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The End of Loneliness
by
Jules Moreau’s childhood is shattered after the sudden death of his parents. Enrolled in boarding school where he and his siblings, Marty and Liz, are forced to live apart, the once vivacious and fearless Jules retreats inward, preferring to live within his memories--until he meets Alva, a kindred soul caught in her own grief. Fifteen years pass and the siblings remain str
...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
January 29th 2019
by Penguin Books
(first published February 24th 2016)
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Showing 1-30

A well written story affords us the opportunity to feel what the characters are feeling even if their experience is not one that is totally familiar. I know what grief feels like over losing loved ones, but I don’t know what it’s like as a child to lose both parents and carry that grief throughout your life. This is a such a well written story that I found myself totally immersed in the grief of Jules, Marty and Liz Moreau, so much so that I cried at times with them and for them. This is such a ...more

My gosh.... the purity of this novel is beautiful. The storytelling MAGNIFICENT!
It’s a book you want to own - let some time pass - then read it again. A few novels are high on my ‘gift’ lists....
“Molokai” by Alan Brennert, “To The End of Your Life Book Club”, by Will Schwalbe, and “The History of Love”, by Nicole Krause are a few books. - just to name a few- I’ve given away to people many times. I like to bring a book - rather than a bottle of wine to dinner invitations.
I ‘already’ have a frien ...more
It’s a book you want to own - let some time pass - then read it again. A few novels are high on my ‘gift’ lists....
“Molokai” by Alan Brennert, “To The End of Your Life Book Club”, by Will Schwalbe, and “The History of Love”, by Nicole Krause are a few books. - just to name a few- I’ve given away to people many times. I like to bring a book - rather than a bottle of wine to dinner invitations.
I ‘already’ have a frien ...more

My first five star read of 2019. Five stars because it gave me a very good story, some great and memorable characters, as well as delivering all the feels. A complimentary side of marshmallow thrown in for good measure.
When the story opens we are introduced to Jules. He is lying in a hospital bed recovering from a motorcycle accident. The reason for the accident is in doubt. He then flashes back to his past, and the reader follows he and his siblings as they are delivered to a just barely servic ...more
When the story opens we are introduced to Jules. He is lying in a hospital bed recovering from a motorcycle accident. The reason for the accident is in doubt. He then flashes back to his past, and the reader follows he and his siblings as they are delivered to a just barely servic ...more

At first i was curious about an unusual story by Benedict Wells, so i was excited to read. Benedict Wells has a great writing style. He usualy knows how to handle with words, but did not touch me with his style of writing. The destiny of the main character is directed by the arbitrariness of the autor without surprising moments and changes of tacks.

The book opens with the line: I’ve known Death a long time, but now Death knows me.
Jules wakes in a hospital bed - he’s been in an accident and he’s pretty beaten up. He tries to piece it together: a motorcycle accident, but there’s something before that, something his mind doesn’t want to recall. We’ll find out what that is… but not yet, not for quite some time.
We flashback to his childhood and learn that he lost his parents early in life, the result of a car crash. He, his brother Marty and ...more
Jules wakes in a hospital bed - he’s been in an accident and he’s pretty beaten up. He tries to piece it together: a motorcycle accident, but there’s something before that, something his mind doesn’t want to recall. We’ll find out what that is… but not yet, not for quite some time.
We flashback to his childhood and learn that he lost his parents early in life, the result of a car crash. He, his brother Marty and ...more

This was a very moving account of three siblings from Munich, Germany who tragically lost their parents in a car accident. The story is told from the perspective of the youngest son, Jules. As the story begins, a now adult Jules wakes up in hospital realizing he has survived a motorcycle accident. Both Jules' older brother Marty and the hospital psychologist question whether it was an accident or a suicide attempt. From here, the story rewinds to its beginning.
Jules is a carefree, brave and outg ...more
Jules is a carefree, brave and outg ...more

Persistence
A book of love, loss and loneliness, with its encounters of uplifting emotion, that nourishes the heart.
At 11 years of age, the story's narrators, Jules, and his older brother and sister, Marty and Liz, lose their parents in a car accident. They are re-homed in a boarding school with each drifting apart and trying to adapt to this new alien world. For Jules, he despondently watches his older siblings “desert” him and he gradually starts to retreat into himself and his imagination. H ...more
A book of love, loss and loneliness, with its encounters of uplifting emotion, that nourishes the heart.
At 11 years of age, the story's narrators, Jules, and his older brother and sister, Marty and Liz, lose their parents in a car accident. They are re-homed in a boarding school with each drifting apart and trying to adapt to this new alien world. For Jules, he despondently watches his older siblings “desert” him and he gradually starts to retreat into himself and his imagination. H ...more

