Book #34 Levels of Life

Levels of Life by Julian Barnes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An uncomfortable read. I refer to the third part of this book. A monologue on grief. Julian Barnes' wife, Pat Kavanagh, died in 2008 just 37 days after a diagnosis of terminal cancer. This is a very raw piece of writing. It's tough, it's hard to get through. Barnes discusses those several moments in the years following his wife's death when he contemplated suicide. There are no easy moments here, perhaps a diminishing of grief as the years pass. "We imagine we have battled against it, been purposeful, overcome sorrow, scrubbed the rust from our soul, when all that has happened is that grief has moved elsewhere, shifted its interest".

I guess this is a book for anyone who has loved and suffered loss. But it offers little in the way of an enjoyable read. It was not intended to....

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