The Sense of an EndingThe Sense of an Ending
Score Modern
What it's about
Tony Webster, a retired man in his sixties, has a quiet, settled life. Then a lawyer's letter informs him that the mother of an old girlfriend has left him a small sum of money and the diary of his brilliant school friend Adrian, who killed himself as a young man. Tony's attempts to get the diary force him to revisit what he thought he remembered.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Booker Prize. It's short and quietly devastating, about memory and how we deceive ourselves.
You'll love it if you liked
The Remains of the Day
Never Let Me Go
AtonementGood to know
It's short, about 150 pages. The ending is famously puzzling and rewards rereading.
By the numbers
- Readers5 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics67 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller64 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz1 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #216 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #985 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1825 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Julian Barnes
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Quick answers
Is The Sense of an Ending worth reading?
Yes. It won the Booker Prize. It ranks #1,825 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 65.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Sense of an Ending about?
Tony Webster, a retired man in his sixties, has a quiet, settled life. Then a lawyer's letter informs him that the mother of an old girlfriend has left him a small sum of money and the diary of his brilliant school friend Adrian, who killed himself as a young man. Tony's attempts to get the diary force him to revisit what he thought he remembered.
How long does it take to read The Sense of an Ending?
About 4 hours (164 pages), or about 8 days at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Sense of an Ending won?
Booker Prize winner (2011).
What should I read after The Sense of an Ending?
If you liked it, try The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro or Atonement by Ian McEwan.