Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

barnes_ending

I keep forgetting how much I admire the writing style of Julian Barnes, but as soon as I start one of his books it all comes back; how enjoyable they are to read.

It was thus I began this latest of his novels, The Sense of an Ending yesterday; a few pages into the novel, I recognised its quality and relished the thought that there were many more pages to go.

Not that many, actually,  as it is a short novel of 150 pages.  A lot is packed into those 150 pages, as the narrator Anthony Webster, a 60 something divorcee, recalls certain events in his life, after receiving an odd legacy from the mother of one of his old girlfriends.

The predominant theme of the novel  is memory – its trustworthiness or rather its fallibility and how liable a person is for the actions of their life in relation to other people. Theories of history also play a part in the novel, in terms of truth and reliable reportage of facts.

Despite the novel being written from a male point of view I found myself identifying with it, being at that 60 something age myself. However, in my case, I smugly thought, I have a record I can refer to in my diaries, which I kept for 20 years or so.

I mean to reread them at some stage, not to vicariously relive my youth, but to clarify my memory of times past. It could be very embarrassing, reading one’s callow youthful thoughts, but then again it might be enlightening and finally force me to decide whether to retain them for future generations or destroy them.

Sorry to get off the track, but perhaps the protagonist of Barnes’ novel would have benefitted from keeping a journal.

Be that as it may, of all the Booker long list novels I have so far read, The Sense of an Ending strikes me as a likely winner of the prize. It has a maturity and quality quite lacking in the others, which were entertaining and well written, but hardly prize winners.

6 comments:

Jan said...

You have inspired me to read this pronto!
Hello, Amazon, here I come!

Anne S said...

Jan, I do hope you like it and don't think ill of me if you don't. Still, you really can't go wrong with Julian Barnes.

Clare Dudman said...

You've enticed me too, Anne. From what I've read the Banville is a hot contender too. I've not read any of the longlist myself yet, though.

Anne S said...

Banville is not on the list this year. I think you're probably thinking of Hollinghurst who doesn't tempt me in the slightest.

I've now read four on the list - enough for now, unless the Jane Rogers becomes available as an ebook on Amazon.com, as I can't access ebooks on Amazon.co.uk

Clare Dudman said...

Yes - I meant Hollinghurst! How did you know? No, he doesn't appeal to me, either.

Clare Dudman said...

I've just thought of the answer to my own question - maybe it's because they've both won in previous years...