Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes - I reached the end and felt confused.

[swanriver]

So, what was the ending?
Clearly the child/grownup disabled child was V's Mum's. But how did that tie in with everything else?
Was it meant to be all Narrator's (whatisname)'s fault, like Serbian Assassin, but not really his fault...
why was V so cross with him? was it just for the letter he wrote? What did have to do with Mum and Adrian having affair....Or was it because he didn't get it. What was he meant to get..? That she had really loved him and he had rejected her...? That she had really loved Adrian and her life had been destroyed??
What happens next with Narrator and the two women in his life...

Is there going to be a sequel?

I liked it btw.

Just wanted a few matters cleared up by wiser souls.

Swanriver, I have no answers, only the same questions that you do. I finished this book last night and was confused. I hope somebody comes along to help us out!

Swanriver - Here's my tuppen'orth (thoughts rather than answers - I know what I think) -
Adrian Finn was fingered as Gavrilo Princip (the Serbian Assassin) at the beginning of the book by the history teacher - and he certainly wasn't firing blanks! But who is really at fault? Veronica the cow was a tease, but she has to cope with the results of Finn's actions more than anyone else. Anthony is a complete w**r - an assessment that is implicit throughout the text from the beginning - but did his actions actually have an effect? That letter is brutally-nasty, and prescient -and Anthony actually does finally feel guilty - he certainly thinks the letter may have prompted Finn's actions. And as for Adrian Finn, Mr Moral Sciences, words fail me. The first part of the story - the love triangle - is WWI (and what really caused WWI? - historians have written huge tomes on the subject and still don't agree - but as is WWI all of the protagonists in this story bear some responsibility for the events). The modern day restart is WWII - a direct result of WWI, when Anthony receives the letter and the cheque (representing Germany's war reparations?) from the solicitor. He starts harassing Veronica and she retaliates with two bombshells - the letter, and the revelation about Finn. Direct hit.

And what's in a name?
The sense of an ending - the ending to this long tale is finally here, and it makes sense to end it. Finn = fin = the end - we certainly get a sense of Adrian Finn, and Finn's sense (or lack of). Anthony Webster - Webster's dictionary - boring and pedantic! Web-stir - he certainly does!

I think Webster's ex-wife is extremely glad she's no longer married to him.

Thank you seriouslytwisted. Was the young man who was with the care group a product of an affair between Adrian and Veronica's mother?

yes that's right bumbledeader. the man was Sarah and Adrian's child.

I reckon Veronica had only just found out Adrian was the father when her mother died 6months ago and she left Adrian diary which included the letter.

Not really sure if anything more went on that weekend Anthony spent at veronica's parents house, was it just athony felt uncomfortable or was there untoward stuff going on (eg was sarah flirting with him or more that he didn't remember). what was the secret wave at the end? prob nothing really.

Thanks indigobird. No idea about that wave, I wondered the same thing. Maybe somebody else will come along and enlighten us.

I reckon Veronica had only just found out Adrian was the father when her mother died 6months ago and she left Adrian diary which included the letter.
indigobird - I think the whole family knew that the child wasn't Sarah's husband's from the beginning- and also they would have known why Adrian committed suicide - Sarah would have been devastated, and pregnant - you think she wouldn't have confessed to the family?

'There was great unrest' - there certainly was!

Hi seriouslytwsited ,

the reason i thought Veronica had only recently found out was becasue she was acting so angry and weird around Tony, as if she was misplacing her shock and anger about Adrian Jnr onto him (esp if she had only just read Tony's letter, as well as Adrian's diary). Even though it wasn't Tony's fault (and Tony thought himself more responsible than he actually was).

I'm not sure how Sarah would have handled the suicide and pregnancy, but she might not necessarily confess. she had an affair with her daughter's boyfriend afterall so perhaps such a person can conceal feelings of devestation. And maybe the shame and guilt of the whole tragic business may have made her keep quiet too?? having said that, naming the child Adrian was a bit of a give away.

Ah but was the child Veronica's Mum's? He could just as easily have been Veronica's and the mother looked after the child so that Veronica could continue her career. The questions it leaves you with are very interesting aren't they.

I think the child was definitely Veronica's mother's (as predicted by Tony's angry letter). A child born to an older woman, one who is not planning on becoming pregnant.

naming the child Adrian was a bit of a give away.
The fact that the child was the spitting image of Adrian was a bit of a giveaway too! And were Veronica's mum and dad even having much sex?

Did Veronica have much of a career? We don't know.

indigobird
she was acting so angry and weird around Tony, as if she was misplacing her shock and anger about Adrian Jnr onto him (esp if she had only just read Tony's letter, as well as Adrian's diary).

She's angry because Tony is behaving like such a pratt! And all of this has just been raked up again. Who knows what else was in that diary?

What else is in a name?
Ford - not just a reliable ride, but also the crossing point of a river. Since rivers are often used as national or local boundaries, Veronica's surname can also be looked on as crossing the boundaries.

Veronica is the latin name of the speedwell flower. Anyone any idea what the meaning behind giving someone a bunch of speedwells is? (apart from cheapskate!)

Tony - dunno about you, but the name Tony these days immediately conjures up the name Phoney Tony.

And the Stefan Zweig book? Maybe it was his autobiography, The World of Yesterday, which covers the reasons for both WWI and WWII from an Austrian POV. Just my thoughts :)