Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
2020 Longlist
Jules Moreau’s childhood is shattered after the sudden death of his parents. Enrolled in boarding school where he and his siblings, Marty and Liz, are forced to live apart, the once vivacious and fearless Jules retreats inward, preferring to live within his memories – until he meets Alva, a kindred soul caught in her own grief. Fifteen years pass and the siblings remain strangers to one another, bound by tragedy and struggling to recover the family they once were. Jules, still adrift, is anchored only by his desires to be a writer and to reunite with Alva, who turned her back on their friendship on the precipice of it becoming more. But, just as it seems they can make amends for time wasted, invisible forces – whether fate or chance – intervene.
About the Author
Benedict Wells was born in 1984 in Munich. In 2016 he won the European Prize for Literature for his third novel, The End of Loneliness, which remained on the German bestseller list for over a year. After years of living in Barcelona, Wells has recently returned to Berlin.
Librarian’s Comments
The idyllic life of the siblings Jules, Marty and Liz ends abruptly when their parents die. The orphans are sent to a public boarding school, where their lives change completely. Especially Jules lives more and more in a dream world. His only friend is Alva, whom he meets again as an adult. But can they recover the lost time? A touching novel about fate, loss and love. Stadtbibliothek Bremen, Germany
“The End of Loneliness” asks whether you can rise above a stroke of fate, and how something lost in life can later be rediscovered. Moving and wise, sophisticated – a masterpiece! Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf, Germany