The Sense of an Ending
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- Create Date：2021-05-26 11:57:50
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Julian Barnes
- ISBN：0099564971
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Summary
By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers， The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be Frightened Of and， most recently， Pulse。
This intense new novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about--until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance， one of them from the grave， another maddeningly present。 Tony Webster thought he'd left all this behind as he built a life for himself， and by now his marriage and family and career have fallen into an amicable divorce and retirement。 But he is then presented with a mysterious legacy that obliges him to reconsider a variety of things he thought he'd understood all along， and to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world。
A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting， with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication， The Sense of an Ending is a brilliant new chapter in Julian Barne's oeuvre。
This intense new novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about--until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance， one of them from the grave， another maddeningly present。 Tony Webster thought he'd left all this behind as he built a life for himself， and by now his marriage and family and career have fallen into an amicable divorce and retirement。 But he is then presented with a mysterious legacy that obliges him to reconsider a variety of things he thought he'd understood all along， and to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world。
A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting， with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication， The Sense of an Ending is a brilliant new chapter in Julian Barne's oeuvre。
Reviews
Jitendra Kotai
，
Realizing your mistakes and apologizing for them is never easy。 Sometimes we act in rage， jealousy and just pure malice because we have been hurt too。 And this is our way of giving them the hurt back。 An apology does come even if it comes very late。 There are a few things we regret and we should make sure that we apologize and understand the reason for the apology。 A heartfelt book。 Sometimes we have to assume things in life as a few things never get closure。 Sometimes we may never know the real Realizing your mistakes and apologizing for them is never easy。 Sometimes we act in rage， jealousy and just pure malice because we have been hurt too。 And this is our way of giving them the hurt back。 An apology does come even if it comes very late。 There are a few things we regret and we should make sure that we apologize and understand the reason for the apology。 A heartfelt book。 Sometimes we have to assume things in life as a few things never get closure。 Sometimes we may never know the real reason of something that happened。 。。。more
Charles Low
，
3。5 immaculately well written with a plot and narrator that keep you engrossed。 At times the voice was overly "grumpy old man"， which caused unnecessary distraction and there were some uncharacteristic turns of scene （eg with the chips） that were a bit ham-fisted。 3。5 immaculately well written with a plot and narrator that keep you engrossed。 At times the voice was overly "grumpy old man"， which caused unnecessary distraction and there were some uncharacteristic turns of scene （eg with the chips） that were a bit ham-fisted。 。。。more
John Bradley
，
Very good。Sting in the tail I didn't see coming。 Had talked myself out of it being this good as it won the Booker （most Booker winners I have read have been disappointing）。 Couldn't have been more wrong。 Excellent from start to finish。Short book that tells of relationships， memory and regret。 Thoroughly recommended。 Very good。Sting in the tail I didn't see coming。 Had talked myself out of it being this good as it won the Booker （most Booker winners I have read have been disappointing）。 Couldn't have been more wrong。 Excellent from start to finish。Short book that tells of relationships， memory and regret。 Thoroughly recommended。 。。。more
Vinayak Mishra
，
Moral of the story: Not everything is about you， you twat。
Athend
，
I didn't know what to expect when I started this book， so I was very pleasantly surprised。 I didn't know what to expect when I started this book， so I was very pleasantly surprised。 。。。more
Anastasia Troshina
，
Странная история。 На мой взгляд， слишком медленно она разворачивается， делает крайне неожиданный поворот。 Но не очень понятно， можно ли из нее чему-то научиться。 Приятный текст， но смысла всегда хочется больше
Donna Marlatte
，
Brilliantly written。 Seemed to meander as the main character Tony told his life story and considered the possible gaps between memory and reality but then as the title suggested， the narrative all made sense in the end。
Bebe
，
I loved the first part， （the coming of age part so that's pretty typical of me） however the ending seemed very anti-climatic。 Still did really enjoy this book though。 SUPER quoteable。 I loved the first part， （the coming of age part so that's pretty typical of me） however the ending seemed very anti-climatic。 Still did really enjoy this book though。 SUPER quoteable。 。。。more
