Julian Barnes says Departure(s) will be his final book

Julian Barnes has said his new novel, Departure(s), will be his last book, the Booker prize-winning author told the Telegraph as he approaches his 80th birthday.

Barnes said he has the sense "that I’ve played all my tunes" and that he should not write a book just because it would be published. He added that he will continue to write journalism and reviews, but "in terms of books, this is my last," he told the Telegraph.

Departure(s) centres on Barnes’s role as go-between for two anonymised friends, Stephen and Jean, who became lovers and then separated. The book has been described as a hybrid of memoir, essay and fiction, bringing together themes Barnes has explored across a 45-year career that includes 15 novels and 10 works of nonfiction; he won the Booker prize for The Sense of an Ending in 2011 and has written under the name Dan Kavanagh.

Barnes, who was diagnosed six years ago with a rare type of blood cancer managed by a daily chemotherapy pill, said of his illness: "Right now, it’s a score draw." He said the condition, while stable, contributes to a weakening of the body. Widowed in 2008, he revealed he secretly remarried last August to Rachel Cugnoni; beyond his plans to keep writing shorter pieces, he said he has no further books planned.

Key Topics

Culture, Julian Barnes, Departure(s), Booker Prize, Rachel Cugnoni, Pat Kavanagh