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Talking It Over

Talking It Over by Julian Barnes

"That's the trouble with talking it over like this. It never seems quite right to the person being talked about." —Gillian in Talking It Over

The ostentatious Oliver falls in love with quiet Gillian and wants to marry her. The problem? Gillian has already married Oliver's best and oldest friend, the somewhat stale but stable Stuart. Each character takes turns addressing the reader in this bright and funny "he said/she said/he said" novel.

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS / INTERVIEWS / REVIEWS / FILM & THEATRE

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

NOTE: When possible, editions are linked to entries in the online Julian Barnes Bibliography. These entries feature multiple images of the book and additional bibliographic details.
Talking It Over by Julian Barnes Talking It Over by Julian Barnes Talking It Over by Julian Barnes
English Editions

Talking It Over. London: Jonathan Cape, 1991. [See also: Uncorrected Proof]

Talking It Over. London: London Limited Editions, 1991.

Talking It Over. London: Jonathan Cape, 1991. [Paperback]

Talking It Over. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991. [See also: Uncorrected Proof | Boxed Uncorrected Proof

Talking It Over. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.

Talking It Over. London: Picador, 1992.

Talking It Over. New York: Vintage International, 1992.

Talking It Over. Toronto: Vintage International, 1992.

Flaubert's Parrot / Talking It Over. London: Quality Paperbacks Direct, 2000.

Talking It Over. Vintage Books, 2009; Vintage, 2013 [Rejacketed]

Audio Editions

Talking It Over. AudioGO, 2011: Read by Steven Pacey, Alex Jennings, Clare Higgins 
[Unabridged, 7 hours, 55 minutes]

Talking It Over. Random Century Audiobooks, 1991: Read by Jonathan Coy, William Gaminara, and Suzanna Hamilton
[2 cassettes (approx. 3 hours)]

Translated Editions

Catalan - Parlem-ne. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1994. Translated by Elisabet Ràfols.

Croatian - Pretresanje. Zagreb: Celeber, 2001. Translated by Lada Dawidowsky.

Czech - Jak to vlastne bylo? Praha: Volvox Globator, 1999. Translated by Zdenek Böhm.

Danish - En trekantshistorie. København: Tiderne Skifter, 1992. Translated by Henning Juul Madsen. Other edition: Samlerens Bogklub, 1993.

Dutch - Trioloog. Amsterdam/Antwerpen: Uitgeverij Atlas, 1992. Translated by Bartho Kriek. Other edition: Trioloog ; Liefde, enz. | Talking It Over ; Love, etc. Uitgeverij Atlas Contact, 2016. Trioloog translated by Bartho Kriek; Liefde, enz. translated by Marijke Versluys. [Dual edition].

Finnish - Puhumalla paras. Porvoo Helsinki Juva: WSOY, 1992. Translated by Kristiina Drews.

French - Love, etc. Paris: Éditions Denoël, 1992. Translated by Raymond Las Vergnas. [In red paper wraps]. Other edition: Paris: Éditions Denoël / Le Grand Livre du Mois, 1992. [hardback/bookclub]. Folio edition: 1994.

German - Darüber reden. Zürich: Haffmans Verlag, 1992. Translated by Gertraude Krueger. Other editions: München: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1994; Haffmans Verlag, 1997; Haffmans Verlag, 1997 [Paperback with dust jacket photo from the film adaptation]; Rowohlt Taschenbuch, 2002; Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2013

Greek - Peri Anemon... Athens: Ekdoseis Psichogios, 1994. Translated by Giannaes Spandonaes.

Hebrew - Medabrim 'al zeh. Tel-Aviv: Zmora-Bitan, 1994. Translated by Ya'ir Burla.

Hungarian - Dumáljuk meg rendesen. Budapest: Ulpius-ház, 2000. Translated by Szentgyörgyi József.

Italian - Parliamone. Milano: RCS Rizzoli, 1992. Translated by Riccardo Mainardi. Other edition: Amore, ecc. Torino: Einaudi, 1998.

Japanese - ここだけの話 | Koko dake no hanashi. Tokyo: Hakusui-Sha Limited, 1993. Translated by 斎藤 [Saitō Yoshifumi].

Korean - 내 말 좀 들어 봐. Seoul: Dong Yeun Publishing, 1997.

Latvian - Atklati runajot. Riga: Asja, 2000. Translated by Ina Abolina.

Lithuanian - Kalbant atvirai. Vilnius: baltos lankos, 2018. Translated by Nijolė Regina Chijenienė.

Norwegian - En trekanthistorie. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1993. Translated by Knut Ofstad.

Polish - Pomówmy szczerze... Warszawa: Prószynski i S-ka, 2002. Translated by Katarzyna Kasterka.

Portuguese - Amor & C.a. Lisboa: Quetzal Editores, 1994. Translated by Helena Cardoso. Other edition: 1998; Em tom de Conversa. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Rocco, 1994. Translated by Roberto Grey.

Romanian - Trois. Bucuresti: Nemira, 2014. Translated by Cornelia Bucur; Bucuresti: Nemira, 2006.

Russian - Как все было | Kak Vse Bylo. Moskva: AST, 2003. Translated by И. М. Бернштейн [I.M. Bernstein]. Other editions: Eksmo, 2013.

Serbian - Troje. Beograd: Geopoetika, 2002. Translated by Ivana Duric-Paunovic.

Slovenian - Prerekanja. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1997. Translated by Valerija Cokan.