Sai Prasad Vishwanathan
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I read this in one sitting。 And I am stunned at the layers within the book ！ The tender yet manipulative intensity through and through caught me off guard ！ The mixed emotions must probably be termed Julianism going forward。Much about the novel cannot be said without spoiling ！ But this is one of the rare novels where the narrator himself was *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* unreliable ！ The letter from him to Veronica was pure vitriol and unjustifiable venting。 While it burnt me I read this in one sitting。 And I am stunned at the layers within the book ！ The tender yet manipulative intensity through and through caught me off guard ！ The mixed emotions must probably be termed Julianism going forward。Much about the novel cannot be said without spoiling ！ But this is one of the rare novels where the narrator himself was *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* unreliable ！ The letter from him to Veronica was pure vitriol and unjustifiable venting。 While it burnt me to the core， it got murkier before ending with the absurd。 The sheer number of themes wrapped into a 150 page novel and crafted in the simplest language warrants the Booker prize it achieved ！Often friends or first time readers ask， recommend me a book to read。 Going forward， this shall be one of the top novels I shall recommend。 。。。more
Afreen Khan
，
Though I loved the way this book is written， it should rather me named as ‘the ending that didn’t make any sense’。
Sam Crowley
，
b l e a k
LizzieM
，
Definitely an interesting read。。。
Cátia Lopes De Freitas
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Um homem que se confronta com o seu passado mutável。
Joanne
，
Other characters in the book kept telling the main character， Tony， that he didn't get it and he never would。 Well， I didn't get it but I will。 I intend to reread this book in the future to see if it will all come together for me。 Don't let this dissuade you。 There was nothing difficult or mysterious to cause you to miss it。 I just must've been in the wrong frame of mind。The book is thought provoking and intelligently written。 That's why I think it's worth a second read。 Other characters in the book kept telling the main character， Tony， that he didn't get it and he never would。 Well， I didn't get it but I will。 I intend to reread this book in the future to see if it will all come together for me。 Don't let this dissuade you。 There was nothing difficult or mysterious to cause you to miss it。 I just must've been in the wrong frame of mind。The book is thought provoking and intelligently written。 That's why I think it's worth a second read。 。。。more
Tom G
，
It's was interestingly written， but I was just left feeling frustrated by the way the characters interacted。 It's was interestingly written， but I was just left feeling frustrated by the way the characters interacted。 。。。more
Fei Feii
，
“History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation。” “It’s more the memories of the survivors， most of whom are neither victorious nor defeated。”
Anshupa Patel
，
This short book is packed with uncertainties， owing to the unreliable narrator whose age and mind is playing tricks with him and hence with us。 Tony Webster is simple man who tries to paint out his plain life in the first half of the book。 However， as we move further there are revelations which forced him to re-evaluate and retell the past。 And now I wonder， how our memories are based on convenience， how conveniently our minds filter out the unpleasant details and over time any past event is jus This short book is packed with uncertainties， owing to the unreliable narrator whose age and mind is playing tricks with him and hence with us。 Tony Webster is simple man who tries to paint out his plain life in the first half of the book。 However， as we move further there are revelations which forced him to re-evaluate and retell the past。 And now I wonder， how our memories are based on convenience， how conveniently our minds filter out the unpleasant details and over time any past event is just an altered version that I mind retains。 This one has an eerie feeling to it and mainly revolves around the what-ifs in life！ 。。。more
Amir Ataei
，
کتابی بود که تا صفحه آخر من رو مشتاق نگه داشت تا دنبالش برم 。 به نظر من شخصیت پردازی این کتاب یک سر و گردن از همه جنبه های دیگه ش بالاتر بود و همین باعث میشد بتونید با کاراکتر ها راحت همذات پنداری کنید 。 از خوندنش خوشحالم و به نظرم جولین بارنز جز نویسنده هایی شد که همواره اگه مطلبی ازش چیدا کنم با اشتیاق خواهم خواند 。
Jackie Waghorn
，
I found this book exceptionally dull。 Maybe it is just Julian Barnes writing style （this is the first JB book I have ever read and quite possibly my last）。 The last 30 pages dragged it up to a two star rating and the ending did make me think， but other than that， it just came across as 120 pages of self-indulgent reflections of a dull and somewhat dislikeable elderly man。 Compared to Andrew O’Hagan’s “Mayflies” which covers similar themes of male friendships， ageing and regret， this fell far sho I found this book exceptionally dull。 Maybe it is just Julian Barnes writing style （this is the first JB book I have ever read and quite possibly my last）。 The last 30 pages dragged it up to a two star rating and the ending did make me think， but other than that， it just came across as 120 pages of self-indulgent reflections of a dull and somewhat dislikeable elderly man。 Compared to Andrew O’Hagan’s “Mayflies” which covers similar themes of male friendships， ageing and regret， this fell far short。 If it hadn’t been a short story， I would have given up 30 pages in。 。。。more
