Well, she believed in artifice, as she told us more than once. I imagined a regular fortnightly appointment. Her hair was a kind of sandy grey, shapely and of unvarying length. On her left little finger, a silver ring which we took to be inherited, rather than bought or given. She rarely wore earrings (were her lobes even pierced? now there’s a question). Occasionally a brooch, always small and, as they say, discreet, yet somehow refulgent. Obvious money was spent on blouses, in silk or fine cotton, often striped, and in no way translucent.

Sometimes she adopted a tartan or kiltish look with a big safety pin (no doubt there’s a special Scottish word for it). In summer, a box-pleated skirt, usually navy tweed in winter. It could still be called stylish: another decade, and it might be antique or, perhaps vintage. She appeared to have settled on her look some time ago. Neil notes that it easy “to stray into fantasy.” As a lecturer/professor, Elizabeth Finch, or EF as Neil later refers to her, is challenging, yet she provides a reading list which is “optional” and notes “I may well not be the best teacher, in the sense of the one most suited to your temperament and cast of mind.” That last sentence, which seems so casually spoken on the first day, turns out to have great significance.

The novel explores the problems of memory and biography and asks how well can we ever know a person–especially a multi-faceted, private person such as Elizabeth Finch.Įlizabeth Finch teaches an adult education course, “ Culture and Civilisation.” The students range in age from 20-40, and there’s a great deal of speculation about Elizabeth, a curious woman of contrasts, and her private life. Elizabeth Finch, from Julian Barnes examines the relationship between the narrator, Neil, and his one-time professor.

Elizabeth finch reviews