And there is certainly much to discuss.
The plot revolves around the narrator, Tony Webster, and his reflections on his youth and the relationships that developed and then disintegrated during that period, in particular with his childhood friend Adrian, who committed suicide in the prime of his life, and Veronica, Tony's ex-girlfriend who was dating Adrian at the time of his death. Now in his sixties, Tony unexpectedly receives a letter telling him that he is to receive his former friend's diary. Curious as to the reasons for Adrian's suicide, which was never fully explained, Tony is eager to get his hands on the diary, but is prevented from doing so by a bitter Veronica. As he continues to dig into his own past, Tony is confronted with some painful truths about his actions and the effects they have had on those around him.
A key theme of the novel is how time erodes the memory, and you're never fully certain how much of what Tony Webster is telling you is accurate. That lends a certain ambiguity to many of the events of his youth, and Julian Barnes doesn't neglect to use this as a stark contrast to the cold, hard evidence Tony is presented with in his search for knowledge (the contents of Tony's final letter to Adrian, which resurfaces years later, made me wince).
In turn, this adds to the impact of the novel's other message - that the smallest of actions can have effects far beyond what we would expect or intend. This theme is somewhat heavy-handed and although it makes for interesting fiction, I did find myself asking whether Tony's ill-thought actions would really have led to such consequences. Perhaps it is just me, but by the time the final twist to the plot was revealed things were starting to feel forced, to the point where my suspension of disbelief was broken. This was disappointing, since up until that point the story had held together well, and I felt that if the ending had been handled differently then other weaknesses in the plot would not have been so obvious (in particular the never-explained reason for why Tony was to receive Adrian's diary in the first place).
Another slight problem I encountered with A Sense of an Ending was the writing style. At first I found Tony Webster's narration frustratingly pretentious, particularly as he reflects on his childhood, although I understand that this is partly because Tony is meant to represent an older generation and so, perhaps, I cannot relate as well to the character's childhood as I would have liked. There is also the possibility that Julian Barnes did this intentionally, since this is meant to be an unreliable narrator looking back on their childhood. There is a sense that Tony Webster is talking himself up a little for the sake of the reader, and since that is part of the character rather than the author's style, it is fair to say that this adds an extra element to our understanding of Tony Webster and is a credit to Barnes' skill as a writer. Still, I found some parts of the text (up until the appearance of Veronica) quite tedious, although it grew on me and eventually I was able to savour some really beautiful writing.
Did it deserve the Man Booker Prize? The general consensus seems to be that yes, it did. Since I haven't read any of the other contenders I can't say, but it certainly won't be going on my favourites list. While I did enjoy the book, it was not a completely satisfying read. Some contrived plot twists, unexplained events and a general feeling of being left in the dark detract from an otherwise interesting plot, complex characters and a well-executed writing style. Several times towards the end, Veronica tells the main character "you just don't get it", and I think the same could be said of me, although debate on the internet suggests that perhaps this may have been the point.
I would, however, recommend this for book clubs. As I said in the beginning of this review, there is plenty of material for discussion, from whether it was worthy of awards to the characters, themes and most of all the plot. It is one of those books that invites debate and for this reason, if no other, it has stayed in my mind long after I switched off my Kindle.
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