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The End of Loneliness

Benedict Wells (Goodreads Author),

Charlotte Collins (Translator)

4.31 · Rating details · 15,229 ratings · 1,476 reviews

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

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Paperback, 272 pages

Published January 29th 2019 by Penguin Books (first published February 24th 2016)

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Jan 25, 2019 Angela M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: edelweiss-reviews

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
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 profound story about loss and loneliness and the effect of losing their parents and the life they knew, but it’s at the same time about how life goes on, about love, about memories. Even with the pervasive grief that makes this heavy and dark at times, there is hope and there are moments of joy.

Jules is the narrator, so you might say it’s his story but it’s also Marty’s and Liz’s and Alva’s story, the woman who has been in Jules’ heart from when he was a child at the boarding school the siblings were sent to. I don’t want to say much about the plot, except that it depicts how they lose themselves and each other and this is the story of their journeys to move forward. Bottom line is that I loved it, the introspective nature of it, the characters’ self awareness as they try to cope. It’s very philosophical as well, raising big questions such as how much does an individual control control his or her feelings and shape their life moving forward. These are some of the most affecting characters I’ve encountered in a while.

I always feel as if I’m taking a risk when I read a translation of a book, because I think I might not fully get what the author is trying to convey in his or her native language. The beautiful translation of this book felt true to me and it felt like English was the language it was written in, so kudos to Charlotte Collins who translated this book. This will definitely be on my list of favorites for the year.

I read this with the Traveling Sisters and I received an advanced copy of this book from Penguin Books through Edelweiss. ...more

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Jan 31, 2019 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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Mar 16, 2019 JV (semi-hiatus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, made-my-face-rain, literary-fiction, home-for-my-heart, best-audiobook-narrators, audiobooks, verisimilitude, favourites, 5-star-reads

"What is it that makes a life into what it becomes?"

Profound, sonorous, poignant, and deeply cathartic, The End of Loneliness is but one of the few novels that I would consider a literary magnum opus — a league on its own. Brimming with philosophical ruminations, insurmountable truths, and penetrating insights, it explores grief, life and death, camaraderie, yearning, solitude, and dreams of the lives forgone.

"What if there’s no such thing as time? If everything we experience is eternal,

"What is it that makes a life into what it becomes?"

"What if there’s no such thing as time? If everything we experience is eternal, and it’s not time that passes us by, but we ourselves that pass by the things we experience? I often ask myself this. It would mean that while our perspective would change and we would distance ourselves from treasured memories, they would still be there, and if we could go back we would still find them in the same place. Like leafing through a book backward, perhaps even back to the beginning."

Devastated by the death of their parents, Jules Moureau along with his siblings the unconventional Liz and the nerdy Marty are shipped off to a boarding school. With shattered lives, the siblings try to cope amidst the grief, pain, and loss. While in boarding school, Jules meets the mysterious Alva and their world will never be the same again.

"She looked into my eyes, and I’ll never forget how in doing so we were able to glimpse each other’s inner worlds. For one brief moment I saw the pain that hid behind her worlds and gestures, and in exchange she sensed what I held deep inside."

Several years later, the siblings, consumed by years of heartbreak and loneliness, reunite and forge a bond that ultimately changes the course of their lives. Meanwhile, Jules is still stuck in his "dream", he chases a ghost, in the form of his first love, Alva, calling back the past, grasping those fleeting moments — lives that could or might have been.

Beautifully told and written with exquisite prose and multi-faceted characters, Wells genuinely captures the heart and caresses the soul. With steady pacing, the novel allows the reader to reflect and meditate on several illuminating passages. This is something that needs to be slowly savoured and not devoured. It rather ends in a mellifluous and hopeful denouement, but not before encountering life's trials and tribulations. I have to commend Charlotte Collins for the brilliant translation. It's as if it was written in its original German language.

For someone who has befriended grief, pain, loss, and death for a long time since I was eight years old, this novel encapsulates all the broken parts in me that made me who I am today.

"Kierkegaard says the self must be broken in order to become itself [...] To find your true self you need to question everything you encountered at birth. And lose some of it, too, because often it’s only in pain that we discover what really belongs to us... It’s in the breaches that we recognize ourselves."

