The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Abstract

wltreviews often the case, the adventure begins with a telephone call, as Kati hears from her old college roommate, Petra Vogel, a B-grade German movie star who is traveling to Istanbul to shoot a film. Petra and Kati meet to catch up in Petra’s decadent hotel suite, where Kati learns about a family tragedy Petra has endured since the two lost touch. When Kurt Müller, the director of Petra’s film, is murdered in his hotel room, Kati takes it upon herself to solve the murder and remove her troubled friend from the list of suspects. First published in Turkish in 2001, Aykol’s novel explores European stereotypes and prejudices. Aykol puts particular emphasis on the relationship between Germans and Turks, and feelings of cultural superiority. Kati, having lived for extended periods of time in both Germany and Turkey , serves as a moderator of sorts, agreeing when a German henchman comments, “The class differences here are very marked. We Germans are much more like each other.” But she also pokes fun at Germans, noting, “In Istanbul, the only place I ever see such a dowdy lot of people is at the airport when boarding a plane to Berlin.” Though heavy-handed at times, Aykol’s cultural commentaries are perhaps the most successful elements of her novel. The story has all the trappings of an exciting murder mystery, as Kati encounters celebrities, detectives , and gang leaders, but it fails to deliver much suspense. Despite certain redeeming moments of insight into intercultural relations, as a mystery novel, Hotel Bosphorus lacks a gripping hook. Kati sets out to solve Müller’s murder in part to help her friend, and in part out of an eagerness to become a real-life participant in the action she has spent years reading about in fiction. Unfortunately , neither reason is particularly compelling to the reader. Important characters come and go with minimal development, and the amazing good fortune Kati has in stumbling upon vital information gives the reader little reason to credit her intelligence or perseverance. However, despite the novel’s deficiencies in subtlety and plot, Hotel Bosphorus provides an interesting depiction of Istanbul from the point of view of its generally likable heroine, whose adventures continue in two more novels not yet translated into English. Hilary Hudson University of Oklahoma Julian Barnes. The Sense of an Ending . New York. Knopf. 2011. isbn 9780307957122 When it comes to contemporary British fiction, I’ve always been more of a Martin Amis man than a Julian Barnes one. However, after reading Barnes’s latest Man Booker Prize winner , A Sense of an Ending, all that has changed. After reading this little treasure of a book, I have come to realize that I was missing the subtlety and grace of Barnes’s prose. Where Amis may be more clever, and his prose more cutting, Barnes asks more of his reader, but again, more subtly, in more of an understated way. In a sense, Barnes’s latest novel is like a very good single malt scotch, where Amis has always been more of a beer. A Sense of an Ending is a short book, perhaps best read in one sitting , and preferably with that scotch. It is a novel about late middle age that is, I suspect, written for those approaching that time in their lives. The novel, written in two parts, tells a story about Anthony (Tony) Webster, perhaps the most boring and least likable protagonist in years. Part 1 recounts Webster’s younger years and his friendship with two boys his age. When a third boy, Adrian Finn, walks into their lives, they are immediately taken with him. Throughout these recounted episodes, Webster begins dating Veronica Mary Elizabeth Ford, a young woman who may or may not be stringing him along. The first part ends with the suicide of Adrian. The second part of the novel takes place many years later, with Webster divorced from his wife, Margaret , and in retirement. When he receives a mysterious letter from a lawyer informing him that Veronica’s mother has left him five hundred pounds and Adrian’s diary in her will, his past suddenly comes creeping back...