TagFlaubert’s Parrot

Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes is a postmodern novel that explores the life of Gustave Flaubert, a 19th-century French novelist. The book is narrated by a retired doctor named Geoffrey Braithwaite, who is obsessed with Flaubert and his works. Braithwaite’s search for Flaubert’s stuffed parrot becomes a metaphor for his own quest to understand the author. The novel uses a non-linear structure and incorporates historical facts, literary criticism, and fictional elements. Barnes questions the nature of truth and the reliability of biography. Ultimately, Flaubert’s Parrot is a tribute to the power of literature and the enduring legacy of great writers.

Explanation in Literature

In Fiction, Literary

E

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Perspective on Definition

In Fiction, Literary

P

You can define a net two ways, depending on your point of view. Normally, you’d say it’s a thing made of string with holes in it; but turn it around and it’s a thing made of holes tied together with string.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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National Integrity

In Fiction, Literary

N

The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonourably, foolishly, viciously.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Human Significance

In Fiction, Literary

H

Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Change and Renewal

In Fiction, Literary

C

All that happens is that the destruction of one order makes way for the construction of another.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Discovery through Writing

In Fiction, Literary

D

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Human Self-Delusion

In Fiction, Literary

H

Our capacity for self-delusion is boundless.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Immersion through Reading

In Fiction, Literary

I

When you read a great book, you don’t escape from life, you plunge deeper into it.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Cyclical History

In Fiction, Literary

C

History just burps, and we taste again that raw-onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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Personal Identity

In Fiction, Literary

P

Memory is identity…. You are what you remember.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot

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