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In these stories, Julian Barnes takes as his universal theme the British in France - the fascination with the country, the reasons for being there, and the sometimes ambiguous reception.

The central character of Flaubert's Parrot is Geoffrey Braithwaite, a retired doctor with a passion for Flaubert. As he leads us on an investigative trip through France and through the past, we are offered a glimpse of the writer who so fascinates him. At the same time the layers of Braithwaite's own past are peeled away to reveal someone infinitely more troubled than he first seemed.

In this novel Julian Barnes revisits Stuart, Gillian and Oliver, whom readers first met in Talking it Over, using the same technique of allowing each to speak directly to the reader, to whisper his or her secrets and to argue a particular version of the truth.

'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.

A collection of essays on France from Julian Barnes. Written over a 20 year period, the topics Barnes covers range from landscape to literature, food to flaubert, film and song to the Tour de France.

Stuart and Oliver have been friends since school, though Stuart is painfully aware of the differences between them. It’s always been Oliver who impresses people, especially women, so when shy, awkward Stuart meets and marries the beautiful Gillian, an uneasy threesome develops between the two old friends and the new woman in their lives. Gradually the flamboyant Oliver realises he’s in love with his friend’s wife, and sets out to win her for himself. Somewhat confusingly, the French film version of Talking It Over is called Love, etc, which Barnes adopted as the title of the sequel novel in 2000.

Management Teaching use: Conversation in organisations is a subject, which is causing considerable debate among modern business theorists. This text dissects what appears to be a conversation but is in fact a series of comments by people viewing the same situation from their own viewpoints, often in direct conflict with each other. The link to business here is that often relationships within organisations break down not through lack of communication, but through a lack of common understanding. Students should consider how to improve internal communications within organisations, not merely through the providing the channels, but through ensuring that what is being said is being explained and understood. The need for class two-way communications models can also be discussed.