Book Review: Sense of an ending, by Julian Barnes
I have an existing bias towards thick books - an inherent assumption that they have something more substantial and concrete to say. Sense of an ending is the best example of why my bias is completely biased and incorrect:).
Sense of an ending is a very thin novel, or a novella as they say. It recounts the story of Tony, an old man now as well as his school friend Adrian and ex-girlfriend Veronica. The tale is in Tony's own words and covers a period of more than sixty years. The story is split into two parts, the first details Tony's childhood friendship with Adrian and his doomed relationship with Veronica. And the second part details circumstances where Tony and Veronica come in contact again, interact again, open old wounds; all this uncovering a different version of the first part of the story.
I can write about the book's story but that would spoil the pleasure of discovering it yourself, for all who may want to read it sometime. Suffice to say, the story is slow, meanders and you wonder if it has anything to say or not. And of course, in the end you realise that there is a reason for all this meandering - but that is for you to figure out yourself.
For me, the highlight of the book was not its story anyways - it was how it was told. A slow moving tale, uncovering fact after fact about the past - something correct and sometimes incorrect; the piecing together of these facts to create a new past, or at least try to recreate it; the perseverance (or stubbornness) of Tony to uncover these facts, even it meant going down a slope better not treaded; bringing up philosophical questions which cannot be answered, or at least are answered wrong many times; wondering about the rightness and wrongness of life; wondering about the human strength and morality, and mistaking one for another; and so on...
It was all these and more moments in the book which I remember. The ability of convey so much and more within barely 150 pages - its an art which very few possess, and certainly not some of the proclaimed masters of the writing business. And just to see this quality of Julian Barnes, you need to read this book!
Sense of an ending is a very thin novel, or a novella as they say. It recounts the story of Tony, an old man now as well as his school friend Adrian and ex-girlfriend Veronica. The tale is in Tony's own words and covers a period of more than sixty years. The story is split into two parts, the first details Tony's childhood friendship with Adrian and his doomed relationship with Veronica. And the second part details circumstances where Tony and Veronica come in contact again, interact again, open old wounds; all this uncovering a different version of the first part of the story.
I can write about the book's story but that would spoil the pleasure of discovering it yourself, for all who may want to read it sometime. Suffice to say, the story is slow, meanders and you wonder if it has anything to say or not. And of course, in the end you realise that there is a reason for all this meandering - but that is for you to figure out yourself.
For me, the highlight of the book was not its story anyways - it was how it was told. A slow moving tale, uncovering fact after fact about the past - something correct and sometimes incorrect; the piecing together of these facts to create a new past, or at least try to recreate it; the perseverance (or stubbornness) of Tony to uncover these facts, even it meant going down a slope better not treaded; bringing up philosophical questions which cannot be answered, or at least are answered wrong many times; wondering about the rightness and wrongness of life; wondering about the human strength and morality, and mistaking one for another; and so on...
It was all these and more moments in the book which I remember. The ability of convey so much and more within barely 150 pages - its an art which very few possess, and certainly not some of the proclaimed masters of the writing business. And just to see this quality of Julian Barnes, you need to read this book!
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