Elizabeth Finch cover art

Elizabeth Finch

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Elizabeth Finch

By: Julian Barnes
Narrated by: Justin Avoth
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £22.99

Buy Now for £22.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

From the award-winning novelist, a compact narrative that turns on the death of a vivid and particular woman and becomes the occasion for a man's deeper examination of love, friendship and biography.

The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past. And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected.

Elizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration—always rigorous, always thoughtful. With careful empathy, she guided her students to develop meaningful ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness.

As a former student unpacks her notebooks and remembers her uniquely inquisitive mind, her passion for reason resonates through the years. Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past and explore key events that show us how to make sense of our lives today. And underpinning them all is the story of J—Julian the Apostate, her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us.

This is more than a novel. It's a loving tribute to philosophy, a careful evaluation of history, an invitation to think for ourselves. It's a moment to reflect and to gently explore our own theories and assumptions. It is truly a balm for our times.

©2022 Julian Barnes (P)2022 Bolinda Publishing
Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary World Literature Thought-Provoking Short Story
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Metroland cover art
Talking It Over cover art
Through the Window cover art
The Lemon Table cover art
The Noise of Time cover art
Arthur & George cover art
Levels of Life cover art
In His Own Words: Conversations with Leo Tolstoy cover art
Aspects of the Novel cover art
The Narnian cover art
On Writers and Writing cover art
Heretics cover art
The Everlasting Man cover art

What listeners say about Elizabeth Finch

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Stealth History Book

I love Julian Barnes but this descends into an opinionated history book and I could barely finish it. God knows what he was thinking. So boring. For fans only, I guess.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing!

I found it difficult to finish towards the end. Nevertheless, it is probably worth re-reading and having a second try.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Educational but borderline dull

I like Julian Barnes and have found him to be erudite and always worth a listen.
Despite reading a previous newspaper review (which was not flattering) I nevertheless thought I would give this a go.
Frankly, I found the overall experience dull, I initially wondered if my lack of knowledge concerning Julian had caused me to misunderstand or miss something…..but maybe not.
Don’t attempt it unless you are a fan, and certainly don’t if like me you like to listen whilst gardening or decorating, wish I’d stuck to radio 4!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

EF

Apparently based on Anita Brookner an author I read a lot in the past. I preferred the parts about her to the Julian the apostate bits but I learned a fair amount.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Tedious dull pompous reading

A dull story about a dull man studying an uninteresting woman read with equally dull and pompous voice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

If you like history - read it

But it wasn’t for me, despite trying really hard. I kept drifting off and ended up with no clue as to what was happening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Turns into a history book

I’ve got so far listening to the story about Elizabeth Finch it when it turned into a history lesson I’m afraid I stopped

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Julian Barnes forgetting to respect his readers

Julian Barnes parading his erudition forgetting to respect his readers by burbling on with his own musing presented as the thoughts of a stereotypical protagonist who he praises endlessly, thus aggrandising his own ideas and intellect. He literally lost the plot. As in so many of his noe Els he lacks insight in his characterisation of women. The essay section was deadly in presentation and far too long, the fascinating Julian did not come alive with the dull recounting of his work. The lists of quotes while interesting in themselves were simply listed passing out of mind instantly before the next was given. Too much was repeated in later sections. I gave up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing in the extreme

Huge fan of Julian Barnes but this is a history and philosophy lesson dressed up as a novel. It’s rather tedious with a huge essay which takes over the story. Hard to finish it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!