Natalie
，
Usually when I give a book 1-star it's because I passionately hate it， but that is not the case here。 I'm giving it one star because I found it completely pointless。 Part of it is my fault。 I had a challenge that included reading a winner of the Booker Prize。 I looked over the list and I had only read two of the winners and neither were favorites。 （The English Patient was another 1-star read for me。） "Drama" is just not really my genre。 I like mysteries， and fantasy， and things that have a bit o Usually when I give a book 1-star it's because I passionately hate it， but that is not the case here。 I'm giving it one star because I found it completely pointless。 Part of it is my fault。 I had a challenge that included reading a winner of the Booker Prize。 I looked over the list and I had only read two of the winners and neither were favorites。 （The English Patient was another 1-star read for me。） "Drama" is just not really my genre。 I like mysteries， and fantasy， and things that have a bit of a thrill。 I spent about an hour reading through reviews and none of the winners sounded exciting at all， so I finally went with the option of choosing among the shortest books on the list。 I don't mind trying new genres and books， but I didn't want to give 500 pages of reading to a book I wasn't even a little excited about it。 Still， I went into this book with a good attitude。 I thought it would be fun to get out of my comfort zone。 I finished it pretty easily （so short） and that was about two weeks ago and I've basically forgotten all of it。 As I said， pointless。 There was some guy （definitely don't remember names） who told us all about his friends growing up and his dating life in college。 One of his friends starts dating his ex-girlfriend and he acts like it's no big deal。 Later that friend commits suicide。 Years go by， 40 years， and the ex-girlfriend's mom leaves the narrator guy a journal belonging to the dead friend， but the ex-girlfriend won't give it to him。 A couple points: 1。 I didn't like when they were trying to glamorize the suicide。 He was just "too smart" for this world and all that crap。 2。 The ex-girlfriend just kept telling the narrator， "you've never got it and you never will。" I honestly had no idea what she was talking about either。 Get what？ How does that help anyone when you just keep saying "you'll never get it。" Forty years later she was still saying that。 How dumb to hold onto anger that long。 I honestly can't tell you what the point of this is。 There is something about how we can't rely on our memories。 We often don't remember things accurately。 That I agree with， but I feel like the author was going for something more and I have no idea what it was。 。。。more
Elena
，
This is the type of novel where everthing just makes sense at the end。 I think my understanding and opinion of the story on the whole would definitely improve upon re-read。 Overall I enjoyed and I didn´t see the ending coming， which was surprising and satisfying。The first part gave me strong dark academia vibes （the boarding school， the group of friends， the conversations on politics and philosophy， death and literature） and I liked how the story was told as a chain of reminiscing memories from This is the type of novel where everthing just makes sense at the end。 I think my understanding and opinion of the story on the whole would definitely improve upon re-read。 Overall I enjoyed and I didn´t see the ending coming， which was surprising and satisfying。The first part gave me strong dark academia vibes （the boarding school， the group of friends， the conversations on politics and philosophy， death and literature） and I liked how the story was told as a chain of reminiscing memories from the perspective of one of the friends， Tony。 Also， I loved how the author explores the idea of buried memories and time passing and how we block and remember events in different ways throughout our life to make them match with the idea of who we consider ourselves to be。 It was very well-written and as I said the ending was very satisfaying。 I may check out other novels by the author。 。。。more
Christelle
，
⚠️ This is going to be an unpopular review。 I wanted to read this book for a while as I had read fantastic reviews about it， it had been described as a masterpiece and had won the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2011。 Although I really enjoyed the author's writing， this book left me rather perplexed and disappointed。 I think I totally missed its point and meaning。 I found the main character， Tony Webster， soooo frustrating， selfish， self-centered， obvious。 Not liking a main protagonist has never ⚠️ This is going to be an unpopular review。 I wanted to read this book for a while as I had read fantastic reviews about it， it had been described as a masterpiece and had won the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2011。 Although I really enjoyed the author's writing， this book left me rather perplexed and disappointed。 I think I totally missed its point and meaning。 I found the main character， Tony Webster， soooo frustrating， selfish， self-centered， obvious。 Not liking a main protagonist has never before prevented me from liking a book。 Tony Webster is obviously the exception！ I did not at all understand why he would want to meet and understand Veronica， when clearly she does not want anything to do with him！ I thought the ending and， in particular， the revelation was sketchy。 This book felt very cold， lacked in emotions and I am not sure to what ending the title refers。 。。。more
