The Sense of an Ending

WINNER OF THE 2011 MAN BOOKER PRIZE

Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they would navigate the girl-less sixth form together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumor, and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to stay friends for life. Now Tony is retired. Hes had a career and a single marriage, a calm divorce. Hes certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyers letter is about to prove. The Sense of an Ending is the story of one man coming to terms with the mutable past. Laced with trademark precision, dexterity and insight, it is the work of one of the worlds most distinguished writers.

Julian Barnes is the author of eleven novels, two collections of stories, and two collections of essays. His honors include the 2011 Man Booker Prize (for The Sense of an Ending), the Somerset Maugham Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Prix Femina, and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He lives in London.