The End of Loneliness
First edition (in German)
AuthorBenedict Wells
Original titleVom Ende der Einsamkeit
TranslatorCharlotte Collins
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman
PublisherDiogenes Verlag
Publication date
2016
Published in English
2018
Media typePrint
Pages463 pp
ISBN978-3-257-06958-7
OCLC1240338612
Preceded byFast genial (Almost Ingenious) 
Followed byDie Wahrheit über das Lügen (The Truth About Lying) 

The End of Loneliness (Vom Ende der Einsamkeit) is a 2016 German novel by Benedict Wells. It was published in February 2016 by Diogenes Verlag. It remained on the German bestseller list for more than 80 weeks.[1] The English version was translated by Charlotte Collins and published in 2018 by Sceptre. It was Wells' first book to be translated into English.[2][3]

Plot

Jules Moreau's parents are killed in a car crash. He is sent to boarding school with his brother Marty and sister Liz. He befriends Alva, a fellow pupil. Marty's friend Toni pursues Liz, unsuccessfully. Jules desires Alva and is angered when he finds her having sex with another man.

Years later, he gets in touch with Alva and they meet. Alva has married A.N. Romanov, an author many years her senior. They invite Jules to stay with them in Switzerland. The elderly Romanov is becoming forgetful. He keeps guns in the cellar, and recalls his father's suicide. Jules and Romanov work on their novels in the same room. Jules and Alva begin an affair. Romanov declares his intention to kill himself before he loses his mind, and asks Jules to help him. Jules later finds Romanov in the cellar, and places a gun in his hand, then leaves before Romanov kills himself.

Alva and Jules have twins. Jules finishes Romanov's last novel. Alva is diagnosed with leukemia. She is cured by chemotherapy, but it recurs. Alva dies. Jules crashes his motorcycle.

Marty and his wife Elena cannot have children. Liz has had a string of lovers, but never married. She sleeps with Toni because she wants a child, but stops after she becomes pregnant.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews wrote "The book's earnestness weighs it down from time to time, but overall Wells has written a tender, affecting novel, one that packs a lot into a slender frame."[3] Publishers Weekly described it as "satisfying... in prose both beautiful and sparse enough to cut clearly to the question at the novel's heart: how one copes with loss that isn't—or doesn't have to be—permanent."[2] Deutsche Welle called it "affecting and accomplished".[4]

A review in The Philadelphia Inquirer described it as "lovingly translated";[5] however, a review in the Irish Times found the translation "stilted".[6]

Vogue magazine named it one of the best novels of 2019.[7]

Awards

The book was awarded the 2016 European Union Prize for Literature.[8] The jury said "Wells has created a novel whose strength lies in the characters who, despite all their sadness, exude a [...] warmth. [...] This success is based on Wells' extraordinary imagination, a gift rarely encountered these days."[9]

It was awarded the Ravensburger Verlag Foundation book prize.[10] The jury described it as "a clever work about loss and preservation, about slow self-discovery, about the power of the past, comforting regardless of its sadness, sometimes even funny."[11]

It was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award.[12] It was awarded the 2018 Euregio student literature prize.[13] It was voted "Favorite Book of the Independent Book Trade" in 2016.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Benedict Wells unter den Gewinnern in: Börsenblatt des Deutschen Buchhandels 5 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Fiction Book Review: The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 "The End of Loneliness". 2 October 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Kürten, Jochen (8 October 2018). "Benedict Wells: 'The End of Loneliness'". DW. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  5. ↑ Timpane, John (8 March 2019). "'The End of Loneliness' by Benedict Wells: Beginning of a fruitful solitude". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  6. ↑ McAloon, Jonathan (24 March 2018). "The End of Loneliness review: tale of reliving a past and seeking a different present". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "The 21 Best Novels of 2019". Vogue. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "Benedict Wells". EU Prize for Literature. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. ↑ "News: Auszeichnung für Benedict Wells". Diogenes Verlag. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Buchpreis der Stiftung Ravensburger Verlag für Benedict Wells | BuchMarkt". buchmarkt.de (in German). 11 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Buchpreis für Benedict Wells". www.boersenblatt.net (in German). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  12. ↑ "The End of Loneliness". Dublin Literary Award. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Euregio-Schüler-Literaturpreis für Wells". GrenzEcho (in French). 20 April 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  14. ↑ "Benedict Wells schrieb das Lieblingsbuch". www.boersenblatt.net (in German). 9 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
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