You put together two things that have not been put together before & the world is changed In Levels of Life Julian Barnes gives us Nadar the pioneer balloonist & aerial photographer; he gives us Colonel Fred Burnaby reluctant adorer of the extravagant Sarah Bernhardt; then finally he gives us the story of his own grief unflinchingly observed This is a book of intense honesty & insight; it is at once a celebration of love & a profound examination of sorrow