Reminiscing about the past, it always brings me to tears when I think of those memories especially that part of me that I left behind in the darkness.

"Life is not a zero-sum game. It owes us nothing, and things just happen the way they do. Sometimes they’re fair and everything makes sense; sometimes they’re so unfair we question everything. I pulled the mask off the face of Fate, and all I found beneath it was chance."

That said, I’ve long been afraid to love with all of me for the fact that every time I love someone, it never seemed to last long enough. Every time I give all of me, I don’t get everything back. I have embraced my solitude for far too long that I've forgotten how it’s like to have someone there to help me even if I have a few friends surrounding me. I'm really blessed to have known my Alva, "someone who could be sad, warm-hearted and cheerful all at once." Alva showed me that it's okay to trust and it’s okay to get hurt because someone will be there to pick up the shattered pieces of my heart. Alva broke the strong walls and barriers that I've built around me. Alva pulled me back when I wanted to walk away. Alva told me to stay because I’m sick of always being left behind. Alva understood me wholly and I can honestly say that that was the end of my own loneliness. Perchance, yours too.

"The only way we can overcome the loneliness within us is together".

Audiobook rating (narrated by Luke Thompson):
Narrative voice & style - ★★★★★
Vocal characterisation - ★★★★★
Inflexion & intonation - ★★★★★
Voice quality - ★★★★★
Audiobook verdict - ★★★★★ (Exquisite performance, superbly brilliant, a must-have!) ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 jessica rated it really liked it

‘there were things i couldnt say; i could only write them. because when i spoke, i thought; and when i wrote, i felt.’

what a surprise this book is. the kind of quiet surprise that ever so quietly draws closer to you, step by step, until its staring right back at you, making you realise and say, ‘oh, there you are. i didnt know how much i needed you.’ a story so heartbreakingly tender, so human in its reflection on loneliness, family, love, loss, grief, and hope.

but while this story has a re ...more

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Jan 26, 2019 Diane S ☔ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lor-2019

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

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Mar 01, 2018 Peter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, netgalley, global-read

Persistence
The End of Loneliness is a story that affirms the power of love and the throbbing pain of loss and loneliness. How the heart can be nourished and torn apart, leaving us with an unforgettable and emotional journey.

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 wat Persistence
The End of Loneliness is a story that affirms the power of love and the throbbing pain of loss and loneliness. How the heart can be nourished and torn apart, leaving us with an unforgettable and emotional journey.

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. He makes friends with a girl, Alva, a little older than he, and she is also finding it difficult to socialise and engage with others. Over the years, their mutual loneliness and sadness are only abated as they spend more time together and strike up a close bond. These characters are subtly developed and it's intriguing watching how they share similar traits yet are different, how they are affected by their other relationships yet have a bond that they probably can't fully appreciate. During adolescence Jules starts to realise that his feelings are more intimate than just friendship, but will he risk losing what he has, to gain everything. He reflects that he,

“Never had the courage to win her, only ever the fear of losing her.”

The End of Loneliness takes us on a lifelong cyclic journey of love and loss for each of the characters. The issue of unrequited love is a hugely emotive aspect of the narrative and the writing style delivers this extremely delicately yet dramatically. How would life pan out if we had taken a different course?

“If you spend all your life running in the wrong direction, could it be the right one after all?”

If you spend most of your life chasing a dream, is it still a dream when you catch it, and what happens if you let the dream go? The last part of the book is genuinely emotional, especially if you have connected with the characters, which I’m absolutely sure the reader will. It’s not a dramatic romance story, but the emotional pull is much more powerful for it. Is life a zero-sum game or do some people just have more than their fair share of bad luck? The book is sad without being depressing, and it has its moments where it is inspiring and heartfelt.

I would highly recommend this book and I'd like to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for an ARC version of the book in return for an honest review. ...more

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Dec 08, 2017 İntellecta rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

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.

