Julian talking to himself

Have finished The Sea by John Banville - but I am looking over it a bit more and struggling to like it. There are some good passages, but it compares badly with another book which delighted me. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields is a masterly effort. Virtuosic in its employment of a variety of narrative devices. Extremely affecting

Now reading Author, Author by David Lodge. Cool, precise and lucid. This is a loving and detailed work on episodes in the life of Henry James. The trials and tribulations of authorship are brought vividly to life.