Two years after the best-selling Arthur & George, Julian Barnes gives us a memoir on mortality that touches on faith and science and family as well as a rich array of exemplary figures who over the centuries have confronted the same questions he now poses about the most basic fact of life: its inevitable extinction. If the fear of death is “the most rational thing in the world,” how does one contend with it? An atheist at twenty, an agnostic at sixty, Barnes looks into the various arguments for and against and with God, and at the bloodline whose archivist, following his parents’ death, he has become—another realm of mystery, wherein a drawer of mementos and his own memories (not to mention those of his philosopher brother) often fail to connect. There are other ancestors, too: the writers—“most of them dead, and quite a few of them French”—who are his daily companions, supplemented by composers and theologians and scientists whose similar explorations are woven into this account with an exhilarating breadth of intellect and felicity of spirit. Deadly serious, masterfully playful, and surprisingly hilarious, Nothing to Be Frightened Of is a riveting display of how this supremely gifted writer goes about his business and a highly personal tour of the human condition and what might follow the final diagnosis. Most critics strongly recommended Julian Barnes's reflections on mortality. However, perhaps reluctant to embrace his disbelief, they seemed more impressed by his descriptive skill in depicting his family—in particular, his emotionally remote brother—even though a few critics cited the author himself as emotionally closed in his personal writing. Reviewers also praised the scope of Barnes's literary erudition more than any actual insight into the subject of death. A few reviewers felt that this dance around the subject makes Nothing to Be Frightened Of weaker than Barnes's other books. But most embraced the book's novelistic ambiguity, enjoying the story even if the author himself does not know how it will end. Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC Some say death is “nothing to be frightened of,” but most of us do fear death and dying. British novelist Barnes—reflective and erudite, a stellar stylist and a piquant wit—confronts the paradoxes, fantasies, horrors, mystery, and inevitability of death in this bracing, mordantly funny, and expansive mix of musings, literary criticism, and memoir. Although he assures readers that this is not his autobiography, Barnes does portray himself at transforming moments throughout his life and presents vivid portraits of his grandparents, parents, and philosopher brother Jonathan. He also ponders the fates of his “dead, French, nonblood relatives,” mostly writers he admires, such as Jules Renard, and assays the viewpoints on mortality of such standard-bearers as Montaigne and Richard Dawkins. Laced throughout this satisfyingly riverine blend of inquiry and apologia are sharp comments on religion (who fears death more, a believer or an atheist?); science; and the enshrinement of art. Barnes avers that “death is the one appalling fact which defines life,” then wonders if, for all his skepticism, he doesn’t write in the hope of immortality. --Donna Seaman "[ Nothing to Be Frightened Of ] call[s] to mind Woody Allen...Touching–and very funny." –Amy Finch, Providence Phoenix "Just try to put this memoir down...A dazzling blend of wry humor, keen philosophy and perceptive observations as Barnes ruminates about the inevitability of death and what it all means." –Verna Noel Jones, Rocky Mountain News "Brilliantly written and also funny...the book is cunningly composed, in fact held together in a rather Proustian fashion...Barnes has an extremely lively mind, and a distinctive voice, which gives a certain welcome jauntiness or gaiety to his darker musings." Frank Kermode, The New York Review of Books "Barbarously intelligent [and] a rare thing in literature...marvelously engaging, even uplifting...Briskly, rigorously, this unusual book gives us something to think about until that nothingness comes knocking." –John Freeman, NPR "A delicious mix of personal reminiscence, family history, literary criticism, and philosophical speculation." –Frank Wilson, The Philadelphia Inquirer "Strange and marvelous...Despite[its] mordant wit, erudition, and typically British understatement, the fear and trembling at its heart are always palpable...It is so good–an item of high literary quality and, paradoxically, great good humor." –Dan Menaker, Barnes & Noble Review "Surprisingly jocular–although also dead earnest...highly literary, thoughtful but playful." –Heller McAlpin, San Francisco Chronicle "Barnes is a great conversationalist, and this is a humorous book in spite of its serious subject." –Vikram Johri, St. Petersburg Times "An elegant memoir and meditation, a deep seismic tremor of a book that keeps rumbling and grumbling in the mind for weeks ther