Nothing to be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes

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In this memoir, which is also an essay, Julian Barnes takes on the ambitious subject of death — and succeeds brilliantly. He has, he tells us, thought about his worst-case scenario, and also his best-case scenario. In the former, he is doomed, and trapped, with some time for contemplation — in a sinking, overturned ship, or a crocodile's lair, or the boot of a kidnapper's car. But what's the optimum situation? This, of course, is harder to imagine — possibly being told you're going to die, but with just enough time to write a book about death. Anyway, Barnes explores death vigorously — its nature, its history, its connection to God — and tells us lots of other things about himself and, fascinatingly, his brother, Jonathan, who is a philosopher. Very diverting — and, if you're worried about death, rather helpful, I think.

Synopsis by Foyles.co.uk

'I don't believe in God, but I miss Him.' Julian Barnes' new book is, among many things, a family memoir, an exchange with his brother (a philosopher), a meditation on mortality and the fear of death, a celebration of art, an argument with and about God, and a homage to the French writer Jules Renard. Though he warns us that 'this is not my autobiography', the result is a tour of the mind of one of our most brilliant writers. When Angela Carter reviewed Barnes' first novel, "Metroland", she praised the mature way he wrote about death. Now, nearly thirty years later, he returns to the subject in a wise , funny and constantly surprising book, which defies category and classification - except as Barnesian.