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The Sense of an Ending - Community Reviews back

by Julian Barnes
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Calyre
Calyre rated it 6 years ago
L'Histoire, ce ne sont pas les mensonges des vainqueurs, comme je l'ai trop facilement affirmé au vieux Joe Hunt autrefois ; je le sais maintenant. Ce sont plutôt les souvenirs des survivants, dont la plupart ne sont ni victorieux, ni vaincus.Mais je dirais ça comme ça : elle ne voit que ce qui a ch...
JB's Reading Life
JB's Reading Life rated it 7 years ago
This is a meditation on how the "truth" of the events of personal history are distorted by time and the mindset of the observer. We asign reasons and motives that come from our own way of looking at people and our assessment of them. This is a clouded and even distorting lens that may lead us to bel...
lysdexic
lysdexic rated it 10 years ago
Something is lacking. The prose is technically pristine, but bloodless. I have no strong emotions towards the characters and their conditions. There is no feeling or mood that lingers in me after I close the book. I can find things to admire, but not many to like, even though I did want to like it.
Books Over TV
Books Over TV rated it 10 years ago
I've owned this book almost a year in October. It is a short book and I have no idea why I hadn't picked it up earlier. However, yesterday I was looking through my Audible library to find a short listen, under 6 hours, and noticed The Sense of an Ending and decided to give it a go. I'm happy I did. ...
Annie is reading ~
Annie is reading ~ rated it 10 years ago
How often do we tell our own life story? How often do we adjust, embellish, make sly cuts? And the longer life goes on, the fewer are those around to challenge our account, to remind us that our life is not our life, merely the story we have told about our life. Told to others, but—mainly—to ourselv...
From the Queen's Kindle
From the Queen's Kindle rated it 10 years ago
‘History is the lies of the victors,’ I replied, a little too quickly.‘Yes, I was rather afraid you’d say that. Well, as long as you remember that it is also the self-delusions of the defeated.’This is the story of Tony Webster, narrating the memories of his youth from the twilight of his life. I pa...
The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews
The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews rated it 11 years ago
This is one of those books that makes you think - about your past, your decisions, your life. I'll post a link to my full review after it is published.
In a network of lines that enlace
In a network of lines that enlace rated it 11 years ago
I’m conflicted about this one. The writing is superb, the pacing well done and the story itself a good length. Barnes doesn’t attempt to make the story more than it is, and knows when to stop. However the main issue I have with this book is there is no relief in the plot. It’s sad for the sake of ...
xreactivity
xreactivity rated it 11 years ago
The protagonist and narrator of The Sense of an Ending is Tony Webster, a man who "just doesn’t get it," as you are told over and over again. But it seems that Tony’s problem is more cluelessness than faulty memory. He just isn’t a very discerning man - extremely self-absorbed, but not introspective...
The Bookchemist
The Bookchemist rated it 11 years ago
Old people telling the story of their lives are rarely so skilled and interesting. An awesome read if you don't mind that it takes itself uber-seriously.
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