It has been quite an absence I am sorry to say,
as I haven’t been doing much reading lately. I confess to having been distracted by Wimbledon, the
Olympic and Paralympic games, moving house and general summer activities. Also, my reading quest hasn’t been
aided by my reluctance to pick up ‘How Late It Was, How Late’, the Booker I was
reading, and am still in the process of reading. I decided to take a quick interlude in the form of the most
recent prize-winning novel by Julian Barnes. And I must say it was an engaging interlude as I read it in
one sitting soaking up some late summer sunshine.
I liked the structure of the novel being in
two parts (with no chapters; something I will discuss further in my next review
of the aforementioned ‘How Late It Was, How Late’). The first part recounts the protagonist’s past focusing
particularly on his latter school years and a relationship while studying at
university. The second part is
many years later as a will bequest throws past events into the present for the
protagonist. He is forced to
re-examine past relationships to unravel the mysterious bequest and the reasons
behind it.
I found it a thought-provoking novel
enhanced by its discussion of the subjective nature of memory, how the
significance of particular recollections of people or events can be influenced
by life as it unfolds. Also I
thought Barnes’ reflections about growing up were especially pertinent; how somebody
young is waiting for life to start, to unfold as though in literature and how
this outlook evolves as time passes.
‘The Sense of an Ending’ was a pleasant and
intriguing read and I enjoyed its approach to the story, however, I found the
ending rather underwhelming.
Although not as short as ‘Offshore’, this slight volume may be difficult
to make a lasting impression amongst some of the other heavyweight prize-winners.
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