the other hand I read A History of the World in 10 and a half Chapters by Julian Barnes which I found brilliant even if Barnes is a bit of a smarty pants writer who knows how good he is and sometimes his writing is so impeccable it feels like he is showing off, not just his technique but what he knows.  If you are at the top of the class you cannot expect everyone to love you for it!!"

I resorted to the internet to search for reviews of the book and find that Jonathan Coe, writing in The Guardian describes very eloquently something of my feeling on reading the book:

Reviewing A History of the World in 10½ Chapters for The Guardian, Jonathan Coe found that it, "while hardly a ground-breaking piece of experimentalism, succeeds to the extent that it is both intelligent and reasonably accessible. Where it falls down is in denying its reader any real focus of human attention or involvement". He added that, "To dismiss the book as being too clever (or merely clever, for that matter) would be ungenerous as well as facile. "Readers of this novel will feel awed, I'm sure, by the range of its concerns, the thoroughness of its research, and the agility with which it covers its ground. 

As I have already mentioned above, there is in Coe's words something a bit grudging about acknowledging Barnes' genius for this brand of writing.  In summary then, another highly enjoyable compilation of short stories from Julian Barnes with the very satisfying attribute of connection, and reiteration of themes, running through the 'Chapters'.