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A review by jcstokes95
Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This novella manages to expertly craft an deep exploration on self-perception and memory. It gives you what might, in any other book, be considered plot twists. But really, they seem...to borrow from Tony...philosophically self-evident. Any person trying to reconstruct their life and its meaning, is only going to see from their perspective and feel like the victor writing the history book. Veronica's (often irritating) crash landing into Tony's adult life, force him to think about his actions from a new perspective.
If you are someone who pours over moments from high school and college, and think about how right your were. If you sit with your friends from those days and gossip about people who you only remember a decade's old version of. Then maybe you will relate to this. I personally felt it yanked me into remembering my own regrets about how I misperceived or treated people. I highly recommend this book for creating a small guilt spiral about your own choices.
I will say, this feels like an incomplete review, because this book really begs to be ripped apart piece by piece. If you have a book club, this would be an excellent choice. You could talk about everyone's biggest regrets of youth and see if you still have a book club at the end.
[2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge #11 - A book about forgetting]
If you are someone who pours over moments from high school and college, and think about how right your were. If you sit with your friends from those days and gossip about people who you only remember a decade's old version of. Then maybe you will relate to this. I personally felt it yanked me into remembering my own regrets about how I misperceived or treated people. I highly recommend this book for creating a small guilt spiral about your own choices.
I will say, this feels like an incomplete review, because this book really begs to be ripped apart piece by piece. If you have a book club, this would be an excellent choice. You could talk about everyone's biggest regrets of youth and see if you still have a book club at the end.
[2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge #11 - A book about forgetting]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Sexism