More Books...

I made another trip to Iowa, this time I was solo, visiting my sister.   I downloaded a couple books onto my IPod, plugged it into my Smart car and I was off.  (Note to self:  Seven hours in a Smart car is not the most comfortable trip.}

On my way out I listened to The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. 

This book begins with the story of a group of young English boys and their coming of age.  The book is narrated by Tony Webster, one of the boys.  In the second part of the book, Tony Webster is a retired divorced man in his mid-60s who, after receiving notice of an unexpected bequest, is pulled back into a "powerful recollection of strong emotions" from his past. This leads to a reassessment of the accuracy of his memories, a rueful realization of how much he'd gotten wrong, and a harsh re-evaluation of his passive approach to life.

In the first part of the book, I lost interest.  In fact, I almost didn't finish the book. But in the end, I enjoyed the book and it made me think.  We all have experiences in our life we reflect on... if you don't... lucky you.  A book like this makes me scrutinize choices I’ve made, people I’ve known, and secrets I’ve kept.  Perhaps it’s best not to dwell too much but certainly at any age you can learn from the past.