The Chameleonic Novels of Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes is one of the first names which comes to our minds when we think of literary postmodernism. An impressive amount of criticism has been dedicated to his novels, especially Flaubert¿s Parrot, which has become synonymous with Barnes. And yet, Barnes¿s charm does not reside only in his postmodernism. The writer is unique due to his wit, humor, orality, and the exploration of human nature, with themes such as personal identity, the unreliability of memory, love, death, the relationship between art and life, etc. These themes make Barnes a humanist author, therefore reducing him to postmodernism would be inaccurate. There is also a unique French flavor about all of his writings, and a transparent tenderness for France and its culture. Barnes¿s rich cultural knowledge shows him as a cosmopolitan writer. Barnes is a versatile writer: a prolific journalist, a daring novelist, a brilliant essayist. He often mixes genres, which results in hybrid fiction, which attracts the reader through its playfulness. For this reason, critics have named him ¿the chameleon of British letters¿.