Nov 07, 2018
Rachel
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
published-in-2019,
german,
in-translation,
2019,
literary-fiction,
netgalley,
i-actually-cried
Well, this utterly wrecked me. What a beautiful book.
The End of Loneliness, translated from the German by Charlotte Collins, follows three siblings growing up in Munich, whose parents die in a car accident, leaving them orphaned and forced to attend boarding school. The focus is on Jules, the youngest sibling, who's more of an observer than a participant in his own life; after his parents' death he turns inward and fixates on a parallel narrative that he's crafted of what his life would have bee ...more
The End of Loneliness, translated from the German by Charlotte Collins, follows three siblings growing up in Munich, whose parents die in a car accident, leaving them orphaned and forced to attend boarding school. The focus is on Jules, the youngest sibling, who's more of an observer than a participant in his own life; after his parents' death he turns inward and fixates on a parallel narrative that he's crafted of what his life would have bee ...more

“A difficult childhood is like an enemy. You never know when it will strike.”
This quote pretty much sums up what The End of Loneliness is all about. Jules is the youngest of three siblings. His parents die when he is 11 years old, and he and his siblings go live in a boarding school. Later in life, Jules looks back on different points in his life — how he and his siblings distanced themselves from each other and slowly came back together. But, always, for Jules and his siblings, the early loss o ...more
This quote pretty much sums up what The End of Loneliness is all about. Jules is the youngest of three siblings. His parents die when he is 11 years old, and he and his siblings go live in a boarding school. Later in life, Jules looks back on different points in his life — how he and his siblings distanced themselves from each other and slowly came back together. But, always, for Jules and his siblings, the early loss o ...more

Described as a Tear Jerker in the magazine review I read but I am afraid this one didn't emotionally affect me in any way and not a tear was shed which may say more about me than the book....... but we do all react differently and as so many of friends found this one a powerful and emotional read, Unfortunately by the end of the novel I was left unmoved and unsatisfied and didn't connect with the characters and to be honest probably wont remember much about this novel a month from now. I do rea
...more

4+ stars
This was a book about siblings Liz, Marty, and Jules.. who at young ages, lost both their parents in a traffic accident, and then were sent to boarding school for many years. They were separated from each other while there and for the youngest, Jules .. it was especially difficult.
This is their story, (mostly focusing on Jules life) and how the sadness of such an early loss affected their entire lives. There are also other great characters in this book to bring about a very meaningful a ...more
This was a book about siblings Liz, Marty, and Jules.. who at young ages, lost both their parents in a traffic accident, and then were sent to boarding school for many years. They were separated from each other while there and for the youngest, Jules .. it was especially difficult.
This is their story, (mostly focusing on Jules life) and how the sadness of such an early loss affected their entire lives. There are also other great characters in this book to bring about a very meaningful a ...more

Feb 01, 2016
Kim
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2016-gelesen,
meine-liebsten
Ich hätte es niemals erwartet, aber ich habe gerade definitiv eines meiner liebsten Bücher beendet. Ich hab gehadert, geliebt, geweint und sogar geschmunzelt.
Einfach alles.
Danke dafür.
Während ich seit einer guten Stunde immer und immer wieder mein Geschriebenes lösche, weil ich mir laufend die Frage stellen muss: „Wie rezensiere ich ein Buch, das mich sprachlos zurückgelassen hat?“, entscheide ich mich genau dafür als Anfang.
Dabei möchte ich festhalten, dass ganz gleich was ich schreiben werde, ...more
Einfach alles.
Danke dafür.
Während ich seit einer guten Stunde immer und immer wieder mein Geschriebenes lösche, weil ich mir laufend die Frage stellen muss: „Wie rezensiere ich ein Buch, das mich sprachlos zurückgelassen hat?“, entscheide ich mich genau dafür als Anfang.
Dabei möchte ich festhalten, dass ganz gleich was ich schreiben werde, ...more

Feb 06, 2019
Tooter
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Tooter by:
Elyse Walters
5+++ Stars.

I had high hopes for this character driven exploration of fate, life, and love but by the halfway point I fizzled out on the story. This is the story of Jules, Marty and Liz, 3 siblings who weather their first tragedy when their parents are killed when they're all still under 16. They're sent to a boarding school and I must say, the author did a fantastic job of portraying the depth of sadness that all 3 experienced because as we learned from the beginning of the story, they were close with thei
...more

Dec 20, 2017
Paula Bardell-Hedley
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Paula by:
NetGalley.
“A difficult childhood is like an invisible enemy. You never know when it will strike.”Eleven-year-old Jules and his siblings, Marty and Liz, live sheltered, seemingly idyllic lives in Munich with their devoted mother and father. Until, that is, both parents are killed in a catastrophic road accident while motoring in France and the children are sent to a grim state boarding school, where they rapidly drift apart.
Jules changes from a fearless, vivacious boy into a withdrawn teenager who writes ...more

Jun 15, 2017
Annina
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
must-reads
Was für ein feinfühlig geschriebenes Buch. Da mir die Tränen bei einer Szene runterliefen, bleibt wohl nicht mehr viel anzufügen. 5 Sterne.