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Feb 17, 2018 Andrew Smith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

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 a 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 sister Liz were dispatched to a grim boarding school. The idyllic life they’d led to this point is gone, replaced by something else. At the school, Jules meets the red haired Alva, a similarly introverted being; they strike up a friendship. Marty also finds a friend in Toni, who will eventually become a friend to all three siblings. Liz, on the other hand is a bit of a loner, but wild too: she wants to live life to the full and to experiment. As the book unfolds we see will how the lives of all five of them play out.

The focus, though, is on Jules and it’s through him that we see what happens to each of them. It’s a truly multi-layered tale this: it’s predominantly melancholy in tone, as the siblings follow a hard road to their futures, and we really do witness the peaks and troughs a life can deliver. Not only is there the loss of their parents to deal with but also separation as the three of them are split up for the first time in their lives at the boarding school and again later after they’ve gotten together collectively or sometimes in pairings. There is the agonising over unrequited love and the mistakes they make (that we all make) as they grow up, sometimes leading to longer term problems or regrets that will continue to haunt them. There’s also a pervading sense of time running out, things left undone. And there’s a suspicion that lives can be poisoned from the start (the siblings lost their parents and Alva lost a sister) stunting the ability to find happiness thereafter. But there are good times too, successes and moments of pure unadulterated happiness.

Apart from enjoying the unfolding of the tale itself, one of the great pleasures of this book for me was the way in which the group wrestle with some of the big philosophical questions in life, such as: do people really have free will and if a different path had been taken would some elements still be the same – would something still survive, the immutable part?

For Liz, life is about excitement and stimulation but for Marty and Jules I sense it’s more about finding security and contentment. Different strokes for different folks. Do each of them (or any of them) find what they’re looking for? Well, I’m not going to answer that, you’re going to have to read the book and find out for yourselves!

A five star read, without doubt. This book has been a huge success since it’s release, winning the 2016 European Union Prize for Literature, and I can see why. Now translated into English it’s one that you’ll miss at your peril.

My sincere thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Feb 05, 2019 *TUDOR^QUEEN* (on hiatus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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 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 outgoing child of 7. He loves his apartment where he can look down into a pleasant courtyard. His pretty Mom plays a Beatles cassette in the car as they make their annual summer jaunt to visit Grandmother in her ivy-covered house in the south of France. Dad is an aspiring photographer, but in reality is an accountant. He is well thought of at work and has an engaging personality. The Moreau's family life seemed rather idyllic during this early period, and I was easily lured into the story.

As time progresses, the father doesn't seem as sound of spirit as he used to be. He comes home from work later than usual and seems agitated. The parents' marriage doesn't seem quite as loving as it used to be. To that end, the parents go away alone on a trip hoping for a restorative effect on their marriage. Instead, they wind up dying in a car accident. This results in Jules, Marty, and the oldest- sister Liz- being sent to a boarding school. Jules is separated from his older siblings in the building. Still in shock and mourning, Jules is not the same madcap, ebullient personality he used to be...especially in this new environment. Then he meets a girl named Alva.

Jules used to sit towards the back of the class, keeping to himself. Alva started sitting next to him. One rainy day, she came over to his room at the boarding school where he played her a Nick Drake album; one of his Mom's favorites. Alva's passion was reading, and she could always be found sitting in some improbable position atop various pieces of furniture, enthralled in a book. Jules used to have a passion too...for writing stories.

Jules never forgot something his father fervently told him: "The most important thing is that you find your true friend, Jules. Your true friend is someone who's always there, who walks beside you all your life. You have to find them; it's more important than anything, even love. Because love doesn't always last." Jules was certain that person was Alva.

This was a very rich story spanning decades in Jules' pursuit and devotion of Alva. His single-minded focus on her is unwavering. It also follows the interesting and unfolding lives of Jules' siblings, Marty and Liz. The character of Jules is very likeable and sympathetic. He has emotional issues to work on, to come to terms with the last moments he spent with his father before he was snatched by death. This is also a story of a family that is always there for each other, and it was a very touching read.

Thank you to the publisher Penguin Books who provided an advance reader copy via Edelweiss. ...more

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Jul 22, 2019 Swaroop rated it it was amazing

"I've known Death a long time, but now Death knows me."

"What is it that makes a life into what it becomes?"

