1. Julian Barnes
Before She Met Me

2. Julian Barnes ( )

3. Julian Barnes (1946 - ) Born in Leicester, his family moved to London
Both of his parents were teachers of French, he studied modern languages
Worked as a reviewer, literary editor and film critic
Suffered from shyness
First novel: Metroland (1980)
Before She Met Me (1982)
Before She Met Me: „a rather nasty book about obsessions”.

4. Julian Barnes ( )
Most successful: Flaubert’s Parrot (1984); breaks with the linear narrative structure, consists of fragments of an elderly doctor’s narrative
The Sense of an Ending (2011); Booker Prize
His fiction: Mixture of the comic and the macabre
His opinion about Before She Met Me: „a rather nasty book about obsessions”.
Issues the novel engages with: the role misinterpretation plays in literature, history.

5. Group Work
What do you think, why is the main character a historian? Why does he become obsessed with Ann?
What is the role of Jack in the narrative? Why do both Ann and Graham turn to him for advice?
What is the function of the visual (films, dreams, photos) in the narrative?
What is the function of travelling (exploring new places) in the narrative?
Is the conclusion of the novel predictable? Why/why not?