Book description
A classical music aficionado and concert-goer bemoans the degradation
of civility and respect among his fellow audience members. He develops
a series of measures to counteract the prevalence of inconsiderate
noise-making in the stalls. Resisting his erstwhile partner's appeals
for moderation and restraint, his tactics and approaches grow in extremity.
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously
published in the collection The Lemon Table.
Julian Barnes is the author of ten previous novels, including
Metroland, Flaubert's Parrot, A History of the World
in 10½ Chapters and Arthur & George; three books of
short stories, Cross Channel, The Lemon Table and
Pulse; and also three collections of journalism, Letters
from London, Something to Declare, and The Pedant in
the Kitchen.
His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. In
France he is the only writer to have won both the Prix Médicis (for
Flaubert's Parrot) and the Prix Femina (for Talking it
Over). He was awarded the Austrian State Prize for European
Literature in 2004, the David Cohen Prize for Literature and the Man
Booker Prize for Fiction in 2011. He lives in London.