Memoirs and autobiographies are an effective way to share one's life memories and lessons, with the world. They are, indeed, a wonderful medium to bring people (and hearts) together, when everyone's growing apart these days.

The only way we can overcome the loneliness within us is together.

This is one of the areas in our lives, where memoirs serve a higher purpose - they genuinely help in o ...more

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Feb 07, 2019 Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5

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 and lo ...more

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Feb 15, 2019 Debbie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mostly-not-set-in-u-s, cultural, edelweiss, sibling-love-and-hate

3.5 and a yawn

This book is fine. Not fine like in fine china. Or fine like in mighty fine. This is more like the fine I utter when my salmon is a little overcooked. It’s fine, I tell the server, as in, I can still taste a bit of goodness but I definitely won’t rave about this meal later. It’s fine; it will do. So this isn’t a huge endorsement, obviously. And in the same way, I can’t give a huge endorsement to this book.

The story is about Jules, whose parents die when he’s young. He and his brot 3.5 and a yawn

This book is fine. Not fine like in fine china. Or fine like in mighty fine. This is more like the fine I utter when my salmon is a little overcooked. It’s fine, I tell the server, as in, I can still taste a bit of goodness but I definitely won’t rave about this meal later. It’s fine; it will do. So this isn’t a huge endorsement, obviously. And in the same way, I can’t give a huge endorsement to this book.

The story is about Jules, whose parents die when he’s young. He and his brother and sister end up at a boarding school. Jules is a sad sack for a while, not finding the right street to walk down, and he’s pining over the girl who got away. There is alienation and blues and happiness and grief. Occasional pieces of wisdom are given, but not thrilling or memorable.

One big item for the Complaint Board: The author got the kids all wrong! Seriously, an 11-year-old would not be kissing girls, which Jules admits to doing. We don’t see the kisses, but his sister ribs Jules about it:

“A friend of mine saw you. She said it was right here, outside our building, and you stuck your tongue down the girl’s throat. Like a pair of Labradors, she said.”

First of all, the sister is 14. Seriously—she’d know about French kissing? And a friend saw the tongues sticking down throats? Huh? One doesn’t really SEE tongues during a kiss—they’re enclosed in the mouths, wouldn’t you say? And I’m very sure that a 14-year-old would not make the comment about Labradors. What do kissing and tongues have to do with a pair of Labradors anyway?

In fact, while I was reading the chapters set in the boarding school, the kids’ actions and thoughts never seemed to match their age. I’d be surprised if the author had kids. In any case, he should have done his homework. I spent time going back to try to figure out ages, and I was definitely shaking my head no. It was jarring and annoying.

This book has lots of fans, so I had high hopes: I thought the book would knock my socks off but instead it made me yawn. This is a fine story and a decent character study, but so? I pretty much felt zippo about the main character, Jules, even though he was vivid and sympathetic. Same goes for his sibs and his love, Alva. This story was more than a meh, but not by much.

Thanks to Edelweiss for the advance copy. ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Dem rated it it was ok · review of another edition

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

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Nov 07, 2018 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019, literary-fiction, netgalley, in-translation

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 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 been like had they survived. At boarding school he meets Alva, another loner who he's able to connect with as he and his siblings grow apart, but after school they lose touch and Jules is once more on his own.

With a focus on the complex dynamics between the three siblings, Benedict Wells deftly explores the ripple effect of loss and grief. He also plays with the fallibility of memory in a way that recalls Kazuo Ishiguro, as Jules is recounting events from his childhood years later, and eventually certain cracks begin to form in his carefully curated narrative that suggest he may have chosen to remember certain events in a way that was convenient to him. This is a deeply melancholy book that gives little respite in its misery, but I found its emotional honesty refreshing. And with Jules' retrospective narration, the grief discussed feels more like a bruise than an open wound (it's a painful book to read, but not as visceral as something like A Little Life). It did bring me to tears at one point, but it wasn't the kind of painful that I lost sleep over; it's more of a quiet kind of haunting that slowly seeps under your skin.

