BookTalk introduces readers to a carefully chosen, provocative selection of novels for reading and informal discussion, considering the author’s writing techniques and the character’s personal journeys. Readings include translations of books from other countries and cultures in the search for fictions that illuminate the lives and understanding of those from all across the globe.
This class focuses on Departure(s) is Julian Barnes's 2026 novel, which he has called his "official departure" or final book, blending fiction, memoir, and essay to explore memory, love, mortality, and aging through the story of a writer reflecting on a rekindled romance between two friends. The slim but weighty book, published around his 80th birthday, features a narrator named Julian who orchestrates and later observes the on-again, off-again relationship of his college friends, Stephen and Jean, across several decades, while also dealing with his own health issues.
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