Spanish - Hablando del asunto. Barcelona: Editorial Anagrama, 1993. Translated by Maribel de Juan. Other edition: Compactos Anagrama, 1999; Compactos Anagrama, 2003

Swedish - Tala Ut. Stockholm: Forum Publishers, 1992. Translated by Ingvar Skogsberg.

Turkish - Seni Sevmiyorum. Istanbul: Mitos, 1994. Translated by Serdar Rifat Kirkoglu. Other edition: Istanbul: Ayrinti Yayinlari, 2000; Ayrinti Yayinlari, 2012.

INTERVIEWS

10/25/1991 - Julian Barnes Interview with Don Swaim - Don Swaim, Wired for Sound
[Julian Barnes discusses some of the situations in his latest novel, Talking It Over, and describes the main character, Oliver. He also talks about France's relationship with England and his work with the Oxford English Dictionary.]

REVIEWS

12/1998 - Excentricité et interlinguisme dans Metroland et Talking It Over de Julian Barnes - Vanessa Guignery, Etudes Britanniques Contemporaines (15)

12/16/1991 - Flaubert's Parrot: Talking It Over by Julian Barnes - Michael Levenson, New Republic p.42-45

12/05/1991 - Getting to Know You - John Bayley, New York Review of Books p.25-26

10/13/1991 - Was It Something They Said? - Alexander Theroux, Washington Post Book World (21) p.5

07/25/1991 - Oliver's Riffs - Charles Nicholl, London Review of Books (13) p.19

07/19/1991 - Fearful Symmetry - D. J. Taylor, New Statesman & Society p.35

07/12/1991 - Giving the Authorized Version - Mick Imlah, Times Literary Supplement p.19

French Translation

12/1992 - Barnes, méthode champenoise - Serge Sanchez, Magazine Littéraire (305) p.84

11/18/1992 - Les prix littéraires - Josyane Savigneau, Le Monde p.28 (Femina Prize)

11/13/1992 - Terribles Anglais - Geneviève Brisac, Le Monde p.41

10/12/1992 - Julian Barnes: l'amour dans un jeu de quilles - Renaud Matignon, Figaro p.1

10/08/1992 - Le théâtre de l'ambigu - Claude Michel Cluny, L'Express p.152

10/01/1992 - Julian Barnes et ses masques - Frédéric Vitoux, Nouvel Observateur p.117

Italian Translation

06/06/1992 - Il triangolo di Barnes cuori solitari e mediocri - D'Amico Masolino, La Stampa p.2

Additional Criticism

2012 - Humors, Neuroses, and Falling in Love in Julian Barnes's Talking It Over and Love, etc. - Kathleen A. Kelly, The International Journal of the Humanities (9.9) p.178-192

2008 - Talk-Show Intimacy and Narrative Technique in Julian Barnes's Talking It Over and Love, etc. - Kathleen A. Kelly, International Journal of the Humanities (5.10) p.179-188

FILM & THEATRE

1996 - Love, etc. - Directed by Marion Vernoux
Love, etc.

An Alicéleo, France 3 Cinéma and Le Studio Canal+ coproduction. Starring Yvan Attal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Charles Berling.

A triangle: love, obsession, and choice. Pierre, a ladies' man who has little cash and no fixed residence, describes his best friend Benoît as the world's oldest 32-year-old. The shy, well-employed Benoît's life changes when he answers the personal ad of Marie, a 25-year-old who restores paintings. He's attracted to her and she likes his steady calm and his honest attention. They're soon a couple, and they include Pierre in their dinners, outings, and trips. What will happen when Pierre realizes that he too is in love with Marie? - Written by jhailey@hotmail.com, IMDb.com

12/1996 - Marion, 30 ans, rien que du bonheur - Jean-Yves Katelan, Première p.48

11/21/1996 - Nulle Part Ailleurs. Canal + (Interview with Julian Barnes.)

07/1996 - Love, etc - Thierry Klifa, Studio Magazine p.104-107

Talking It Over - Lifeline Theatre in Chicago
Talking It Over - Lifeline Theatre in Chicago Talking It Over - Lifeline Theatre in Chicago

A theatre adaptation of Julian Barnes's novel Talking It Over opened in Chicago on 1 February 2008 at the Lifeline Theatre, performances scheduled through 23 March 2008: www.lifelinetheatre.com

Talking It Over - Lifeline Theatre in Chicago
"Play about cheating is fairly brilliant." Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times - 02/13/2008

Quote: "The three principal actors are impeccable in every way, but so is the supporting cast -- the delicious Ann Wakefield as Gillian's worldly wise French mother and Katie McLean, briefly stealing the show, as a brashly comic former girlfriend. Bloody good all around."

PREREKANJA (Talking It Over) - Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana

A theatre adaptation of Julian Barnes's novel Talking It Over opened in Slovenia on 23 November 2007. Directed by Boris Cavazza, the production is being undertaken by the Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana.

Photos from the Opening with Julian Barnes
PREREKANJA - Talking It Over

(Janez Pipan - general manager & artistic director, Valerija Cokan-translator of the novel, Bojan Emersic- actor/Stuart, Damijan Cavazza-set designer, Julian Barnes, Barbara Cerar, actress/Gillian, Gregor Bakovic-actor/Oliver, Boris Cavazza-director, Barbara Korun-language adviser, Ajda Valcl-director's assistant). Photo by Peter Uhan.

PREREKANJA - Talking It Over

(Barbara Cerar actress/Gillian, Julian Barnes, Gregor Bakovic actor/Oliver, Bojan Emersic actor/Stuart). Photo by Peter Uhan.

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