My one criticism is that the end gets a bit twee and Wells insists on wrapping everything up a bit too neatly; maybe he's playing with the idea that one of the characters floats around, that life is a zero-sum game; maybe he thinks his characters have all suffered enough to have earned a neat ending. But as a reader I ironically feel less fulfilled with the more closure I get, so I would have preferred things to end on a slightly more somber note. 4.5 stars - rounded down for now but maybe I'll change it depending on how this stays with me.

Also - my advice going into this book is to avoid reading the Goodreads summary if possible (or maybe just read the first paragraph), as it essentially gives a paint by numbers account of the entire plot. It's not that I felt spoiled while reading - it's more driven by character than plot anyway - but it's just unnecessary to give that much away when the book is less than 300 pages to begin with.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jan 30, 2019 Esil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

“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

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Apr 18, 2019 Leila rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Leila by: JV

Shelves: a-bit-of-most-subjects, a-dipping-into-book-of-wisdom, unforgettable-books, favorites, my-challenge-books, my-wow-books

Wow! This book thoroughly absorbed me. I will remember it for a very long time. It took quite awhile to read as I did keep pausing so many times to reflect on the complex thoughts of the lonely Jules, his struggles with low self esteem and self examination, his attempts to understand the motives of others and especially the love of his life. I made personal notes and re-read sentences, paragraphs and often whole chapters for I felt the complexity of his loneliness so intensely. The book touched ...more

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Feb 06, 2019 Tooter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Tooter by: Elyse Walters

5+++ Stars.

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Jun 05, 2019 Paltia rated it it was amazing

“Do you know what my father said to me before he died? He said it was important to have a true friend - a soulmate. Someone you’d never lose, who would always be there for you. He said it was more important than love...Sometimes I think that’s who you are for me, or me for you. I can imagine us being friends all our lives, and I’m just so infinitely glad we got to know each other here.”
Thus begins the emotional roller coaster ride of the soulmates. This is the story of Jules Moreau and his soulm “Do you know what my father said to me before he died? He said it was important to have a true friend - a soulmate. Someone you’d never lose, who would always be there for you. He said it was more important than love...Sometimes I think that’s who you are for me, or me for you. I can imagine us being friends all our lives, and I’m just so infinitely glad we got to know each other here.”
Thus begins the emotional roller coaster ride of the soulmates. This is the story of Jules Moreau and his soulmate, Alva. Jules is alone in the world. His parents have been killed in a car accident. His brother and sister though physically nearby are worlds away. Alva enters his life and he is never the same. Over time they come together then separate only to come together again. They are kindred spirits. Their essences poured from a similar vessel. They understand this from the start and through all time. When they meet as separate beings they quickly become mirrors, companions and teachers to one another. They could never be just passing strangers. Fate ignited something sacred within them for good and bad. We watch as they ascend to the heights only to later crash and burn . Although the author references Nick Drake’s music their story reminded me of the Duran Duran song - Ordinary World. “Where is my friend when I need you most? Gone away.” Yet their closeness can’t be divided despite temporary separations. They carry on and over. This story serves to remind us to jump on in to those rare moments of connection. They are so precious. It’s a pull that goes beyond the rational and a shimmer so familiar it can’t be denied. This is what saves and sustains us all in the end. This story swept me away with emotion. When Jules reads Rilke’s poem to Alva - “Before us great Death stands Our fate held close within his quiet hands. When with proud joy we lift Life’s red wine up To drink deep of the mystic shining cup And ecstasy through all our being leaps - Death bows his head and weeps.” - I wept as well. I marked my place and stepped outside to think of all the emotions and memories this story conveys. It covers so much, creating feelings that took me beyond words and emptiness. Turns out his father’s advice was golden. It leads Jules to places of the heart far beyond his imagination. A story about what really matters in our brief time here on earth. ...more

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Feb 02, 2019 Renee (itsbooktalk) rated it liked it · review of another edition

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

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Nov 05, 2019 Olivia (Stories For Coffee) rated it really liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, translated-international

I feel like I went on a journey, when reading this book. Originally I began reading it physically, but I’m glad I moved to reading it on audiobook because the way the narrator delivers the story flows so effortlessly, and I enjoyed it far more when I was listening to it.

