Julian Barnes's latest book, winner of the Man Booker Prize 2011, is a novel so slim as to be almost a novella. Light in subject matter, however, it is not.

In Part One, protagonist Tony Webster recalls his admiring friendship with a school friend Adrian, his doomed relationship with sexually-withholding Veronica, his ambivalent reaction when Veronica and Adrian later become partners, and his shock when the latter kills himself. The descriptions of fumbled, teenage sexuality in those post-pill years are beautifully drawn, not only convincing but also humorous: “Wasn't this the …