or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
37 used & new from £2.96
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Lemon Table
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Lemon Table (Hardcover)

by Julian Barnes (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £11.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £5.50 (32%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 4 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
8 new from £10.69 20 used from £2.96 9 collectible from £5.15
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 12 used & new from £1.15
Paperback (Reprint) £8.47 £8.51 13 used & new from £7.05
Audio Cassette Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

The Lemon Table + The Pedant in the Kitchen + Nothing to be Frightened of
Price For All Three: £22.54

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Pedant in the Kitchen

The Pedant in the Kitchen

by Julian Barnes
4.6 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.27
Nothing to be Frightened of

Nothing to be Frightened of

by Julian Barnes
3.7 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.78
History of the World in 10½ Chapters (Picador Books)

History of the World in 10½ Chapters (Picador Books)

by Julian Barnes
4.4 out of 5 stars (23) 
Flaubert's Parrot

Flaubert's Parrot

by Julian Barnes
3.8 out of 5 stars (18)  £4.99
Love, etc

Love, etc

by Julian Barnes
4.1 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.39
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 213 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; First Edition edition (4 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 022407198X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224071987
  • Product Dimensions: 22.7 x 14.7 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 186,043 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #19 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Barnes, Julian

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Sunday Express, 13 March

‘These stories may be short but they are also most incredibly moving’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Observer, 20 March

'Barnes has created a collection of acute observations which shows him to be at the top of his game’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Lemon Table
47% buy the item featured on this page:
The Lemon Table 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£11.49
The Pedant in the Kitchen
20% buy
The Pedant in the Kitchen 4.6 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.27
Nothing to be Frightened of
19% buy
Nothing to be Frightened of 3.7 out of 5 stars (13)
£5.78
Talking It Over (Picador paperback Books)
7% buy
Talking It Over (Picador paperback Books) 4.5 out of 5 stars (11)
£5.49
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hairdressing has never been so good, 3 Dec 2006
This review is from: The Lemon Table (Paperback)
This is an exceptional collection of stories...they all recount different aspect sof ageing... and none better than the opener which tells of three visits to the hairdressers'. It documents the same man visiting firstly as a child, then as a young man and then as an OAP. The little microcosm of the barber's chair tells his story and also the story of a social change. Brilliant. Barnes is at his prime.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars One Note Wonder, 15 May 2007
By A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Lemon Table (Paperback)
This collection brings together eleven stories written over a span of roughly ten years, six of which were originally published in The New Yorker, and the remainder in venues such as Granta and the TLS. Originally titled "Rage and Age" (per the Dylan Thomas poem), the collection is thematically focused on aging and death and Barnes has said that the stories were intended to counter the notion that life calms down or gets serene in old age. While the collection certainly counters that myth, the thematic concentration results in a certain repetitiveness when the stories are read back to back.

The fairly forgettable "A Short History of Hairdressing" tells the story of a man's life through the framework of three visits to the barber, one as a child, one as a adult, and one as an old man. Set in 19th-century Sweden, "The Story of Mats Israelson" ponders the unconsummated love between a sawmill manager and the wife of the town pharmacist. As is so many period pieces, the two are locked into their social roles unable to express their feelings to each other, leading the a lifetime of yearning for what might have been. Thankfully, this ennui is dispelled in "The Things You Know," in which two widows meet for breakfast. Each is determined to sugarcoat their memories of married life, but each also knows certain nasty truths to the other's marriage, making the entire story very spiky and harsh.

In "Hygiene", a WWII veteran makes his way to London for the annual banquet of his old regiment. This affords him the chance for a yearly meeting with the same prostitute, a tryst which is his sole way of demonstrating his existence to himself. The Russian writer Ivan Turgenev is the protagonist of "The Revival", which reflects upon a brief period of happiness in his later years, spurred by his platonic love for an actress. "Vigilance" is easily the best story of the collection, dwelling on a middle-aged gay Londoner whose anger and frustration with his relationship is sublimated, only to emerge with venom at concert-goers who fail to be suitably quiet. It's both quite funny and sad at the same time. Much less successful is the French-set "Bark," which revolves around a scheme to finance the building of public baths by which twenty or so investors put up the initial funds, and the last living one inherits the proceeds.

"Knowing French" is built on a clever conceit, that an elderly woman reading her way through the library's fiction in alphabetical order, has come to Barnes' much lauded novel "Flaubert's Parrot." She then initiates a correspondence with him, of which we are only privy to her side. It's an effective evocation of the "problem" of elder homes, for which not all elderly people are suited. In "Appetite", a woman reads recipes to her Alzheimers-stricken husband, whose only responses are barks of indignation at vague recipe directions or lewd outbursts. "The Fruit Cage" tackles the confusion of a middle-aged man whose 80-year-old parents suddenly separate. The final story is, "The Silence", in which a fictional version of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius jots down fragmentary reflections on his life and career.

Ultimately, the stories are a clear warning to the reader that one's old age is not likely to be dominated by grandchildren and warm fires, but rather by nostalgia and brooding over mistakes of the past, words left unsaid, deeds left undone. In that sense, the stories are quiet affecting. However, they are perhaps best read one a month or so, as the same note tends to get struck -- albeit by very different characters in very different settings.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
30 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Short Stories of Wide Range and Impeccable Style, 9 Dec 2004
By J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I am writing this little squib to call attention for those of you music-lovers who may read my and others' reviews of classical music CDs to the story 'Vigilance.' It is a hilarious and ultimately unsettling story of a Londoner who has made it his life's work to shame and quiet those people at classical music concerts at the Barbican, Festival Hall and the Royal Albert who cough during performances. One initially sympathizes with his irritation but becomes more and more aware that his bête noire has made him just the least little bit unhinged.

One can also add a commendation for what is probably the best story here, praised liberally by press reviewers, 'Knowing French.' Barnes is a superbly informed, superbly polished writer whose works have never one word too many and are very much worth getting to know.

Scott Morrison

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Short and sour
"Among the Chinese", it's revealed towards the end of the last story in this collection, "the lemon is the symbol of death", and the table of that name is in a cafe where people... Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2007 by Jeremy Walton

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.