What really got me about The End of Loneliness was how much it seeped into my heart and made me feel as if I was Jules, growing older and wiser as he deals with the troubles of life, grief, heartbreak, and finding one’s purpose ...more

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Dec 20, 2017 Paula Bardell-Hedley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Paula by: NetGalley.

Shelves: giveaways, netgalley, literary-fiction, translated-literature

“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 stories and lives through his imagination. The only person able to reach him is the equally damaged Alva, whom he comes to love, but they are divided by a misunderstanding after leaving school.

Many years later they are given a chance to make amends, but their relationship has never been straightforward – grief shadows both their lives.

Seven years in the writing, The End of Loneliness is German author, Benedict Wells' first novel to be published in the UK. Prior to translation it won the European Union Prize for Literature, was on the German bestseller list for over 18 months, and was translated into 26 languages.

Born in Munich in 1984, Wells writes from experience. He attended three separate Bavarian boarding schools from the age of six, and like his protagonists, suffered acute loneliness. He moved to Berlin after graduating in 2003, but decided against attending university, opting instead to focus on writing while earning his living by holding down a variety of jobs. He lived in Barcelona for a period but has recently returned to Berlin.

Superbly translated by Charlotte Collins (award-winning translator of The Tobacconist), The End of Loneliness is a book you fall into from the first page. It is a poignant exploration of the past told through the ruptured lives of the siblings: a moving tale of loss, longing and familial love. Wells has produced an outstanding piece of writing; one that will linger in your thoughts long after the story ends.

“If you spend your life running in the wrong direction, could it be the right one after all?”

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for providing an advance review copy of this title. ...more

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Jul 26, 2018 Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaways

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

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Apr 19, 2019 Cortney LaScola - The Bookworm Myrtle Beach rated it liked it

Shelves: giveaways-arcs

This book was just OK for me... granted, it's not my typical type of book, but a good story with good characters is still a good story with good characters, regardless of your preferences. I don't feel like this book really had either.

It was fine, just not great. I didn't really like or care about Jules. Even his love story with Alva just OK. ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 Aqsa marked it as tbr-soon · review of another edition

Shelves: immediate-attention, most-anticipated-reads

Found it via Elyse. Check out her review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more

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Mar 26, 2020 shopping for a moon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: faves, literary-fiction

My heart can‘t handle this much pain.

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Dec 21, 2018 Marjorie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

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

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Feb 20, 2020 debra rated it liked it · review of another edition

Everybody loved this book, and I mean EVERYBODY. When I was reading/listening- I just felt I wanted more. I couldn't connect with the characters and felt at a distance from them. The author is very skilled, but the story, I don't know, maybe it was too sad, maybe it was wrong book wrong time ...more

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Mar 10, 2019 Celia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: elyse, ten-year-challenge, stellar-recs, reading-the-world, translated, 2019-read, returned, 52-2019

I KNEW I would like this book. I was offered it as a borrow on Mar 4 and I read it immediately. I have about 8 other books that I have borrowed that are sitting in a pile unstarted. This book is SPECIAL.

I could probably write volumes about how this book affected me but then I would be SPOILING it for you. So instead of telling you what happens, I will tell you who it happens to.

The Author
Separated from his parents at age six, Benedict Wells poured his turmoil into The End of Loneliness, a story ...more

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Jun 14, 2021 Renee Godding rated it did not like it

Shelves: literary-fiction

Small rant incoming...

I’m proud to say that I made it until June this year before encountering a book I didn’t just dislike but actively hated. That book was The End of Loneliness. Obligatory disclaimer before you come for me: please know this ismy opinion based on my experiences, and I'm not trying to insult anyone. If you love this book I'm happy for you, but I just have many problems with it...

I realise that it’s an unpopular opinion, and I honestly don’t think it’s just this book I dislike, ...more

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Feb 08, 2019 Krista rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: highly-recomnd-to-read, foreign, literary-fiction, 2019-books-read, fiction-award-winner, setting-eu-germany, family-interactions, 2019-netgalley-reviewed, setting-eu-switzerland, reviewed-for-netgalley

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

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About Benedict Wells

Benedict Wells

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Homepage: https://www.benedictwells.de

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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.” — 83 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.” — 71 likes

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