Adrian Curtin's Reviews > The Sense of an Ending

Barnes creates a brief excursion into a realm of guilt and morality, cause and consequence as told through an aged narrator exploring the history of his lovers and friends. The narrator chooses to reveal his story selectively to the reader leaving to piece things together as the story progresses. The writing in the book is frequently eloquent but I feel that having the finished the novel that I am not left with any 'Sense of Ending'. It may be the narrator's frequent detachment from the personal relationships in which he finds himself. "He never gets it" to quote the book. This detachment flows easily into my interpretation of the book giving the emotions and moral issues a desaturated palate. While the dilemmas of moral responsibility brought to light by the book are interesting, I am left somewhat observant of them. Unwilling even to ascribe my own opinion to the matter.