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Departure(s)

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Departure(s)

By: Julian Barnes
Narrated by: Julian Barnes
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About this listen

Departure(s) is a work of fiction – but that doesn't mean it's not true.

It is the story of a man called Stephen and a woman called Jean, who fall in love when they are young and again when they are old. It is the story of an elderly Jack Russell called Jimmy, enviably oblivious to his own mortality. It is also the story of how the body fails us, whether through age, illness, accident or intent. And it is the story of how experiences fade into anecdotes, and then into memory. Does it matter if what we remember really happened? Or does it just matter that it mattered enough to be remembered? It begins at the end of life – but it doesn't end there. Ultimately, it's about the only things that ever really mattered: how we find happiness in this life, and when it is time to say goodbye.

©2026 Julian Barnes (P)2026 Bolinda Publishing Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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A wonderfully spoken story by the author. Thoughtful and gentle in words & voice. How clever!

The reading.

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It would be a pity to write a bad review of my favourite author's last book, but fortunately I don't have to. Departures is classic late Barnes: combining memoir, essay, and fiction on, as he pre-emptively mentions, some of his favourite tropes.
The audiobook is made more powerful by Barnes' own narration, which fits perfectly a book being narrated by ... author Julian Barnes. A perfect ending rounds off his great last words.

Great last words

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I came to to this listen, not having listened to or read anything else by Julian Barnes, and this may have worked against me somewhat as there references to his other writings. That said, I found the listen fully worthwhile and he does make you think and ponder your own condition as much as his. His discussions around memory are the best I have come across and caused me to reflect on my own memories whether they are visual, aural, olfactory or other. It made me value and cherish them all the more, and deeply and enormously sad for those people who have lost their memories, cannot easily access them, or have corrupted ones. The writing is effortless and his delivery so personal that it felt like he was talking just to me. This is a listen that is fully recommended. I will now turn to his earlier 'Nothing to be Frightened of' on the strength of this audiobook.

An Arresting Listen

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There wasn’t a big story, mainly anecdotes on ageing. Touching moments I will remember. A large peppering of dry humour. Autobiographical while musing on the lives of others and what it is to move on in life’s journey. A lot about disease and ageing which I found bleak at times. The annoying thing was that I could hear the pages turning. I liked the reference to various philosophers, poets and writers. Recurring themes on memory and self-knowledge. Overall I enjoyed it but found it similar in style to ‘The Sense of an Ending.’ Not sure I would want to read it again.

Funny in a gallows humour sense

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I most enjoyed the empathy- I am 80 and have only recently appreciated his writings.

Departure(s)

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