Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (Paperback/softback, 2009)

Geoffrey Braithwaite is a retired doctor haunted by an obsession with the French literary genius, Gustave Flaubert. As Geoffrey investigates the mystery of the stuffed parrot Flaubert borrowed from the Museum of Rouen to help research one of his novels, we learn an enormous amount about the writer’s work, family, lovers, thought processes, health and obsessions.But we also gradually come to learn some important and shocking details about Geoffrey himself. A compelling weave of fiction and imaginatively ordered fact, Flaubert's Parrot is by turns moving and entertaining, witty and scholarly, and a tour-de-force of seductive originality. ‘Unputdownable... A mesmeric original’ Philip Larkin‘Delightful and enriching...a book to revel in!’ Joseph Heller‘A wry and graceful book...Unfailingly sharp and often very funny’ Sunday TimesWITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR TO MARK THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST PUBLICATION