5 Sterne, aus tiefstem Herzen. Könnte man sich mit einem Buch verheiraten, ich würde dieses hier sofort vor den Traualtar zerren.
Ich habe Benedicts Bücher alle gelesen und mochte sie auch alle (vor allem den Vorgänger, "Fast genial", für den er gerade am Film-Drehbuch schreibt), aber hiermit ist ihm sein bisheriges Meisterwerk gelungen. Die relativ lange Zeit, die er sich für das Schreiben dieses Romans genommen hat, hat sich definitiv ausgezahlt. Das Buch ist ein wenig anders - reifer, ist vie ...more
Ich habe Benedicts Bücher alle gelesen und mochte sie auch alle (vor allem den Vorgänger, "Fast genial", für den er gerade am Film-Drehbuch schreibt), aber hiermit ist ihm sein bisheriges Meisterwerk gelungen. Die relativ lange Zeit, die er sich für das Schreiben dieses Romans genommen hat, hat sich definitiv ausgezahlt. Das Buch ist ein wenig anders - reifer, ist vie ...more

I won the "The End of Loneliness" written by Benedict Wells and translated by Charlotte Collins in the Goodreads Giveaways and was very pleased I did. It was an entertaining story looking at life philosophically, dealing with friendships, illness, death and such like and although very sad at times it was also quite uplifting.
General fiction readers should really enjoy this book, it's not my normal genre but I'm glad I won it as I did find it a pleasurable read and probably wouldn't have picked i ...more
General fiction readers should really enjoy this book, it's not my normal genre but I'm glad I won it as I did find it a pleasurable read and probably wouldn't have picked i ...more

Upravo sam završila ovu knjigu i ostala sam zatečena.
Knjiga je to koja me je do srži uzdrmala i mislim da ću je još dugo pamtiti.
Glavni protagonist romana je Jules Moreau, čovjek koga život nije mazio.
On, njegov brat i sestra nakon što im roditelji poginu, primorani su živjeti u internatu.
Jules je dječak koji se nikako ne može naviknuti na teškoće života bez roditelja, no s vremenom uviđa da se mora prilagoditi ovakvoj novonastaloj situaciji i životu koji se odvija po nekim određenim pravilima.
P ...more
Knjiga je to koja me je do srži uzdrmala i mislim da ću je još dugo pamtiti.
Glavni protagonist romana je Jules Moreau, čovjek koga život nije mazio.
On, njegov brat i sestra nakon što im roditelji poginu, primorani su živjeti u internatu.
Jules je dječak koji se nikako ne može naviknuti na teškoće života bez roditelja, no s vremenom uviđa da se mora prilagoditi ovakvoj novonastaloj situaciji i životu koji se odvija po nekim određenim pravilima.
P ...more

Eine schwierige Kindheit ist wie ein unsichtbarer Feind, dachte ich. Man weiß nie, wann er zuschlagen wird.
Benedict Wells hat mit diesem Buch ein absolutes Meisterwerk geschaffen. Noch nie habe ich einen Roman gelesen, der eine solche Wucht von Schwermut, Traurigkeit und Schicksal vermittelt hat. Selten habe ich ein Buch gelesen, dass so eine Emotionstiefe hatte, die sich mit dem Aufschlagen des Buches immer wieder in mir ausbreitete. Ich denke an das Buch, sehe es manchmal nur an, und fühle mi ...more
Benedict Wells hat mit diesem Buch ein absolutes Meisterwerk geschaffen. Noch nie habe ich einen Roman gelesen, der eine solche Wucht von Schwermut, Traurigkeit und Schicksal vermittelt hat. Selten habe ich ein Buch gelesen, dass so eine Emotionstiefe hatte, die sich mit dem Aufschlagen des Buches immer wieder in mir ausbreitete. Ich denke an das Buch, sehe es manchmal nur an, und fühle mi ...more

When the parents of young Jules, Liz and Marty Moreau die in a car crash, the children are sent to a boarding school. Jules is separated from his brother and sister and has a difficult time adjusting. He once was the only one brave enough to cross a dangerous tree that had fallen across a waterway but now he feels vulnerable and retreats to his memories and books. When he meets Alva, he recognizes a kindred spirit. Alva also has had tragedy in her life. But their friendship falls apart, although
...more

Jan 10, 2019
Carina
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2019-reads,
favorites
brilliant, wunderschön.

