At times, our
memories elude us and it can be quite startling and unforgiving when we truly
understand the past, as Tony Webster finds out. In order to understand an unexpected legacy he
dives into his own memories from long ago. Tony travels back through his recollections of
philosophical school lessons to a muddled relationship and a close friends’
suicide. What Tony realizes is that his
actions over forty years ago set in motion a series of events that had an immense
consequence for others. The Sense of an Ending is a quick read
with a bleak tone but is full of questions Tony continually asks himself that
may leave others to do some of their own introspection.
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I was immediately drawn in by the vivid images remembered by the protagonist Tony on the first page, and read this brief novel in three sittings. I sensed from the first description of Tony's friend Adrian that his course would affect Tony's and be the pivot for some revelation on life in general. So the page-turning began, as I anticipated the twist that would reveal a hidden side to the ordinary lives of these people. I was not disappointed. Peeling away the onion-layers of "what really happened," Tony finds answers and thinks he understands, only to have the rug pulled out from under him by another layer; Tony was totally oblivious to what was going on around him, as many (all?) of us are in our lives. In this regard, the book reminds me of the same thrill I felt at the various reveals in the movie "House of Games" by Mamet; or in "Chinatown," where, like most of the characters, you think you know what's going on, but don't.
ReplyDeleteThe characters discuss and ponder various definitions of history and memory (interesting ideas), giving us grist for later analysis of the events revealed towards the end (fascinating exercise). Can't say I liked any of the characters, but they seemed real enough to me and not at all contrived (as one reviewer here carped). Barnes gives us an excellent starter course in contemplating what memories(history) are really, and how and why ours differ from others' memories of the same events.