Saturday, August 27, 2011

Alex's Review - The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

I am a complete shocker and always judge a book by its cover. This book was kept aside for me as requested at our shiny new library (oh all-right eight months old now but I still think of it as shiny). The book was shiny too. I like to think that I'm the first to read it. The plastic is all new and clean, the pages most delightful to turn - also clean and quite sophisticated I thought - edged in black - haven't seen that before - nice touch - elegant.

At first I found it difficult to like the narrator who introduced us to himself and his "mates" as we would call them in Orstralia. The voice was, in a sense, self-deprecating, or at least acknowledging the awkwardness of adolescent youth - the need to belong and fit in, the desire to seem "cool", to be smart but not too smart, to be valued, to "score" - albeit in a 50s/60s awkward way with the threat of "pregnancy" ever-hovering.

The book is divided into two parts and I got a bit of a shock when I came to Part Two. For a second I thought I had a book of short stories and that was it; I wasn't going to find out what happened. Aha ! I was hooked. Be careful of what you wish for. It's not a book of short stories...you do, in a sense, get to find out what happened. Or do you? This little tome is pregnant with possibilities.

It's a bit difficult to say much more without giving away the plot but Barnes challenges us to examine our lives and our memory/opinions of ourselves and our conduct. I suspect this deceptively "small" tome is also a challenge to the British national character. And yes, I am talking about recent events though I'm not sure even Barnes could have envisaged or accounted for the latest batch of riots. But I reckon this book will go down a treat with bookclubs which need a good conversation starter.

I found it particularly fascinating as I am studying Recordkeeping and am mulling over a quote from one of the characters quoting Patrick Lagrange "History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation."

Interestingly (and perhaps I am bone lazy when it comes to research - think Google) I cannot find a Patrick Lagrange...only a Joseph Louis Legrange who was a French mathematician (or was he really Italian?) At any rate...the plot just got thicker and I now ask myself...who is Patrick? Or did he never exist and Barnes is just testing us? ( )

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review Alex, my copy (with it's beautiful black edging) is sitting their tempting me every day as I must admit I'm a fan of Barnes'. This is one I'm very much looking forward to and I appreciate your review that hasn't given anything away. We've had a couple of reviews in the Australian press which I have purposely avoided in case they destroy the upcoming pleasure. As mentioned in my "Far To Go" review I'm leaving this one until the end of my long list reading.

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  2. Now I've finished this great book (five stars for me too) - I think I now understand your closing sentence, but I could be mistaken too. Great review Alex.

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