Should Your Book Club Read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes?

Should your book club read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes?  The answer to this question: yes, resoundingly so.  In fact, I think this book should only be read with others because I guarantee you will have more questions than answers when you finish it.

You probably know by now that Julian Barnes, nominated multiple times in the past for the Man Booker prize, finally clinched the award this year with his The Sense of an Ending.  I say "his" because there is another book by the same title, a collection of lectures by the literary critic Frank Kermode, published in 1967, and if you really want some light shed onto Julian Barnes' novel, I advise you to pick up Kermode's book.  Warning, though--it's not light reading.

So, what can your book club discuss after reading Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending?  The following contains many spoilers, so don't read anymore if you haven't finished the book!

Julian Barnes has described his book as being about how time affects memory and how memory affects time, and undoubtedly, you will want to explore this.

Coupled with the above, you will want to delve into the character of the narrator, Tony.  Just how reliable, or unreliable, is Tony?  You should consider his relationships--how he describes them versus how they really are.  So, think about his relationship with his daughter, with his ex-wife, with Adrian, and with Veronica, for example.  Importantly, think about his relationship with you, the reader.  Is he telling you the truth?  Is he telling himself the truth?  Remember at all times--Tony is narrating this story.  And he tells (warns?) us at the very start of the book, "...what you end up remembering isn't always the same as what you have witnessed."

Along with time and memory, you'll want to explore what the book is saying about history.  There are different definitions of it--what is the significance of history and how it is defined?  Pay attention to documentation and corroboration.

While considering time, memory, and history, pay attention to the Severn Bore scene.  Also, note how watches are worn...and what is said about subjective vs. objective time...

You'll want to talk about the theme of sex and death (Eros and Thanatos) in the book.  What is the book saying about suicide?  Why does Adrian commit suicide?

Now, I warned you above that this blog post contains spoilers galore, so stop reading now if you haven't read the book!

If you do take a look at Frank Kermode's The Sense of an Ending, you'll want to think about peripeteia.  And then you'll want to talk about how this concept relates to Julian Barnes' novel.  And then you'll want to consider how it relates to your experience reading this book.

And then...I predict you will have a rousing discussion, with more questions than answers.  For instance...

What do we really know at the end of this story?  Did Adrian father a child with Veronica's mother?  Does the child really look like Adrian, or is that what Tony would like to believe, or is that what he would like us to believe? 

Is Tony the father?  When a very astute Literary Masters member first proposed this, I thought, "no way..." but then we talked about it...and it started to seem like he could be...

What did happen that weekend at Veronica's house?  Why did Veronica's mother tell Tony not to let Veronica get away with too much?  What was she doing with the eggs?  And what did her hand gesture mean?  Did Tony and Sarah get together that weekend?

What did Veronica mean when she said "he'll do" and why did she leave Tony with her mother while she went off with her father and brother?

What did Tony mean when he told Adrian that Veronica was "damaged a long way back"?

Why did Sarah bequeath 500 pounds to Tony?  Could Tony have given Sarah the money to terminate the pregnancy, and because she didn't, she returned the money, albeit years later?  Is that why Veronica suggested that it could be "blood money"?

Veronica repeatedly tells Tony that he just doesn't get it.  What does she mean, exactly?

Why did Sarah have Adrian's diary?  Why did Sarah bequeath the diary to Tony?  Why do we, the readers, not get to see it?

What is the meaning of the mathematical equation in the diary fragment?

No doubt you will want to discuss whether the point of this book is that we can't know all the answers.  You'll want to talk about how the way we "know" reality at all is through our (by definition, unreliable) memory, and time (along with a host of other factors) distorts memory.   But still, don't you want to know the answers to some of the above questions?

The New York Times ran an obituary for Frank Kermode, which you can read here.  In it, the English literary critic Lawrence S. Rainey is referred to because he had described a central theme of Frank Kermode's writing as being  “the conflict between the human need to make sense of the world through storytelling and our propensity to seek meaning in details (linguistic, symbolic, anecdotal) that are indifferent, even hostile, to story."  The obituary goes on to say that "Mr. Kermode analyzed the fictions we invent to bring meaning and order to a world that often seems chaotic and hurtling toward catastrophe," and that Kermode also pointed out "narratives, just like life, can include details that defy interpretation."

So, is that what I've been doing with regard to Julian Barnes' novel?  Have I been focusing on the details of the story, trying to extract meaning from (or is it impose meaning upon?) them, when they actually defy interpretation?  If so, isn't this book exactly like life in that regard?

Yet, on the other hand, if we persist in our search for answers, there's always the chance that we'll find them, right?

Well, I came away from this book (and I read it twice) with many more questions than answers.  And the answers I did have never seemed to be definitive.  There always seemed to be an alternative answer for each question.  If your book club reads this novel, and if your book club thinks it knows the answers, please share!

This is Your Brain on Fiction

In today's world, there's a lot of competition when it comes to getting our eyes on print.  I have to admit, I rarely get through the paper on Sunday; if it's not captivating, I put it down so I can return to my latest novel.  But this past Sunday was an exception.  If you missed this piece in the opinion section of the New York Times, you should read it now.  It's all about your brain on fiction.  As if we needed another reason to read our novels!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?scp=1&sq=brain%20on%20fiction&st=Search

I especially liked the last line:  "Reading great literature, it has long been averred, enlarges and improves us as human beings. Brain science shows this claim is truer than we imagined."  Amen to that!

Should Your Book Club Read We the Animals by Justin Torres?

We the Animals is a wonderful little book, one you can easily read in one or two evenings.  It's about three little boys of mixed-race descent growing up in a household of little income, even less parenting, but, one has to believe, a lot of love.  There's not a traditional plot; rather, each chapter is a window into the life of this heart-wrenching family.

