I sort of liked Julian in that regard - he's similar to the other characters in that regard insofar as they're ultimately all frauds to a certain extent, people whose approval Richard was desperate for to the point where he created idealised versions of them that never really existed. Felt like there were a lot of hints at Julian ultimately being a bit of a fraud throughout the novel as well - the college itself is a bit of a joke, and nowhere else would a professor be given quite so much autonomy over a group of students without any questions.
Anyway, really loved the novel as a whole. In the hands of a worse writer the progression of the central conflict could've seemed somewhat ridiculous but I felt like it worked perfectly. And the ambiguity of the narrator and the way he's often on the fringes of the main plot made for some really interesting storytelling. Superbly written too.