Ángela
，
3，5
Anurag Vaishnav
，
When you're young， you want your emotions to be like the ones you read about in books。 You want them to overturn your life， create and define a new reality。 Later， as you grow older， you want them to do something milder， something more practical: you want them to support your life as it is and has become。 You want them to tell you that things are okay。 The above line from the book runs deep in its theme。 When you're young， you're sensitive， you're loving， you're hurtful， just like the protagoni When you're young， you want your emotions to be like the ones you read about in books。 You want them to overturn your life， create and define a new reality。 Later， as you grow older， you want them to do something milder， something more practical: you want them to support your life as it is and has become。 You want them to tell you that things are okay。 The above line from the book runs deep in its theme。 When you're young， you're sensitive， you're loving， you're hurtful， just like the protagonist in the book。 You're also often radical: you see adults around you fight and struggle， and you think this will never be you。 You see people going on with their mundane daily lives and think this will never happen with you。 And slowly， with time， you become more grounded， just like everyone else around you， and then you seek conformity。 But does this mean that your character develops over time？ Not necessarily。 As you grow older， you also become set in your ways and imperfections。 Eventually， as you near the end of your life， you ask yourself the question: Have I led a good life？ But here lies the catch: what you remember now isn't necessarily an account of what happened， as memory now is just shreds of anecdotes， which perhaps only encompasses your own perspective of events。 But that's a rather obvious message， yes。 And it's told through a rather ordinary fictional tale。 It's a well-written story by all means， but there's nothing great about this story。 。。。more
Yvette
，
Julian Barnes has a knack for writing about seemingly quiet， non-descript lives that harbor an ocean of emotional layers/insights。 This short work （deservedly） won the Man Booker prize。 One of the reviewers used the word "devastating" in his/her review and I thoroughly agree。 Such a work of beauty。 I was slain。 （view spoiler）[Although written earlier in his career， this is my second Barnes book and I see a thread between the two （his much later The Only Story） - that of a connection between quie Julian Barnes has a knack for writing about seemingly quiet， non-descript lives that harbor an ocean of emotional layers/insights。 This short work （deservedly） won the Man Booker prize。 One of the reviewers used the word "devastating" in his/her review and I thoroughly agree。 Such a work of beauty。 I was slain。 （view spoiler）[Although written earlier in his career， this is my second Barnes book and I see a thread between the two （his much later The Only Story） - that of a connection between quiet older women and college-going， somewhat innocent younger men。 That is fleshed out in The Only Story but only touched on here in The Sense of an Ending。 Highly recommended！ （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Alexandra
，
I'm hungover after finishing this。 My mind is still trying to grasp what happened and the fact that you can come up with a bunch a theories and find symbolism in small gestures isn't helping。 I'm hungover after finishing this。 My mind is still trying to grasp what happened and the fact that you can come up with a bunch a theories and find symbolism in small gestures isn't helping。 。。。more
Roberto Denser
，
O que o Julian Barnes fez aqui foi algo DIFICÍLIMO que， sim， causa a falsa impressão de que foi/é fácil ou simplório， como alguns reviews que li aqui parecem sugerir。 A culpa deve ser da linguagem simples， do tamanho curto， da narração em primeira pessoa， dos inúmeros temas pelos quais o romance transita （vida， envelhecimento， tempo， amizade， atos e consequências etc。）。Mas é exatamente o contrário: nas mãos de um escritor inexperiente， este livro teria sido um fiasco。 O que Julian Barnes consegu O que o Julian Barnes fez aqui foi algo DIFICÍLIMO que， sim， causa a falsa impressão de que foi/é fácil ou simplório， como alguns reviews que li aqui parecem sugerir。 A culpa deve ser da linguagem simples， do tamanho curto， da narração em primeira pessoa， dos inúmeros temas pelos quais o romance transita （vida， envelhecimento， tempo， amizade， atos e consequências etc。）。Mas é exatamente o contrário: nas mãos de um escritor inexperiente， este livro teria sido um fiasco。 O que Julian Barnes consegue aqui， como resultado geral， é uma aula de eficiência narrativa。 Seria o primeiro livro que eu recomendaria pros meus alunos num curso de escrita （pelos mesmos motivos elencados no parágrafo anterior）。 。。。more
