As we are used to with Julian Barnes, his texts elegantly combine novel and essay. In this prose work, it is a friendly relationship between a failed actor and an elderly teacher, Elizabeth Finch, who leaves him a library and somewhat mysterious personal notes after her death. The essay part concerns the life of Julian the Apostate, the Roman emperor who tried to reverse the Christian development of his empire. As true for Elizabeth Finch as for the author's previous works, the novel is quite possibly his most profound and radical text in terms of reflections on history and Christianity or the concept of alternative histories. Moreover, it is a highly topical novel, as it reflects the doubts and fragmentation of the contemporary world.