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I greatly enjoyed this gentle little novel although it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I liked the ordinariness of Tony, his faults and his unreliability. I'm also just at the right age to appreciate all the little wisdoms about growing old, looking back and the way that memories 'harden' so that our version of what happened comes to seem more real than it deserves to.
It had something of the same feel as Cakes and Ale by another gentle observer of ordinary life, Somerset Maugham. ...more
It had something of the same feel as Cakes and Ale by another gentle observer of ordinary life, Somerset Maugham. ...more

Tony is a sixty-six year old contemporary character who, after receiving an odd bequest, begins a philosophical reflection on his lost high school friends, his first love, his failed marriage, his strained relationship with his daughter, lost dreams, and embarrassing actions towards one friend in particular.
"For instance, that when we are young and sensitive, we are also at our most hurtful; whereas when the blood begins to slow, when we feel less sharply, when we are more armored and have lear ...more
"For instance, that when we are young and sensitive, we are also at our most hurtful; whereas when the blood begins to slow, when we feel less sharply, when we are more armored and have lear ...more

I am working on finishing the combined 1001 Books lists, and this book is on the 2012 List. This story reminds me a lot of Looking for Alaska (John Green) and A Separate Peace (John Knowles), at least in the first half of the book. A man recounts his childhood and youth, his days in a boys' prep school and in college and his friendship with a boy named Adrian, who commits suicide. The main character, Tony, accepts Adrian's explanation in his note for why he chose to die, but still fails to fully
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While this is not an unusual plot, the story is enjoyable. Tony and his friends are very realistic characters. Veronica is extremely egotistical and especially annoying. Julian Barnes' prose, the best ingredient of the book, is lovely.
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Sep 25, 2012
Mekki
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Oct 22, 2012
Shae
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Jan 14, 2015
Sara
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Oct 24, 2015
Laura Krueger
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Feb 22, 2017
Sorobai
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Jun 17, 2017
Yvonne
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