原文开头
Julian Barnes says goodbye to the novel. By Adam Begley When love is absent, bottled up, interrupted, or misdirected, Barnes is at his best. “Yes—oh, dear, yes—the novel tells a story,” E. M. For- ster wrote. “I wish that it was not so.” Julian Barnes has confessed that as a young man reading Aspects of the Novel, he found this sentiment “feeble” and responded impatiently, “If you aren’t up to telling a story, why write a novel?” Barnes, who turned 80 in January, now sings a different tune, and anyway, Forster’s wish was long ago granted. …
摘自《大西洋月刊》(The Atlantic)第337卷 第2期 · 2026年2月2日,Adam Begley。仅引用开头一小段供了解文章,版权归原刊所有,全文请阅读原刊。