Talking It Over

The thing about this book that will hook you is the plot. Give it a couple of absorbing chapters where you build up a picture of three characters (or perhaps caricatures is better), and you'll be drawn in. Then it's almost irresistible; the interplay, the differences of opinion between the characters, the explanations of meaning and reason and the insights into complex human relationships are a great mix. The narrative device of three characters (plus a few extra) giving their differing points of view on events is an interesting way of doing things. The portrayal of Oliver always seems too over-the-top, though, and his eccentricities extreme. You are probably not meant to like him, but I feel that Barnes over did it on the self-indulgence. Worth a read!