Book Review

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some mediocre books make it to the best seller list. Many good books do not. As much as I anticipated reading "The Sense of an Ending", I have to say for me it was mediocre. It's a short book, less than 200 pages, and could probably be read in one night. Because it was on the best seller list, and the synopsis sounded interesting, I read it. The book is almost all narrative, the musings of the now retired Anthony Webster, looking back on his youth, his friends at the time, and how they affected him. That's part one. In part two, Anthony is now older, wiser, retired. He went through an amicable divorce, and has a daughter with whom he gets along well. A contact from his past stirs up many unresolved issues, making him re-evaluate everything in his life. The ending comes with an almost ridiculous twist. I'd say more but would spoil it for anyone who might want to read this book. The author writes well and has won awards for previous efforts. Unfortunately, good writing can't overcome a bad story, it just makes it a little easier to read.

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