The Sense of an Ending

When I see a book that is only 150 pages, I automatically think the book won’t have much to offer, but then I remember some great novellas like, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and now Julian Barnes’s A Sense of an Ending. Winner of this year’s Man Booker prize A Sense of an Ending is the story I always wanted an angsty book about the teenage years to be like. I think back to Catcher in the Rye and think The Sense of an Ending is everything that classic should have been, all Catcher left me with was the need to slap Holden repeatedly.

The book follows the story of Tony Webster forty years later who receives an unexpected letter which leads him to remember his life forty years ago. The obsession with girls he had, his very first relationship and the memories of talking about philosophy, classical music and literature with his friends. This book is beautifully written, it was a real pleasure to read; it was intelligent, witty and I’d highly recommend it to everyone.

This book is narrated by Tony Webster, a retired English gentleman in his sixties, who has a wonderful friendship with his ex-wife, a loving daughter and grandchildren, and is quite content and at peace with how life has turned out. Then one day, out of the blue, he receive a letter from a lawyer which prompted him to recall childhood memories of his life; school, relationships, sex and suicide. More importantly the friendship he had with Adrian and their pact to always stay in touch.

Unfortunately in their twenties, a significant incident happened to Adrian and Tony’s friendship, which ignited feeling’s of jealously, envy, and betrayal in Tony, and soon their friendship dissolved. It was those missing years after this event that Tony now tries to make sense of the mystery surrounding Adrian’s life and the impact he had on Adrian’s girlfriend. But the big question is why after 40 years have these issues resurfaced, and how did he become caught up in this mess.

After looking back over the plot, it was actually quite simple but the author didn’t present it to you in a straightforward way. So it took me longer than expected to finish this book. I found so many hidden layers, messages and clues throughout the book that I seem to be re-reading sections over and over again. But in the end, it was very exciting and rewarding once you understood it.

I thought I knew how I felt about the characters initially, but over the course of the book, when truths are revealed I did find my opinion change dramatically.

What I did get from this book is how fragile our memory is over time, and perhaps only believing in what we really want and blocking out the rest. This was a clever and remarkable book and one I could easily read over again.

Help! Someone please clear up the ending of this book for me? I understand most of it but I'm left with not really sure why Victoria was called Mary was it absolutely necessary to change her name? Also Why did her Mother give the Diary to Tony and not just give it straight to her daughter? Why had she thought Tony would want it after all these years. Why did he register with her after all those years, she only met him once? Too many things not fully explained. A wonderfully written book though.

Sorry I meant Veronica not Victoria.

After much encouragement from friends, I've finally decided to read my hardback copy of this novel. Whilst the beginning is nothing special (Jeffrey Archer does a similar schoolboy version in Only Time Will Tell) I like the way Barnes cuts out unnecessary words and gives us the raw bones of the story. Bones which I assume will soon turn out to be a proverbial skeleton in the cupboard!

Sense of an Ending is an absolute gem of a book; a powerful reflection on what memories mean in our lives. The story is told by an older man whose discovery of a strange bequest wakes a strong desire in him to come in terms with his past... but memories are funny things. They seem to often change with us and the experiences that we gather through our lives except that at times these memories clash with the reality of the consequences of our past actions and when that happens there is some reckoning to be done....

isha sharma it is a good book.you may find it at Free Book Spot.Enjoy..

Actually this book seems to be an interesting book.... I want to read it .... can please any one guide me how to read this book ....

Thnxxx