Well, let the obvious first be said - Just because a book is award winning doesn’t mean that its perfect.
I’ve never read Julian Barnes before, so this was untested ground for me. I’d pre-ordered this book some months back as it was on a list of most anticipated releases of 2011, and it sat on my shelf for a week or two before I got around to it. I must admit hearing that it had just been award the 2011 Man Booker Prize was the final push that made me pick it up.
The book is broken into two parts, the first sixty pages or so are of the man young, that latter part is of the man old reflecting on his younger years. During the first section I texted a friend of mine to tell her that this book was depressing the hell out of me, and I believe I described it as ‘Too fatalistic in a distinctly British way...passive depression with a stiff upper lip’. I stand by that, though after reading the whole work it has taken on more complexity.
Not having read the other books short listed for the 2011 Man Booker I can’t with any certainty say that ‘The Sense of an Ending’ did or didn’t deserve the honor, but what I can say is that it is an important book in my mind. Brief enough to hold in mind all at once while being thought provoking and capable of inducing the reader into reflection of his/her own life’s choices. This is a book that not only could I re-read, it is a book I WILL re-read.
On this first reading my only complaint is the absolute ending, which I felt was one twist to far, or perhaps I should say the last one was unnecessary. As I said I’ve never read Barnes before, but after this I can guarantee I will again.
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