This History Ain't Bunk!!! (History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters - Julian Barnes)

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Product:	History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters - Julian Barnes
Date:	13/03/02 (3393 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully wriiten, Insightful, Clever

Disadvantages: Very disperate (though thiscould be anadvantage, Youoften want to know more after you have read a chapter

This is certainly my favourite of Barnes' work, and a great work it is too. The title shows a lot about what to expect from the book - a look back in time, but an unconventional and often amusing one too. From man's forefathers, Noah rather than Adam, to our greatest (alledgedly) achievement of travelling to space, Barnes captures some of the the major, and minor, peices of history, intimately, and includes pure fiction and a lot of speculation in there too.

1: The Stowaway

The voyage on the Ark is told by one of the voyagers who dispells the myths about Noah and his kin, and gives the "correct" dates and timings of the events surrounding the Great Flood, giving us an insight into how and why more than a few of the World's species didn't make it through the whole voyage - see especially the parts about the unicorn and the red-haired, green-eyed simians. He also tells us about Noah and his family, and what a picture he paints - A rough lot does not begin to cover it! He thinks little of the father of mankind,and does not mind telling us.

This is, by far, the funniest and most entertaining histories in this book, and I guarantee that you will a) want to read on, and b) laugh out loud when you hear about the unicorn's horn - it still makes me laugh now, just thinking about it.

2: The Visitors

Franklin Hughes, a TV Historian, boards the ship that will be his home and office for the next few weeks. He takes the summer off from programme making to lecture onboard a cruise ship of History seeking holiday makers. He has done this, without changing his script, for several years - only the names and faces of his passengers, and his "assistants" have changed.

This time, though, there is a change of plan as the ship is taken by terrorists and the passengers are taken hostage. Franklin has some tough choices to make as he tries his best to get out of this mess with his life, an
d save Tricia, his assistant for this voyage, to boot. "The Visitors" tries to show the thought process of a captive and how they are at the mercy of their captors and their would-be rescuers. As it is only one of the chapters, and not a whole book on the subject, I'm unsure how well it does this, but it is certainly entertaining reading.

3: The Wars of Religion

Is a story based on fact, though is one of the most unbelievable of the chapters. It is the translation (though fictional) of a historical document - a transcript of legal proceedings brought by the inhabitants of the French town of Mamirolle against those who desecrated and partially destroyed their church, and in particular the bishop's seat. The defendants are woodworm who infested the church and gorged themselves on the holiest place in the town.

The story is intruiging rather than amusing, as the lawyers argue about the woodworms' psyche and ability to believe in, and recognise, God.

4: The Survivor

The Survivor tells of a woman who is sick of the world and everything in it. She leaves her partner and sets off, taking his boat and simply sailing off into the sunset. Becoming ill,with terrible dreams, she blames it on a poor diet, but also the radiation in the atmosphere - one of the many things she is running away from. The dreams, though, become worse, as men in white coats visit her and ask her about what she is doing. She tries to be clever, trying to trick her own mind who has create these people.

This chapter is another regarding the psyche of the protagonist. The reader soon questions which reality is the true one - the dream or the island on which she has landed. It is exceptionally clever, and very easy to read as well.

5: Shipwreck

This chapter is in two parts - the first tells the harrowing tale of those who were aboard The Medusa when, in clear weather and calm seas, it ran aground. The
other ships near-by were not large enough to take the ship's passengers and personel, and so a raft was made, and they were to be towed to safety. The rope attaching them to the other ship, however, became undone. The rest of this portion details their decline into rebellion and hate for each other as different groups with their own agenda rise, and then fall during vicious fights. With supplies falling as qiuckly as the raft's population, stark choices must be made by them in order to stay alive.

The second part describes The Raft of the Medusa - a painting of the scene as those on the raft are saved. Barnes describes each of the people in the painting, asking why they are doing what they are doing, and trying to see what they are thinking. This part is very clever and extremely interesting as Barnes tries to get into the mind of the artist and the survivors of the wreck of The Medusa.

6: The Mountain

The Mountain is the first of two stories about trying to find the Ark. In this tale, Miss Fergusson attempts to find the Ark in order to prove her own faith to her dead father. Barnes again examines the psyche of the main character, showing the reader her drives and ambitions.

It details the travel accross Europe, centering at the foot of Mount Ararat - "an unconquerable mountain". She, and her female companion, travel beyond the safety of the monastery lower down the mountain, and venture upwards where Miss Fergusson intends to find the Ark, and herself.

7: Three Simple Stories

Just as it sounds, this chapter is split into three different snippets. Their conection is that they all deal with the sea and with ships. They are all intriguing and very well writeen short stories in their own right, talking of The Titanic, Jonah and the Whale, and the St Louis, the latter a cruise ship which transported Jews from Germany to other countries. A parralel would be the refugee ship which was deni
ed the right to dock in Australia recently, and spent weeks waiting for the authorities to give in to their demands.

8: Upstream

Charlie is an actor shooting a film about monks who went to the jungle to convert the natives. The story is told by his letters and telegrams to Pippa, his partner. It shows, through his words alone, what is happening in the jungle, and in Charlie's head. The letters tell us the dual story of the jungle and, with the absence of Pippa's letters, what is happening in Charlie's life at home.

It is exceptionally well-written and can be likened to Dracula, which also is narrated, in the first part, by a succession of letters home.

Parenthesis (the 1/2)

This is one of the best written and evoking peices of writing that I have ever read. It is from Barnes' own life and describes his love for his partner - the joy brought by her little idiosyncrasies, and his journey into to the emotion and make-up of the heart.

This is truly a beautiful piece of work, and will move you when you read it. It makes you want, even need, tolove, and stirs thoughts of your love.

9: Project Ararat

This is the second search for the Ark. A spaceman sees a vision whilst on the moon and returns to earth with a new mission - to visit Mount Ararat and find Noahs Ark. The storydescribes his motives, hisneed, to find it, and how he gains the support of his sceptical wife and a friend who help him to find the funds and go on such a marvelous journey.

10: The Dream

This is an ecceptionally clever piece of writing, and one of the greatest ideas for a short story that I have come accross. The Dream is actually the death of the protagonist, and he wakes to find himself in, what he thinks, is a dream. It is actually the afterlife, and the chapter tells of his journey after his own death -the wonderful, and then mundane, life after death. He describes the perfection of
heaven, of being and doing whatever you want, but also how perfection has a shelf-life and becomes passe after mere millenia.


A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters is an exceptional work, and a must read for everyone. Not all of the chapters are for everyone - I'm sure you will like all of them, but several you will love, and will quote them, or giggle to yourself when remembering them, for months and months. I have used the word "clever" many times in this op, but hope that it does not put people off. It is clever, ingenious even, but also very, very easy to read. The ideas for the stories, and the way in which Barnes tells them are certainly clever, and one often wonders how he came up with them, but you are never put off by this as Barnes leads you up and down the garden path, again and again, changing direction often, and taking you just where he wants you to go - with him, right up until the final word.

If you only read one book this year, make it this one. I promise you will find something in there for you, and a few things that you didn't know were for you until you read them.

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