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Hi everyone.

I've had Arthur & George by Julian Barnes on my "to read very soon" shelf for years now and still haven't got round to it. Would anyone be up for a buddy read of this potentially very discussion-worthy neo-Vic novel?

"As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife–their fates become inextricably connected."

Guess who the "Arthur" is....

PS - I should say that I have no specific time scale in mind, so this shouldn't in theory infringe upon any official group reads.

I already read it, and passed the book on :(

Deborah wrote: "I already read it, and passed the book on :("

That's a recommendation, then ?!!

Pip wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I already read it, and passed the book on :("

That's a recommendation, then ?!!"

I don't remember much. I think I was underwhelmed but was going through a difficult time at the time of reading.

Deborah wrote: "Pip wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I already read it, and passed the book on :("

That's a recommendation, then ?!!"

I don't remember much. I think I was underwhelmed but was going through a difficult ti..."

Too brainy for ya! ;-)))))))

Pip wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Pip wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I already read it, and passed the book on :("

That's a recommendation, then ?!!"

I don't remember much. I think I was underwhelmed but was going throug..."

Lol. Yup, that has to be it

Hi Pip-somehow I missed this but I'd be interested in tackling this sometime later this summer or in early fall-I love SH and have read the Sherlock canon multiple times.

Frances wrote: "Hi Pip-somehow I missed this but I'd be interested in tackling this sometime later this summer or in early fall-I love SH and have read the Sherlock canon multiple times."

Oh, that's great to hear! I'm very easy as far as timing goes, so whenever is good for is good for me.

Anyone else interested?

Ooh, I have to read this! I've got a lot of other reading obligations shuffling around, but I can probably handle adding it on in July.

Megan wrote: "Ooh, I have to read this! I've got a lot of other reading obligations shuffling around, but I can probably handle adding it on in July."

Frances mentioned late summer or Autumn - would that be good (or even better) for you too Megan?

Yes, of course!

Frances, Megan and anyone else who's interested: shall we aim for September 1st-ish then? I've changed the name of the thread to make it more explicit, and in the hope that a couple more people might join. At the moment (though I know there are several days to go yet) A Study in Scarlet is leading in the poll for August, so for some it might make a nice tie-in after that.

As it's a buddy read, we can break up / schedule the threads as we like; I'll be a fellow participator rather than a leader though, so we'll all need to throw ourselves into the discussion rather than waiting for intelligent questions ;-))

Sounds good-would a 2 month time frame work for you? I generally have a couple of reads going on simultaneously, and falling behind when there are just 2-4 people involved is somewhat more noticeable.

Frances wrote: "Sounds good-would a 2 month time frame work for you? I generally have a couple of reads going on simultaneously, and falling behind when there are just 2-4 people involved is somewhat more noticeable."

To be honest, I don't think we need to worry about keeping ahead or falling behind; this read is for pleasure, not for duty - haha! So what I propose is that we start maybe with an intro thread a week or so in advance (what other Barnes / Conan Doyle have you read before; what expectations do you have... and the like) and then I'll just split the book into two or three equal sections and we take it from there, commenting as we get to each part. As long as people know how to use the spoiler function, I think we can muddle along together. Basically, I've had this on my shelf for so long, have a feeling it might be a goodie, and wanted to share the experience with someone!

Just a reminder that a few of us are planning to read Arthur & George by Julian Barnes starting round about the 1st Sept. I'll make a pre-reading thread tomorrow-ish, and look through the book to see how we could split it up over a couple of months. Once again, I'm a fellow reader for this one rather than a leader, so please don't expect the same professionalism and prompting that a group read gives ;-) We'll all be in this together, so I hope any interested parties will feel free to throw themselves into the discussion at any point! Looking forward to happy reading and interesting discussion.

I've ordered it from our library-there is a bit of a wait but hope to get it by early September-I'm still catching up on a couple of other reads.

Here are details about the movie/DVD whenever you are ready for such:

Edition: U.K. edition.
Publisher, Date: [United States] : PBS Distribution, [2015]
Description: 1 videodisc (180 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Summary: World-famous author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in this three-part adaptation of Julian Barnes' acclaimed novel follows the separate but intersecting lives of two very different men: a half-Indian son of a vicar who is framed for a crime he may or may not have committed, and Doyle, who investigates the case.
Series: Masterpiece.
Target Audience: Rating: TV14.
Language: English dialogue; English subtitles.
Performers: Martin Clunes, Arsher Ali, Charles Edwards, Hattie Morahan, Art Malik.

I have read the book and watched the tv series and enjoyed them both. I am a big Conan Doyle fan and have read many of his books other than Sherlock Holmes. I always find it interesting to learn more about the author and sometimes it does change your image you have of them. Although I respect his writing he did believe in fairies which makes him harder to take seriously.

Sorry I'm so late in posting this; its been a strange few weeks for me and I've not been able to GoodRead as much as I normally do.

Anyways. This is a tricky novel to split up if you've not read it before, as is my case. There are no chapters, but rather an interchange of voices between the eponymous Arthur and George.

Sooooo.... Here's my plan. I'll open three threads, posting them simultaneously and open for comment at any time, so no need to stick to a timetable or to feel you're either missing out or racing ahead too much. They will be as follows:

1 - before reading (expectations, experience of previous J Barnes books, other neo-Vic books read etc)

2 - first half of the book up to (in my Vintage edition) page 224 including comments on style, feel, characters and plot excluding any spoilers beyond that point unless they are well signalled via the GR spoiler function.

3 - whole book, free-for-all, spoilers, overall impressions and general setting-to-rights of the world.

Hope that's ok with everyone!

Hi Pip et al: I am still waiting for my copy of the book from the library and haven't had much luck at my local 2nd hand store-I may give in and see what I can get online. Just to let you know I'm still planning to read!

Frances wrote: "Hi Pip et al: I am still waiting for my copy of the book from the library and haven't had much luck at my local 2nd hand store-I may give in and see what I can get online. Just to let you know I'm ..."

No rush, Frances! The threads are there and ready to go so anyone can join in at any time. I've had to postpone starting it too, for other reasons, but we'll get going eventually :-)