Narrating History in Julian Barnes’s A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters

Abstract

History, though it can be revived, rewritten and altered, always functions as a source of inspiriation and encouragement for the upcoming generations. Although it is prone to be distorted, contrived and re-interpreted by the following generations yet it constantly serves as a guiding light for future generations leading them in right direction without committing the mistakes which the human forefathers had mistakenly committed. History, an umbrella term, incorporates all the facets of traditions, myths and the past of a particular nation or many nations. Intermingling all these elements Julian Barnes’s chapter ‘Parenthesis’ in A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters is embellished with various literary techniques  as narrating English history, tradition, myth and the past through postmodern narrative strategies. The novel shares many concepts and trends with postmodern skills of writing fiction. Incorporating  all the above elements A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters rigidly confirms to the trend of postmodern fiction. This paper critically evaluates the half chapter entitled ‘Parenthesis’ from Barnes’s novel, A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters.