Talking It Over

By: Julian Barnes

Narrated by: Steven Pacey, Alex Jennings, Clare Higgins

Clare Higgins, Alex Jennings and Steven Pacey read Man Booker Prize-winning author Julian Barnes' 'he said, she said' novel.

Introducing Stuart, Gillian and Oliver. One by one they take their turn to speak straight out to the camera - and give their side of a contemporary love triangle. What begins as a comedy of misunderstanding slowly darkens and deepens into a compelling exploration of the quagmires of the heart.

©1991 Julian Barnes (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“tour de force of alternating monologue…three impeccable actors, Steven Pacey, Alex Jennings, and Clare Higgins…and there isn't a false note anywhere. A wonderful performance.” ( AudioFile)

"An interplay of serious thought and dazzling wit. . . . It's moving, it's funny, it's frightening . . . fiction at its best." ( New York Times Book Review)

A witty and provocative novel from the author of the masterpiece Flaubert's Parrot.” ( Library Journal)

The Narrative Gimmick Works

This was my first Julian Barnes novel, and I immensely enjoyed it. I'll be seeking out more of his work. Some other readers have complained that the concept of the alternating three different first-person narrators felt gimmicky or confusing, but I have to disagree with that. The essence of the story is simple, the real magic comes from the personal insights of these three complex and different characters. Discovering and anticipating the way each views the various situations in the plot kept me wanting more, perhaps because their reactions were all so believable. To paraphrase Gillian, Barnes takes an ordinary situation and manages to make it truly unique.

Another great work by Barns, but narration... well

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I had a hard time distinguishing the transitions between Steven Pacey & Alex Jennings, so I often got confused as to which character was speaking. That got in the way of my enjoyment of a good book. I picked it because I had enjoyed The Sense of an Ending (not available on Audible).