The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes   7/10

This is the story of Tony Webster and his clique of three school friends who start out as arrogant intellectuals questioning the world, but then drift apart as they get older. In later life, the past catches up with Webster and this book is a philosophical reflection of his actions.

I’ve read one other book by Barnes, Arthur and George which struggles with its literary identity as it flicks between biography, romance, spirituality and detective novel, all of which make it feel a bit bloated as it swaggers between these different styles. The Sense of an Ending is the exact opposite of that; it is succinct and focuses on the themes of history and memory, divided into two parts.

The first part is a retrospective account of Webster’s school and university days, particularly his interaction with one influential friend, Adrian Finn and his first proper girlfriend, Veronica Ford.

Part two deals primarily with the modern day and adds a further layer of mystery to the story, leading to a climax that feels more like a thriller than the more whimsical opening pages. Yet, perhaps that is the intention?

This book asks a lot of questions about how we perceive time and how our memories affect our actions and conscience. It is short, but the cyclical nature of the story makes it satisfying and I thought it was superbly well written. The recurring themes can get a bit repetitive but they are strong and leave the reader questioning their own perceptions. Would you remember a letter written 40 years ago word for word? No, but you might recall the sentiment of that letter, and that could well be different to how the recipient saw it.

Webster’s character almost prides himself on his middle class dullness, in contrast to those around him who are brilliant and mercurial. The person we display to others is always the most interesting parts of ourselves as we look to impress and seek approval. Webster finds himself dull, is comfortable with that, but I do not think Veronica sees him in this way, even when they are young and she uses her intellect in a way that he finds domineering.

I enjoyed this book and can see why it won the Booker Prize. It is short, but intelligent enough, without being a bore. In fact, I essentially read it in one sitting and was impressed with the ending.

Old Filth – Jane Gardam – 9/10

This is the story of Old Filth (Sir Edward Feathers), a venerated international lawyer and judge and his eventful life from Raj Orphan to retirement and old age.

The book is superbly well written. Gardam creates characters and situations that swoop in and out of vibrant settings with an ease and confidence that allows several hours to have passed before you realise what has happened. The pacing and timing of the prose is excellent and it allows the reader to discover details and piece the narrative together in a subtle way.

Old Filth is all at once an unloved youth, an unsuccessful husband, a legend of the Hong Kong bar and an unhappy old man. Through his eyes we learn of the major events of his life, which mainly stem from his childhood and hint at a disturbing secret which has shaped his life.

The setting is key. The bulk of the story is set in the 1930s-40s or the modern day. He is either a youth under 20 or an old man over 80. The vast majority of his life is merely mentioned in passing, the time where he achieved everything, the time that most people would arguably think of as life, is glossed over. It is an interesting concept, when we are near the end of our lives, which part will we look back upon as making us who we are?

When an author jumps around in time they run the risk of making some parts more interesting than others, the modern day often suffers, but with old Filth Gardam has successfully negotiated this pitfall with a mixture of reality and humour. Her characters are almost uniquely believable, the dialogue is fitting and the gritty scenes have enough dirt and sadness to make them real.

This book is actually one of a trilogy with The Man in the Wooden Hat and Last Friends documenting the lives of Old Filth’s wife Betty and contemporary enemy Vaneering, respectively. Together the books are a tour de force and make for a spectacularly vivid treatise on class, family and society in the last days of the Empire.

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson 5/10


Allan Karlsson is centenarian who decides he is bored with his nursing home life, and absconds just before a party to celebrate his 100th birthday. What follows is a crime-thriller farce, interspersed with extracts from Allan’s life where it transpires he was something of a Forrest Gump-style character, meeting and influencing a number of political leaders across the world.

This book is likeable and charming and I think if it hadn’t struck me as so obviously being a Scandinavian Forrest Gump then I would have enjoyed it more. The translation is pretty good, which is something I’ve felt has suffered in other Scandinavian novels recently (The Steg Larrson Millennium books as an example) and even though most of the characters have the exact same pragmatic approach to life, I still found it a bit of fun.

It’s not a great book though, and the sections set in the modern day tend to drag. Thankfully, the chapters that recount Allan’s life and his unbelievable encounters and influence over famous people and events of the 20th Century grow longer as the book progresses.

The novel is primarily a comedy, but even though the historical events are only lightly touched upon, they are well researched. There is a hint of a theme that runs through the book, warning the reader not to take politics too seriously.

But that is it really. It is not a book of great substance, and does not inspire any great feeling or emotion. The writing style is very light-hearted and easy to get on with, but I didn’t find it laugh-out-loud funny. A nice book if you want a gentle read, without having to think too hard.