Julian Barnes is the author of 11 novels and three books of stories. His fiction has been nominated three times for past Man Booker prizes, and this year he snagged the win. "The Sense of an Ending" is spare in size but large in emotional scope. The narrator, a retired London man in his 60s, is forced to reevaluate his memories after receiving an unusual inheritance. Easily read in one sitting and unforgettable for the messages Barnes imparts about how we remember our past.