5 incandescent stars
Rating: 5 stars
German author Benedict Wells has written a complex, thought-provoking book about all the important things in life; family, friendship, finding your place in the world, determining what sort of person you will become. We meet the narrator, Jules Moreau, in the hospital after he was involved in a motorcycle accident. He starts reflecting on all the events that brought him to this place.
Jules is the youngest of three siblings. Liz is the eldest in the family, Mar ...more
Rating: 5 stars
German author Benedict Wells has written a complex, thought-provoking book about all the important things in life; family, friendship, finding your place in the world, determining what sort of person you will become. We meet the narrator, Jules Moreau, in the hospital after he was involved in a motorcycle accident. He starts reflecting on all the events that brought him to this place.
Jules is the youngest of three siblings. Liz is the eldest in the family, Mar ...more

One of my bookish resolutions for 2019 was to read more World Literature and then, serendipity, I was introduced to The End of Loneliness set in Europe and written by a German author. Wundershon! I read this as a translated work and thought the translator did great with the fabulous understated work by the author because I meant to only read a little and ended up devouring the book in two sittings. Oh the melancholy and the tears, but so worth it.
The End of Loneliness introduces Jules the younge ...more
The End of Loneliness introduces Jules the younge ...more

"Otázka znie, čo by sa však nezmenilo. Čo je v tebe to, čo by ostalo také isté? To, čo by v každom živote ostalo rovnaké, bez ohľadu na to, ako by sa odvíjal. Existujú v človeku veci, ktoré všetko prežijú?"
O živote, samote, láske, rodine, o výnimočných momentoch, ktoré nás formujú a osobách, bez ktorých by sme neboli tými, ktorými sme dnes.
"Vtedy sme sa míňali, potrebovali sme jeden druhého ako priateľa a príliš neskoro sme si uvedomili, čo k sebe navzájom cítime. Teraz by som vedel naše chyby ...more
O živote, samote, láske, rodine, o výnimočných momentoch, ktoré nás formujú a osobách, bez ktorých by sme neboli tými, ktorými sme dnes.
"Vtedy sme sa míňali, potrebovali sme jeden druhého ako priateľa a príliš neskoro sme si uvedomili, čo k sebe navzájom cítime. Teraz by som vedel naše chyby ...more

Glad that I read this as it certainly makes you think and to make the most of the good times in life but it was a pretty bleak and depressing book. Found this interesting article which explains why the German author has such an English surname:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

Die ersten beiden Benedict Wells Romane „Becks letzter Sommer” und “Spinner” habe ich kurz vor dem Abitur gelesen. Beide Bücher gingen mir damals sehr nahe, da sie diese unsichere quarter-life-crisis Zeit irgendwie echt perfekt eingefangen haben, in der man sich zwischen Schulabschluss und Mitte zwanzig (und vielleicht sogar weit darüber hinaus) oft so befindet.
Zudem handeln Wells Romane meistens auch von dem Versuch sich in kreativen Berufen zu etablieren – ein Thema, das bei mir ebenfalls auf ...more
Zudem handeln Wells Romane meistens auch von dem Versuch sich in kreativen Berufen zu etablieren – ein Thema, das bei mir ebenfalls auf ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Goodreads Librari...: Combine Editions - "The End of Loneliness" by Benedict Wells | 3 | 219 | Dec 31, 2018 10:04AM |
Homepage: https://www.benedictwells.de
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Benedict-Wel...
Benedict Wells wurde 1984 in München geboren. Im Alter von sechs Jahren begann seine Reise durch drei bayerische Internate. Nach dem Abitur 2003 zog er nach Berlin. Dort entschied er sich gegen ein Studium und widmete sich dem Schreiben. Seinen Lebensunterhalt bestritt er mit diversen Nebenjobs. Sein Debüt ›Bec ...more
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Benedict-Wel...
Benedict Wells wurde 1984 in München geboren. Im Alter von sechs Jahren begann seine Reise durch drei bayerische Internate. Nach dem Abitur 2003 zog er nach Berlin. Dort entschied er sich gegen ein Studium und widmete sich dem Schreiben. Seinen Lebensunterhalt bestritt er mit diversen Nebenjobs. Sein Debüt ›Bec ...more
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“Das Gegengift zu Einsamkeit ist nicht das wahllose Zusammensein mit irgendwelchen Leuten. Das Gegengift zu Einsamkeit ist Geborgenheit.”
—
43 likes
“Das Leben ist kein Nullsummenspiel. Es schuldet einem nichts, und die Dinge passieren, wie sie passieren. Manchmal gerecht, so dass alles einen Sinn ergibt, manchmal so ungerecht, dass man an allem zweifelt. Ich zog dem Schicksal die Maske vom Gesicht und fand darunter nur den Zufall.”
—
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