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Description

No one has a better perspective on life on both sides of the channel than Julian Barnes. In these exquisitely crafted stories spanning several centuries, he takes as his universal theme the British in France; from the last days of a reclusive English composer, the beef consuming 'navvies' labouring on the Paris-Rouen railway to a lonely woman mourning the death of her brother on the battlefields of the Somme.Clever, wise, reflective and imaginative, these stories are permeated with understanding of what it has meant for generations from these islands to cross the Channel.

Reviews

"Exquisite... Love and sex, food, past and present, art and literature are all among barnes' material in this sparkling collection" Sunday Times "Fluently written, finely observed, dexterously assembled...the overall effect is like music" New York Times "Julian Barnes, who has an exceptional following in France, seems to have done more for Anglo-French relations than anyone since Edward VII" Sunday Telegraph "Wonderfully ironic, perceptive and at times tender... Barnes has created something unique in his work, a particular way of looking at life, at words, at relationships, which is the mark of every true stylist" -- Justin Cartwright Financial Times "His writing demonstrates the billowing lightness of imagination... reading these stories, you perceive and love France afresh... Cross Channel is characterised by the intelligence, irony and wit you associate with his writing, but it is also suffused with feeling, deeply seasoned with affection" -- Michele Roberts Independent