The Sense of an Ending

Julian Barnes wrote The Sense of an Ending.  He uses his words like precision tools.  The book is short and concise, yet grand in scope.  The narrator, Anthony, is British and 60 years old.   An incident happened that has rocked his world and changed his perception of himself and his behavior.  He tells us a story about his friend, Andrian, who killed himself in his 20's.  Anthony has to go back to his childhood to tell the entire story.  The story includes Veronica who was involved with both Anthony and Andrian.  Veronica is a classic villain and villains make for such interesting stories.  She is both toxic and alluring.  Anthony has always tried to be a peaceable man but as evidence from his past is brought forward he questions the accuracy of his memories.  I didn't always like Anthony.  Sometimes he pitied himself and judged himself too harshly.  This was a great story - a riveting tale.