“The Postmodern Moment Has Passed”?!: Postmodernism in Julian Barnes’ The Noise of Time and The Only Story

Abstract

The present thesis focuses on the two most recent novels written by the critically acclaimed author Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time (2016) and The Only Story (2018). At the point of writing these novels have received little attention in the field of British and European literature. The thesis sets out to explore if and how Postmodern elements are used in Barnes’ recent works, and the two novels are used as case studies. The thesis argues that Postmodernism is not exhausted for Julian Barnes and is used as a means to write about universal themes. At the same time, it takes account of the complex nature of Postmodernism and the circumstance that it cannot be measured. In the textual analysis of the novels it is illustrated how recurring elements in Barnes’ fiction come back in the two novels.