Elizabeth Finch
by Julian Barnes· 2022
Charting the story of a teacher through the recollections of a former student, this novel explores human connection and philosophy.
Elizabeth Finch's ideas are not to everyone's taste.
'The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past. And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected.'
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher and a thinker—always rigorous and thoughtful. She guided her students to develop ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness. As a former student unpacks her notebooks and remembers her inquisitive mind, her passion for reason resonates through the years. Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past and explore key events that show how to make sense of our lives today. Underpinning them all is the story of J—Julian the Apostate, her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us.
This novel is a tribute to philosophy, an evaluation of history, and an invitation to think for ourselves.
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Charting the story of a teacher through the recollections of a former student, this novel explores human connection and philosophy. Elizabeth Finch's ideas are not to everyone's taste. 'The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past. And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected.' Elizabeth Finch was a teacher and a thinker—always rigorous and thoughtful. She guided her students to develop ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness. As a former student unpacks her notebooks and remembers her inquisitive mind, her passion for reason resonates through the years. Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past and explore key events that show how to make sense of our lives today. Underpinning them all is the story of J—Julian the Apostate, her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us. This novel is a tribute to philosophy, an evaluation of history, and an invitation to think for ourselves.