Arthur & George
Barnes, JulianIn 1906, Arthur Conan Doyle took on the case of George Edalji, a reserved young lawyer, half Scottish and half Indian, who was wrongly accused of mutilating animals. These two men, from very different backgrounds, are brought together by a sequence of events that made sensational headlines at the time as "The Great Wyrley Outrages". It is a novel about low crime and high spirituality, guilt and innocence, identity, nationality, and race.
Comments from Groups
We enjoyed this book a lot, especially with its historical basis in fact. Christchurch 265 Enjoyed the achievement of using raw material, properly belonging to non fiction, to construct a 'novel'..better than Sherlock Holmes! Palmerston North 008 Great book. Loved the historical context. Gisborne 040 Fascinating! None of us had heard of this case, and what an insight into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Christchurch 040
Pages
505
505
Year
2005
2005
Reviews
04-03-2024
The only negative was that it was a bit drawn out. But the characters were superbly drawn and the 'plot' - based on that notorious case - was cleverly expressed. He is a wonderful author.
09-04-2020
Everyone really enjoyed this book bar 1! Lively discussion about prejudices in society and the justice system.
09-04-2020
All enjoyed the book and loved the prose style. Some liked the first part better, some the second part. A good example of Julian Barnes' work.
09-04-2020
Hard to get through the first 100 pages, but from then to the end an interesting read for the members who managed to finish it. We thought it was an interesting portrayal of issues of that time.
09-04-2020
Much enjoyed by this group. Several googled the characters and were amazed at the factual accuracy. The story development was clever, especially how some information about characters was withheld and revealed slowly.
09-04-2020
The book generated a great deal of discussion especially as the case of George was so unfamiliar to us all. The writing of course was lyrical and dense - as expected from Julian Barnes. However there were a lot of "loose ends", and characters introduced about whom we would have liked more information... Definitely recommended reading.
09-04-2020
Thoroughly enjoyed by the group - 8/10 rating. Engendered a good discussion. Could have been edited and shortened a little.
09-04-2020
Most enjoyed this book.
09-04-2020
Great discussion. We thought the book could have been better edited - ending and construction very clever however.
09-04-2020
We found this book beautifully written, satisfyingly complex and enigmatic - what was fiction and what was fact A great read.
09-04-2020
We found the book interesting but too long.
09-04-2020
Half the group "loved the book", the other half "hated it and found it hard to read"!
09-04-2020
Very interesting as a time piece and also for the historical information. We all enjoyed it a lot.
09-04-2020
Three people loved the book, others had mixed views - thought it was a little ponderous.
27-03-2019
The group were quite divided; some of us rated it a 5 while others gave up on it, but overall our rating averaged a 4. One member enjoyed the book notes more than the book. Interestingly one member found she doesn't enjoy fiction based on fact after reading this, but for others this was one of the highlights. Most of us agreed the writing was very talented but some found it too detailed. One was put off by the spiritualism aspect. Everyone agreed this book was a good book club read as it generated a lively discussion.
25-03-2019
Not everyone finished this one - slow to start, lots of detail but still a lot of unanswered questions. Not very satisfying as a "whodunit" as you don't find out who the culprit was. Much better biographically - interesting insights and beautifully written.