Rated of 5
by lieselotte the sense of an ending
'The sense of an ending' really pleased me. I liked the philosophical approximation of the subject. Barnes shows a reality with this beautiful story. It surprised me till the end. The author has the skills to pull you into the story. The book was finished in three days. The end is the perfect clincher. I love his writing style. Some sentences are perfection. There were a few words that I didn't understand but of course the internet is the solution. I also think it is important that you don't use the most easy words, like that the reader can learn a lot from it. I really enjoyed learning new words. In a word, stunning!
Rated of 5
by Cloggie Downunder a powerful read
The Sense of an Ending is the 11th novel by Julian Barnes. In his sixties, retired, Tony Webster sees his life as pretty ordinary: career, marriage, amicable divorce, one child, two grandchildren. So the letter from a lawyer, informing him of an unexpected bequest of money and some documents, is surprising and intriguing. A blast from the past, it has him thinking back to high school friends, Adrian Finn in particular, and his first girlfriend at college, Veronica Ford. As Tony examines his memories of 40 years ago, present day events have him wondering just how true his memories are, and how justified his actions really were. Quotes from his sixth form History class come to mind: “Is history the lies of the victors? Or the self-delusions of the defeated?” Tony decides it’s the memories of the survivors, who are neither victorious nor defeated. Barnes has given the reader a clever plot and realistic characters. I found the suicide philosophy (life is an unsolicited gift you can refuse to accept) thought-provoking and the twist at the end left me gasping. I found it very reminiscent of Ian McEwan’s writing. This is a short but very powerful read.
Rated of 5
by gandyb A Sense of the Ending
Well worth your time.
Rated of 5
by chetyarbrough.com MEMORY AND REALITY
Julian Barnes writes about life in “The Sense of an Ending”. Barnes reveals the loss of truth in memory’s recollection of the past. This is a memoir of a man’s life; after retirement, after marriage and divorce, and after children’s growth to adulthood. It is an indictment of all who write about the past from memory. It is a mystery with unexpected twists.
The cognitive dissonance that exists when recalling what one thinks they know about what they did in the past is sharply defined by Julian Barnes’ story of reflection.
Remembering best friends, family, and loves is a natural habit as you grow older but memory of one’s past is distorted by contrived and prejudiced interpretation. Barnes observes that it is impossible to understand one’s past from memories without concrete documentation. Memory is not enough; i.e. it is unlikely that one accurately remembers their past.
“The Sense of Ending” is more of a novelette than a novel but it is an entertaining audio book and a cautionary tale about how one should live their life and how human actions have unintended consequences. ”The Sense of Ending” shows how memory and history are often misrepresentations of truth when not independently documented.
Rated of 5
by Kim What is the meaning of life, really?
I devoured this book in a day. Like another reviewer, I find it difficult to describe this story. Much of it consists of the narrator ruminating over what memory is (or isn't), which I sometimes found a bit annoying---and yet, his ruminations are the heart and soul of the story. He is searching for what we all search for: truth and meaning in our lives. As he is drawn back in time by by an old letter, he is forced to reconsider his views on memory and the passage of time, history, and happiness. Why did I like this book? It's a short, compelling read; it is well-written; the characters are powerfully drawn; there is a mystery involved; the end result is rather shocking. The concept, as well as the title of the book, are brilliant. Most of all, I liked it for its honesty in presenting life and our memory of the past as a messy, uncertain business. As the narrator sums it up in the last sentences, "There is accumulation. There is responsibility. And...... there is unrest. There is great unrest."
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Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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by lieselotte 
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by chetyarbrough.com 
