Departure(s)

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Departure(s)
Departure(s) (novel).png
First edition
Author Julian Barnes
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
Publisher Jonathan Cape
Publication date
20 January 2026
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages176
ISBN 9781787335721
Preceded by Elizabeth Finch  

Departure(s) is a novel by British author Julian Barnes. [1] [2] [3] Released on 20 January 2026 to coincide with the author's 80th birthday, the book was published almost simultaneously in several major markets, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Russia, among others. This is Barnes's 15th novel and, according to him, his last. [4] [5] [6] Blending fiction, memoir, and essay, it is narrated by a writer named Julian. Julian, living in north London and grappling with blood cancer, reflects on the loss of his wife to a brain tumour. His story focuses on a love affair between two of his college friends, whom he originally introduced. After parting ways as students, the couple rekindles their relationship decades later. [7] [6]

Reception

Since Barnes called the novel his final work of fiction, most critics focused their reviews on this fact. Dinah Birch ( The Times Literary Supplement ) called Departure(s) as "a final withdrawal from conventional categories of writing," noting the ambiguity of its genre; the book contains elements of both a novel ("It isn't quite a novel, though it does incorporate the vividly conceived germ of a story — "a story within a story") and autofiction, but is neither fully one nor the other. Birch also praised Barnes for his reflections on the unreliable functions of memory, the construction of the self, the limits of autonomy, noting primarily the influence of and references to Proust, as well as Virginia Woolf, Charles Baudelaire, Théophile Gautier, and Gustave Flaubert — "these disparate elements are bound together by the skillful management of theme and tone." [2]

References

  1. ↑ "A Briny Englishman (and Booker Prize Winner) Says Farewell". The New York Times. 2026-01-19. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  2. 1 2 "Making stories happen". TLS. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  3. ↑ "Review | Julian Barnes's final novel is about Julian Barnes". The Washington Post. 2026-01-18. 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  4. ↑ Cummins, Anthony. "Julian Barnes's search for an ending". The Observer.
  5. ↑ Clark, Alex (2026-01-19). "Departure(s) by Julian Barnes review – this final novel is a slippery affair". The Guardian. 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  6. 1 2 "Julian Barnes: Author discusses his 'final' novel Departure(s), living with cancer, and the future of fiction". www.bbc.com. January 14, 2026.
  7. ↑ "What is the focus of Julian Barnes's novel Departure(s)?". Britannica. 2026-01-19. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
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