Andrea Cirilli
，
Il libro si sviluppa in due fasi chiaramente distinte， quella della giovinezza e delle prime grandi infatuazioni d'amore e di amicizia， e quella dell'età matura， punto di approdo di altri eventi dell'esistenza ma che nel contempo offre l'occasione di ri-affrontare storie e questioni rimaste irrisolte。Come il titolo suggerisce efficacemente， il protagonista Tony Webster nel suo vissuto e nella rielaborazione dello stesso prova a cercare il senso di una fine， e forse sta al lettore stabilire di qu Il libro si sviluppa in due fasi chiaramente distinte， quella della giovinezza e delle prime grandi infatuazioni d'amore e di amicizia， e quella dell'età matura， punto di approdo di altri eventi dell'esistenza ma che nel contempo offre l'occasione di ri-affrontare storie e questioni rimaste irrisolte。Come il titolo suggerisce efficacemente， il protagonista Tony Webster nel suo vissuto e nella rielaborazione dello stesso prova a cercare il senso di una fine， e forse sta al lettore stabilire di quale fine si tratti e se Tony in definitiva ci riesca a trovarlo， un senso。 Il libro si chiude anche "risolvendo" alcuni punti della storia che erano rimasti misteriosamente sospesi lungo la narrazione， con un "twist" tanto sorprendente quanto， forse， raccontato un po' troppo rapidamente。 Alcuni passaggi della scrittura， infine， sono assolutamente profondi， quando non illuminanti della storia del protagonista ma anche， ne sono sicuro， della vita di molti lettori。 Quello che mi ha colpito di più: "Avevo chiesto alla vita di non turbarmi troppo ed ero stato accontentato。 E che miseria ne era derivata"。 。。。more
Arunima
，
3。5May be if I sit with it a bit longer， the disappointment from the ending would stop overshadowing the amusement and insight I got reading the whole of the book except when I realized that that's the ending。 It's so ironic that I had no sense of the approaching ending （haha like Tony？）。 I loved the writing style。 I thought their younger years were captured with a wit quite typical of adolescents and his old age was captured with a line of thought where everything gains meaning in hindsight and 3。5May be if I sit with it a bit longer， the disappointment from the ending would stop overshadowing the amusement and insight I got reading the whole of the book except when I realized that that's the ending。 It's so ironic that I had no sense of the approaching ending （haha like Tony？）。 I loved the writing style。 I thought their younger years were captured with a wit quite typical of adolescents and his old age was captured with a line of thought where everything gains meaning in hindsight and everything seems to spark insight in his idle old brain。 I loved the whole time， memories， history gimmik the author had going on （did i just really love it if I'm calling it a gimmik， i guess it was kinda like this is us where i know I'm being emotionally manipulated but it is well done so i like it？） But the plot which i was waiting for till the end was just meh。 I mean don't get me wrong， I love meandering books with no real plot but this book kinda set me up to expect something from the plot， built all these expectations of a big reveal at the end and there was a pretty （in words of other reviewers with whom i agree） lame and contrived reveal。 Also， like someone else also said I just can't believe that Veronica would keep saying "you just don't get it" instead of just telling him， like how the fuck is he supposed to guess this？！ I also don't get how it is his fault per se。 I mean he has almost nothing to do with the whole thing （like most things in his life， i think this is what he is actually regretting）。 Anyway， so all this has to do with the plot。 It didn't even bother me that much while i was reading it because i thought all of this plot thing is saved for the end so i was just enjoying the entire book （all the insights and stuff） till i realized its the last page and then the unsatisfying feeling came over me。 Maybe that's what he meant when he said， "sometimes i think the purpose of life is to reconcile us to its eventual loss by wearing us down， by proving， however long it takes， that life isn't all it's cracked up to be" but about his book lol。So， I liked it but I probably wouldn't recommend this to people。 I guess they can live without spending their time reading this。 I don't have any recommendations on similar books right now but I'm pretty sure I will find better books with similar themes to recommend someday。Spolier alert ;Edit: oh man， i hated veronica even after the end but then someone was talking about Mrs。 Ford in their review who i had memeory of liking more than veronica from the book。 And they were talking about how she fucked Veronica and was probably not a great mother if she was flirting with all the boyfriends she brought home。 That made me think about Veronica's life， betrayal by her mother and then having to visit her half-brother whose dad was her ex-boyfriend; yeah ok i feel bad for her。 。。。more
Anne
，
Not my cup of tea but my neighbor raves about it。 Too reflective and introspective。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Sense of an Ending
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Sense of an Ending&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft