Book+1+-+A+Sense+of+an+Ending


 * Book 1 - A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes**

Discussion Dates: 4th May to 11 May 2012



So here we are - finally ready to talk about our first book! Here are 5 questions about the book. Please feel free to answer all of them or just a couple of them. If you would like to pose another question please do so. As well as answering the questions, please look at this site a few times over the coming week and add your thoughts/ideas to other people's comments at least a couple of times. Hopefully this will make our reflections on the book a bit more conversation like. Please do write your name before your post so that we know where the thoughts/ideas have come from. Let me know by email if you have any ideas for how this 'on-line conversation' can be improved.

JM: There isn't any certainty of what the title actually means - just like the rest of the book. To me, it's another exceptionally clever trick from Barnes to make the reader question everything that happens in the book, in life. What meaning of 'sense' is he actually using? I think it's perception. Because we all perceive things in different ways. The way Tony looks back on everything that has happened is only his perception and memory. Other characters have a different 'sense' or perception of events. And does the ending mean the ending of a life? A story? Again, there is no definite answer, and I could gabble on, so I will leave it and wait for other people to discuss.
 * What does the title mean?**

GH: I think it means that after you have read the book you get a ‘sense’ of what the ending is about but not the whole picture. Also I think perhaps it is a reflection about the sense of our own ending/death which Tony contemplates in the book. Also perhaps it is reflection about memory where it is impossible to have an ‘objective truth’ about anything, you only get a ‘sense’ of it.

MW: I took the title to mean that Tony, by the end of the book, had finally reached a conclusion to a portion of his life that had trouble/ confused him.

CJ: I think - like MW- that the end of the book provided a conclusion of sorts for Tony and that while so many unanswered questions remained - Tony was able to view his past through a different lens and re-think the events of his early life.

GH: Maybe in light of JM's observation below, it means that once the reader realises that Tony slept with Veronica's mother it makes the book 'make sense'?

Lynne - I'm heading straight to the bottom to give my overall feelings, however I do think you ladies have done a great job at tearing the book apart with your answers!

JM: No, I don't think he did. I think he might have been in 'lust' with her perhaps. Or maybe because he was young he thought he was in love. I think the relationship changed because of his introduction to Veronica's mother. I have talked with other people about what happened that weekend. I'm of the view (and I think I am in the minority) that Tony slept with the mother. THere are clues (somewhat vague) throughout the book. There is reference to the remembrance of events, sometimes we remember what we like to remember and miss out the bits that we don't. There is the moment at the house when the mother and Tony are having breakfast together, and the way that when he and Veronica leave, the mother waves to him in a different way. I am still not certain. But again, I think this is genius of Barnes. He has made me think again and again about the true events, the concept of memory, the bits of our lives that we choose to forget.
 * Did Tony love Veronica? How did his weekend with her family change their relationship?**

GH: Hmmm that is interesting... do you think then that the child could be Tony's rather than Adrian's?? Oh no I just realised that wouldn't work because he refers to the child looking like Adrian... but then he also says that his version of events can't be trusted?! Also I read it a while ago now so I can't quite remember the timing of events so this might not work anyway...

JM, Yes, it has been in my head that the child could be Tony's. I know it is a strange thing to think. But there are strange things that happen during that weekend... and also I can't understand why Veronica has such a hate for Tony. And why she keeps telling him that he really doesn't get it.

GH: yes that would make her odd repeating of that phrase make more sense. Also isn't there a line that talk about a pub or something that Veronica's father mentions when he is drving them home from the station which he later finds out never existed and thinks that the father was playing a game with him- but maybe it is more evidence that it is actually Tony's memory which is being edited?

CJ:Did Tony love Veronica? I kept wondering this myself while reading the book and really who can say. Maybe he did sometimes and other times he didn't.

It hadn't occured to me before that Tony had slept with Veronica's mother. It could explain why that weekend was such a significant experience for him and played such a prominent role in his memories. I got the "sense" that there was something going on between Veronica and her father or possibly her brother, but like JMs thoughts on Tony and the mother, it is quite a vague sense. Tony describes Veronica as idolising her brother and describes a "sense of complicity" between Veronica and her father. Also Tony felt that Veronica was "damaged" in a way he couldn't explain. And then Tony explains "the first morning after my arrival - Veronica told everyone I wanted a lie-in, and had gone off with her father and brother. No such exchange between us justified that intervention. I never had lie-ins". They may have just been spending innocent time together but something was going on that weekend....

MW: The romance between Tony and Veronica really didn't appear to me to be overly significant in terms of a great love affair. It read like one of a number of romances many people have in their late teens/ early twenties that helps to define what it is they want/don't want in future relationships. They did not appear overly connected to each other. The weekend at Veronica's house may have been unsettling for Tony, but I was surprised by the emotions that it raised in him. To me it shows that he lacked resilience and was placing far too much importance on a set of fairly ordinary events, but given Jane's thoughts (which I do find very interesting) there is perhaps a very good reason why he placed so much emphasis on this weekend.


 * When Mrs. Ford told Tony, "Don't let Veronica get away with too much" (p. 31), what did she mean? Why was this one sentence so important?**

GH:This sentence is important because it is the mother who actually gets away with too much..!

JM: I think so too. I think that the mother may be somewhat envious of Veronica - her youth, her freedom.

CJ: I certainly stuck me as odd for a mother to be speaking about her daughter like that.

MW: I agree Cath. Even if a Mother is thinking that to herself, surely she would be looking to protect her own child and not share such thoughts with someone who is practically a stranger. I detected jealousy (a totally inappropriate emotion for a Mother to feel towards her child in my opinion) from the Mother towards Veronica.


 * Veronica accuses Tony of being cowardly, while Tony considers himself peaceable. Whose assessment is more accurate**

GH: He does seem quite weak to me.

JM: I too felt him more on the weaker side, although that didn't make me dislike him. I think that he just struggles, as many people do, with facing facts or suffering consequences of one's actions. I still don't know if he is still admitting his true role in all of this (see my strange take on events above).

CJ: This is a really interesting question for me because I found that I was reading this book at a time in my life where I am questioning "what am I really doing with my life". I wonder how my grown children will describe me and I sometimes fear that they'll say "yeah, my mum didn't really do anything". So Tony's take on his very average life was really interesting to me - he observes "I suppose the truth is that yes - I'm not odd enough not to have done the things I've ended up doing with my life". (Interestingly, he describes Mrs Ford as "odd enough to do things I hadn't"). He also says "I would never do those things adolescence had dreamt about. Instead I mowed my lawn, I took holidays, I had my life". Tony himself says of his life "We imagined we were being responsible but we were only being cowardly". Is it cowardly to relinquish youthful dreams and settle into to a 'safe' life? This is my fear.

MW: I think that most people struggle with these questions at some point in their life. But Tony has let them define him. He does appear weak and he does appear cowardly to me (and also to Veronica) but I guess what is most important is how he views himself. If he is content with "having his life" then it has been a good life to lead, but if the un-fufilled dreams of youth hang heavily over him (which they appear to) then he has wasted time. From my point of view, I find it frustrating that my teen years were spent having it drummed into me by school and parents that I could "do anything", "be anyone" and that I should always "dream big", and that no one ever spoke to me about 24/7 time and energy sapping commitment of being a parent. The minute my first son was born I knew that, to be the type of parent I wanted to be, that I would have to redefine many of my dreams - or at least put the old dreams on hold for some time, and dream afresh from this new lens through which I am looking.

JM: CJ - your kids will never think of their mum like that - the best you can do is love them. And the safe life is sometimes a better and more comforting option (read not comfortable, comforting). That is my thought for the day.


 * Discuss the character Margaret. What role does she play in Tony's story?**

GH: I found Tony’s relationship with his ex-wife quite odd. Perhaps she is a device to enable another perspective on Tony’s memories?

JM: She didn't appear too prominent in the story to me. Yes, I think 'device' is a good word to use. Perhaps she is there as a sense of normality (and perhaps even mundane-ness - is that a word? -) to contrast with the more eventful past.

MW: I think Margaret goes to show us that Tony can have a civil and reasonable relationship with a woman even after that relationship has broken down.


 * Why does Mrs. Ford make her bequest to Tony, after so many years? And why does Veronica characterize the £500 as "blood money"?**

GH: I am not quite sure why… again perhaps a literary 'device' to enable the story to unfold?? Although now that I have thought about JM's comments that would make this make a LOT more sense

JM: YES !

CJ: Yes, this certainly supports the "Tony slept with the mother" theory.


 * When Veronica refuses to turn over the diary to Tony, why doesn't he give up? Why does he continue to needle her for it?**

GH: He is fascinated to know whether his memories match those written in the diary.

JM: We are all fascinated (at least I am) by our younger selves, our past lives. Sometimes it is odd to recall one's moments in their lives and reflect on past actions, past friendships, the way someone can be so changed yet still be in the same body.

CJ: Tony was also fascinated with and somewhat in awe of Adrian and his suicide so he wants to get into his head. So did I.

MW: I agree with Jane. I try very hard to live in the 'present' but often find myself drifting back to past experiences, recreating conversations - sometimes altering them so that they have the outcome that I would like. And I am only in my mid 30's... Imagine what games I will be playing with myself when I am in my mid 60's and actually have the time on my hands to dwell on the past. So I saw this 'needling' in part as a way to keep the renewed contact between them alive. Veronica and Adrian reappeared into Tony's life after a lengthy absence and he was given the chance to meld his memories with a new reality of Veronica and to think and reflect at length about Adrian.


 * What is Tony's opinion of himself? Of Adrian? How do both opinions change by the end of the novel?**

GH:Tony admires Adrian, and then feels confused by his memories once he finds out what happens, but still feels like he was honourable? He also feels ashamed of himself for writing the letter.

CJ: I'm still a bit confused about Adrian including Tony in his equation "a2 + v + a1 x s = b" and the final line in the diary extract that Veronica gave him "So for instance, if Tony..." Veronica was so frustrated with Tony for not getting it, but I don't get it either.

MW: I found it interesting and unsettling to read of Tony's embarrassment of meeting his younger self in the letter he wrote to Adrian. Of course he should cut himself slack for being young and therefore reckless, but it certainly made him uncomfortable. I think that he was in awe of Adrian and that the suicide compounded that, as Adrian is immortalized as young and having the world at his feet, rather than old and having let the world slip through his fingers.

JM: Tony was definitely in awe of Adrian. Mel, it is interesting that you bring up that Adrian is immortalized as young and having the world at his feet - 'only the good die young' afterall. But I suppose this begs the question - what would we prefer? The experience, wisdom, self-reflection, the regeneration of life (through kids and grandkids) that age brings or dying young and not knowing the true rocky road of a life lived. And Tony's opinion of himself? Well, I think that until the diary surfaced Tony had a reasonable opinion of himself - stable, financially comfortable, floating along through life. I agree with Mel - he should've been more forgiving in getting an insight to his younger self.

OK, NOW CAN WE MEET FOR A COFFEE AND DISCUSS MORE ABOUT THE BOOK? AND GET JULIAN BARNES TO COME TOO.


 * How does the revelation in the final pages change your understanding of Veronica's actions?**

GH: It does explain why she behaves in such an odd way.

CJ: I think her actions remain very confusing. Why does she feel the depth of anger toward Tony that she does? Also, she seems to play a fairly major role in the life of Adrian and Sarah Ford's child - her half brother. What is the nature of her sense of obligation toward him? Why is she so alone and angry?

MW: If she was deeply in love with Adrian then the betrayal was so huge that she is never got over it. I assume that she wouldn't have spent every waking moment living such an angry life but that seeing and being in contact with Tony again has raised it all to the surface.

JM: You would hope she wouldn't have led such an angry life, but some people do seem to hold a lot of anger (which of course is very unhelpful and damaging).


 * Discuss the closing lines of the novel: "There is accumulation. There is responsibility. And beyond these, there is unrest. There is great unrest" (p. 163).**

GH: I suppose this is a comment about the nature of history and memory.

JM: What a beautiful set of words. I don't even want to analyse. I just want to sort of drink the words in.

GH: I really liked this book. I thought it was very well written and I particularly liked his meditations about the nature of history and memory (I am a history teacher after all!) I thought the ending was perhaps a bit contrived and I was a bit bored by the surreptitious waiting at the pub to try and solve the mystery. But it is a book that has definitely stayed with me and given me pause to reflect. I think it is a worthy winner because it was so compact and yet so detailed and thought provoking.
 * What are your overall feelings about the book? Do you think that it is a worthy winner of The Booker Prize?**

CJ: I loved this book. I think it is worthy of a re-read and may pick it up again one day. It is a great Booker winner.

MW: I thought that the book was very well written and I read it quickly and with great interest, but I have not spent a lot of time reflecting on it since I finished it.

JM: I loved the book. I think that Barnes is incredibly clever in creating what is, on the surface, quite a simple story, but one with many layers which almost need to be peeled back one by one. I think the fact that I am still not entirely sure of the actual events of Tony's past and that questions remain unanswered is not a fault but rather a great achievement. It causes discussion and thought afterwards. By a less accomplished writer, I would probably be a little frustrated, slightly annoyed that the story was not resolved - we got a 'sense' of the ending, but not the WHOLE of the ending.

CJ: Also..... In an attempt to improve my vocabulary I am looking up all the words from the book that I don't know. I'm sure you intellectual, bookish, teacher types already know all these but I'll share them with you anyway: Susurrus: from susurrate - to whisper, murmur, rustle (the sound that went through the class at the news of Robinsons? suicide) Distrait: absent minded (the way Tony described Mrs Ford when he first met her) Nonpareil: unequaled, peerless (the way Veronica viewed her brother) Deliquescent: from deliquese - to melt away (the way Tony describes his memories of the past) Solipsistic - the theory that nothing exists but the self (can' t remember - something to do with Adrian's suicide??)

MW: I LOVE it that you did that Cath. I am CONSTANTLY telling students to look words up if they don't know what they mean, yet I fail to do so myself. I also wanted to add that my enjoyment of the book as a whole was slightly tapered by the suicides of Robinson and especially Adrian. Adrian's suicide was painted as too heroic, as only someone so terribly smart could do something so brave and pure. A boy in my friendship group committed suicide when I was 18 (he was 19). I still remember it like yesterday. It was so terribly sad and damaging for everyone connected with him, and his parents have never really recovered. I don't think that Barnes even touched on the hurt and confusion that is left behind when someone suicides. It could be argued that Adrian's suicide is the reason for Veronica living her life with such anger - but I don't think that is the case, I think that her issues are different. So while I agree that the book is very interesting and well written, I could not say that I loved it. And with that, I shall climb down off my soapbox and go do the dishes (how safe and suburban of me)...

Lynne - I read this book quickly and with Veronica's words ringing in my head "You just don't get it", I promptly read the book all over again (a habit I have), because I'm not sure I **did** get it the first time around. Tony & Veronica, and the minor players were not very likeable, the plotting was a bit slow, the events were not too eventful and the ending was surprising, but not earth shattering - and while these sound like short comings, I think they can also be perceived as positives in a short book. I made myself try to analyse it more deeply and came to some of the same conclusions as other readers above, and if I push myself I could say that I really liked it and that it deserved to be Booker Prize winner, but that would be disingenuous because deep down it fell a little bit short for me. I think Tony himself was the biggest problem; a boring underachiever that seemed like he was only half alive until he got the chance to contact his ex girlfriend again. His boyish excitement in advance of their meetings and his inane conversation were so starkly contrasted by Veronica's hostility that I almost felt sorry for him. The way he agonised over his emails/inbox, it was like he was trying to recapture his youth and those butterflies that come with first love/s. It seems one of the the only passionate expressions in Tony's life was the letter he sent to Veronica & Adrian when they announced that they were together. He didn't even get excited when they witnessed the river running backwards, in his memory they sat on a blanket while the others rushed off after it. He and Veronica discussed impossible things and their mood was 'thoughtful, sombre even, rather than ecstatic' page 119. Dear Lord - he needs to fire up!!!!!! Anyway, to me this is a simple tale that reveals more when you make the effort to pull it apart. A good book club choice. I've asked Damian (my super-husband) to read it and he is 1/3 through. I'll pump him for an opinion as well and let you know asap.

Lynne - ps - I just looked up the definition of blood money (a fee paid to a hired murderer) - do we think that Veronica mentions this because her mother could be paying Tony $500 for 'murdering' Adrian? Or perhaps Veronica perceives that Tony murdered her innocent young self. Let me know what you think.