BOOK REVIEW OF A Prizewinner

Man Booker Prizes are no recommendation.
Julian Barnes- The Sense of an Ending.

The black edges to the pages of the paperback were oddly intriguing. Was it a Victorian death cult novel?

The opening, about four somewhat pretentious London schoolboys in the 60s, made me laugh a little. It caused me to compare my own memories of more serious rebellion and different pretentions.
The lives of the three main characters, quickly became mundane and boring. The narrator's over reaction to his dull girlfriend's tediousness and dumping him seemed ridiculous. I asked myself, 'Why write about such uninteresting folk and why am I still reading this?'
As the book was short and well written, I pressed on. The narrator turned out to be mean spirited as well as a sad failure. The twist at the end was a surprise, but hardly riveting.

You have to wonder about why such light-weight books win prizes. The 'Luvvies', who control the traditional publishing industry, are more motivated with impressing other luvvies than the inherent merit of the books they churn out.