February 2012: The Sense of an Ending

This will be a brief one, as I had completely forgotten about writing a post, and its now been two weeks since Book Club, ergo I don't remember too much in detail.

In February, we read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. This book had a very different writing style to the books we've read previously. It's a style that doesn't quite click until  you read about the author himself - he studied Modern Language in university, and worked as a lexicographer before becoming a literary editor. Additionally, his brother is a prestigious philosophy professor, teaching at universities throughout Europe. I didn't know any of that until after I had read the book, and it certainly helps me understand why he writes the way he writes.

It's the story of Tom Webster, a man who has had an altogether ordinary life, slipping through his experiences passively, at best. He reflects on his mediocrity as he reaches old age, and we meet him as a high school student, meeting a boy named Adrian, and having his first relationship with a girl named Veronica. In the present, Tom learns that he has been left Adrian's diary in a will - strangely, the will of Veronica's mother. The book follows Tom's experiences as he tries to get the diary from an unwilling Veronica, the mystery of where Veronica's life has taken her, and how it relates to Adrian and Tom.

While the storyline had potential to be interesting and captivating, the ending left more questions than answers - particulary the question of 'Why should we care?'. The author's writing, while intelligent, was superfluous. He used so much space to say very little, and it was hard to get engaged in what he was saying.

It did win the Man Booker prize, which honors the best in contemporary fiction in the British Commonwealth. In fact, all of Julian Barnes' novels have been nominated, with this being his first win.

In March, we will be reading Jenn's choice, And Also Sharks by Jessica Westhead. We will be meeting at Danielle's house at 7pm, March 26.

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” — Oscar Wilde