This is, as I said, a short novel, which I like, but it's a beautiful one.  The language is almost poetic, and considering that the book is narrated by the youngest brother, the contrast between what he says and how he says it lends a level of poignancy to the story that serves it well.  One can't help but feel for these little boys, their over-worked and self-effacing mother, and their well-intentioned but frustrated, macho dad.

I don't want to give anything away, but the end of the book, though in some ways shocking, comes as no surprise at all.  It left me wondering, "when, oh when, will we know what happens to them?  When is the sequel?"

So, should your book club read it?  I'd say this is a book most everyone will like, or at least appreciate, but the lack of traditional plot may pose a problem for those book clubs that don't approach their discussion in a structured way.  I won't be selecting this for our Literary Masters book groups, but that is not to detract from the novel.  I highly, highly recommend it for individuals, and if your book club reads it, do let me know how 'deep' a discussion you end up having.

Should Your Book Club Read In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar?

Absolutely yes!  This book is a winner and whether you read it on your own or with your book club, you should definitely read it.  It was written in 2006 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.  It won the Europe and South Asia Region of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best First Book.  And it was Literary Masters selection for the month of February.  I must thank my brother--yes, the one who never visits libraries--for bringing this wonderful novel to my attention.

Warp speed plot synopsis:

The narrator, a grown man, looks back through the eyes of his nine year-old self, and tells us the story of  living under Gaddafi's regime in Libya.  Suleiman's father is a dissident, risking his life and those of his family, to rebel against the dictator.  Suleiman's mother wants nothing to do with such trouble; she is more concerned with her own private rebellion--against the men who forced her into a hurried and arranged marriage against her will.  Suleiman, or Slooma to his loved ones, navigates the private trials and tribulations in his home and personal world, against the backdrop of an all-seeing, all-powerful public power.  As he tries to understand and take control of his little world, Slooma will open the door of his home and his family, letting that public and terrifying power in with lasting consequences for everyone.

So, what can your book club talk about?:

Well, you will definitely want to talk about Suleiman.  He is, without a doubt, one of the more interesting narrators I've come across.  You'll want to explore his motivations for making the decisions he takes.  There are emotional, psychological, and pragmatic explanations for his actions, but they don't all point to the same motivation.  He is, in a word, slippery.

What is he responsible for?  What did he do intentionally and what did he do unwittingly?  Was he a victim, or is he pathological?

Is he an unreliable narrator?  Yes, in the sense that he is telling us his story from memory, and memory is by definition unreliable.  However, is there more to this?  Is he telling us his story as a way of justifying his actions?

You will want to explore the Oedipal themes in the story.  This may help illuminate Suleiman's motivations.

You will definitely want to explore the character of the mother.  She's another incredibly interesting character.  What motivates her?  Her love for her son, or her lust for independent power?  Note the story-telling motif running throughout the story.  Note the parallels between Scheherazade and Suleiman's mother.  Who chooses slavery over death?

The theme of betrayal pervades this book.  You'll want to discuss whether any of it is justifiable.  You'll also want to consider the pleasure that some of the characters take in submitting to authority.  What is the psychology behind this?

The imagery and symbolism in this novel are beautiful; the author began the book as a poem, and one can see this in the tropes he employs.  You'll want to talk about the significance of the mulberries, and why the only remaining mulberry tree is in Rashid's garden.  Why does Suleiman eat so many, and why does the sun make him sick?  What does the sun represent?  What does Bahloul the beggar represent?  What about the sea?

You'll want to consider whether the book is asking the question:  how complicit are the characters in their own imprisonments?

You will want to talk about the title.  At length.

This book was written before the Arab Spring and the overthrow of Gaddafi.  You'll want to talk about whether we respond to it differently, knowing what we now know about how history has played out.

You'll want to talk about the moral dilemma:  does one sacrifice one's family for the sake of the larger good, or protect one's family at all costs?

I could go on, but I think this should get you going--happy reading, and have a great book club meeting!

Happy Birthday, Edith Wharton!

Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edith Wharton.  If you haven't yet discovered this classic author, you should give yourself an Edith Wharton birthday present today!  I recommend:

Ethan Frome

The Custom of the Country

The Age of Innocence











You are in for a real treat!!!

Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist Announced!

Are you familiar with this literary prize?  In an effort to widen my reading, geographically speaking, I have followed the Man Asian Literary Prize with interest.  (It is sponsored by the same people who sponsor the Man Booker Prize, so sometimes this award is referred to as the Man Asian Booker Prize.)  The shortlist for 2011 has just been announced, and the judges were evidently spoiled for choice.  Instead of the usual five books chosen, there are seven.  Here they are courtesy of the Man Asian Literary Prize website, which you can find here.

• The Wandering Falcon by JAMIL AHMAD, Pakistan
• Rebirth by JAHNAVI BARUA, India
•  The Sly Company of People Who Care RAHUL BHATTACHARYA, India
  
• River of Smoke by AMITAV GHOSH, India
• Please Look After Mom by KYUNG-SOOK SHIN, South Korea
• Dream of Ding Village by YAN LIANKE, China
• The Lake by BANANA YOSHIMOTO, Japan

Reading Is Fantastic for Your Mental Health!

I've always said that at Literary Masters book groups and literary salons, we 'dig deep' into literary treasures, and each discussion is like an aerobics class for our brains!  Now, medical research shows that reading, yes, reading is good for your mental health, and can reduce your stress level by 68%.  How great is that?

Here's the article; read it and relax!

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/health/314426/reading-cuts-stress-levels-by-68.html