The Sense of an Ending
By Julian Barnes
- Release Date: 2011-10-05
- Genre: Literary Fiction
Description
BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present.
A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre.
Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.
Reviews
Smashing
4By LecteurrdHuman and real. A wonderfully constructed plot.Very mixed feelings on this one
3By KiwidaughterDon’t get me wrong, it’s beautifully written and I found it compelling. Some of the passages and observations were so well said that I want to go back just to ponder them. My issue is with the reveal and the ending. We all say things we later regret and we all, with the passage of time, gain context on events, and choose to remember things in the most favorable (to us) fashion possible. We all reinvent our own past to some degree. Without spoilers, I’ll just say that the reveal is more of an odd “uh, oh-kaaay” moment than some sort of revelation wherein we see that blame for subsequent events falls on the narrator’s early (immature/hasty/ ill-advised/ angry) words. For as well written as it was I thought the ending would be a lot more consequential .Disapointed
2By BicimadridNormally I dont write reviews. This time I felt compelled to comment mainly because I felt very dissapointed. I believed that some great truth about life was going to be revealed. Not so. The book is actually very well written, but is a flow of retrospective analisis that led nowhere and unraveled a story that is of no consequence (at least to me).The mirror deceives and beguiles, the window can tell the truth
4By SteadyDancingIt's true for all of us that our perceptions of self are skewed, our memories misleading and false, our stories incomplete and our hearts betrayed by the mind that guides it. This story shows one on a human level with the emotions hurt/pain/longing/lust/love/desire/remorse as the reader's vehicle for soulfully understanding this truth and realizing that short-sightedness and blind ambition have consequences. I found the book insightful and the character development to be admirable. Philosophical inquisitions are graced with brief moments of poetic beauty. The method of presentation was slightly difficult to fall into a flow at the commencement of reading, but soon leads the reader to be attached and invested in the characters even when a character disguises their true nature or intentions — eventually the characters are understood and respected.Long wind up for little payoff.
1By Lisa LefebvreTedious detail that builds up to something supposedly shocking. But not.Sense of an Ending
5By Emmet AloysiusOne of the best books in the last two years! EAFEnigmatic
3By acreadsHmmm... I just finished this book and I'm afraid I don't really get it. It's not that I don't understand what happened, it's just that I'm not sure the plot deserved so many pages. There's something about the prose and the thoughtful, routine, Stewart O'Nan-like focus on prosaic life that's appealing, but the final reveal left me feeling kind of empty - i.e. I read all that for that?Humbling
5By ShavliMaAll of the most complimentary adjectives apply here. Sneakily beautiful, harsh, compelling, must-read. Barnes writes of both youth and late middle age so believably...and the mystery at the novel's heart is a lingering taunt.Regrets anyone?
5By Isobel92111This book should be read by anyone over 40 (50 or 60 even better). It has such a powerful writing! Its English is astonishing. It's about memories, regrets, life, future, ... I loved this book. But maybe it's just because it came at the perfect moment.Great Read
5By korandaI don't read often but found this hard to put down. Enjoyed the thoughts it provoked.
