Author: Julian Barnes
Rating: 9/10
Winner of the Booker Prize, 2011
The Sense of an ending is a
head-scratcher, and a very difficult one at that. It is not remotely surprising
that it was written by Barnes, also known for other head-scratchers(Read:
Flaubert’s Parrot,Metroland).
In inimitable Barnes’ style, wry
humour combines with teenage pretentiousness as we follow a master manipulator(and
narrator) Tony Webster who guides us through his typical oh-so-English life
with philosophy and wit thrown in for good measure. Now, Tony is in middle age
with a satisfactory career, average marriage, and a bovine life until a lawyer’s
letter turns everything upside down. Adrian Finn, childhood friend(too
intelligent for his own good); Veronica, his former girlfriend, both combine
destructively leaving Tony to pick up the pieces and follow the trail.
With trademark precision, Barnes
does in 150 pages what Robert Ludlum couldn’t do in 800. He captivates, enthralls
and shocks you with an ending you wouldn’t see coming. Read it. And re-read it.
You would need it to pick up the clues you initially missed. And be glad that
you were born in the same era as Barnes. Period.
Quotes:
1) History is that certainty produced at the point where the
imperfections of memory meets the inadequacies of documentation.
2)
History consists not only of “the lies of the
victors,” but also of “the self-delusions of the defeated.”
3) A2+v+a1*s=b.
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