My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Sense of an Ending is the first Julian Barnes book I have read. And sweet serendipity it is! It will be thoroughly unfair to divulge the teeniest bit of the plot - which, thus, I am not going to do. The paper 'back' gives you a decent yet guarded glimpse of it. No spoiler alerts here. But this Booker Prize winner is an interesting and intriguing read. It is an unusual story, narrated in a manner so superior that in its flow it does not take the attention away from the plot for even an instance and yet holds you spellbound. It is like the sweet fragrance of flowers that lingers in a blooming winter garden and yet does not make you stop looking at the flowers and go smell them instead. There is a mild parallel line of musing in the story, on which - quite adroitly - the entire story rests is basis; taking you across decades, yet making it clear that you are looking at only a slice of the pie - perhaps the most interesting slice, but nonetheless - from the point of view of the protagonist. The plot begins in a semi-first gear and maintains a normal pace throughout, until just before the climax where it revs up and plummets through the sound barrier. Perfectly. Packed neatly in precisely 150 pages this is a must read.
P.S. - Special thanks to Dr Nargundkar for introducing me to Barnes.
P.S. - Special thanks to Dr Nargundkar for introducing me to Barnes.
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