Knopf
Jan. 10, 2006
400 pages
A string of brutal but precise attacks on the horses of the English countryside, like the work of some adolescent, rural Jack-the-Ripper, is the central event which ties together the lives of the namesake characters in Arthur & George. Written by the prolific and accomplished Julian Barnes, Arthur & George is an ambitious work that succeeds as both a rousing tale and a solid piece of literature.
The story begins with two separate narratives, destined to intertwine. Arthur is a precocious lad who grows to represent the pinnacle of English manhood. In time, the reader learns that Arthur is none other than Arthur Conan Doyle, the famed creator of Sherlock Holmes. Originally an ophthalmologist, he begins his writing career in his doctor's office because he has few patients and much free time. Meanwhile, George Edalji grows up in the parish of Great Wyrley. He is half-Parsee, a non-Hindu ethnic group originally from Persia.
The mystery begins when the family receives obscene, threatening, sometimes nonsensical letters brimming with Christian mythology. After a prolonged campaign, a lull and then another flurry of letters, someone begins to surgically cut open the horses of Great Wyrley, calling it the work of the Great Wyrley gang and implicating George. After a sham trial, George is sent to prison. He is released after three years as a result of legal aid and public outcry, but he calls upon the famed author to help him clear his name.
Doyle, shaking off the moral stupor caused by his double life,spent between his consumption-ridden wife and his ostensibly secret mistress, is galvanized into action by his righteous indignation at this gross miscarriage of justice. At this point, the book enters the realm of meta-reality, as Doyle becomes his creation Sherlock Holmes in order to solve this crime. Paced by Doyle's alternating fits of intuition and rage, Arthur & George thunders onward towards the conclusion, which is followed by a decidedly strange ending.
Arthur & George is an ambitious novel because, inside the framework of historical fiction (though much of it did in fact occur), it deals with a whole slew of other issues. It is in part a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and in addition a tragic but ultimately triumphant love story. Doyle is torn apart by his upstanding moral nature and the fact that he keeps a mistress while his wife lies dying. The novel also deals with racism and George's inability to fit into society despite his solid Englishness. Barnes delves deep into George's psyche while he is imprisoned, letting the reader see how a man struggles when he knows he is innocent.
Ultimately, though, Arthur & George is a novel about death. Not that of the horses, which fades into the background, but the death of real, developed human beings. Arthur's life begins with the discovery of his grandmother's corpse, and it ends with his exploration of spiritism, the art of communicating with the dead. Arthur himself makes, maybe, one last appearance after he dies, and George is left to wonder about the great man and the meaning of his life in the enigmatic ending. Arthur & George leaves the reader with much to think about, and Julian Barnes should be commended for this exemplary literary effort.
