Departures by Julian Barnes

 

This book is a mix of memoir and novel.  Julian Barnes was approaching eighty as he wrote this and endings are on his mind.  He talks about the blood cancer he has been fighting since 2020.  He talks about the death of his beloved wife.  But he also talks about a love story he played a part in, not once but twice.

In university, he played a part in bringing together Stephen and Jean, both of whom were friends of his.  He didn't have a love interest at the time and he felt a part of their love and was quite disappointed when they broke up.  Forty years later, Stephen approached him about bringing he and Jean back together and Barnes does.  The two fall back in love but alas, the ending is the same.

Julian Barnes is one of England's best authors.  He has been nominated for the Booker Prize four times and his novel, A Sense Of An Ending, won in 2011.  I've read the majority of his books and enjoyed them all.  I am sad to see him writing what he says will be his last book.  On a lighter note, I read that he married the woman he was in a relationship with in this memoir when he had reached eighty and I was pleased that he had trusted love once again.  This book is recommended for memoir and Barnes fans.