When Loss Takes More: The Life Left Behind

"I've known Death a long time, but now Death knows me."

This is how The End of Loneliness begins, instantly enveloping us in grief and loss. As the story foreshadows what's to come, we quickly flip through the pages, curious to find out what has already happened. Jules, the youngest child in the family, narrates the changes in his and his siblings' lives after they lose their parents. Before the tragic car accident that claims their mother and father, Jules, Marty, and Liz are lost in the beauty of life—occasionally quarreling, but mostly laughing and enjoying their time together.

Even at the age of seven, Jules clearly sees the pain his father is going through. He watches in admiration as his father takes photographs and can never forget his mother’s voice when she sings or the way she taught him to cook. Just before his father’s death, he gives Jules an old, tattered camera as a Christmas gift, and Jules is disappointed, wishing for a better one. After his father loses his job, his parents take a final vacation together. When they extend their stay, tragedy strikes. Afterward, their lives change completely. The three siblings are sent to boarding school and can no longer see each other as often. They grow apart. In the absence of his siblings, Jules retreats into silence, no longer able to be his old self. He befriends Alva at school and eventually develops feelings for her, but those feelings are one-sided. After school, an event causes Alva to break Jules' heart, and they don’t speak for years. When Jules finds Alva again, they try to find happiness together, burdened by the years they’ve lost. But once you’ve encountered death, it never truly leaves you.

The End of Loneliness explores themes of loneliness, loss, and family in the most heartfelt way. After losing his parents, Jules feels deeply isolated at boarding school without his siblings. Though meeting Alva offers him some comfort, there is no cure for the loneliness he feels within. After school ends, Jules and Alva go their separate ways. As Jules struggles to figure out his career and life, he also tries to make sense of his existence. His fractured relationships with his siblings begin to heal once they all choose to be there for one another as adults. Though it’s not the same as when their parents were alive, they rediscover the concept of family, blending their old traditions with new ones to create a sense of togetherness.

Although the narrator is Jules and we mostly witness his character development, we also see the growth of other characters as they mature and confront their losses. When his parents are alive, Jules is popular at school and the crush of many girls. Marty is successful at school, often bickering with their older sister Liz, who loves to draw and make up stories about boys. After losing their parents, Jules retreats into silence within his loneliness. When he turns to Marty for help and Marty isn’t there for him, Jules feels his family is even more broken. Meanwhile, Liz, now living in the world of her once-fabricated stories, drifts into a life influenced by substances.

As the siblings finish school and move into their individual lives, Jules manages to rebuild a relationship with Marty, but Liz disappears from their lives. Their connection with her is virtually non-existent until they visit their grandmother’s house. Only when they confront their shared loss and talk about it do they begin to form a real bond, rediscovering their sense of family.

Alva, on the other hand, was a closed-off character during their school years, ignoring Jules’ feelings and avoiding discussing her own life. However, when she reconnects with Jules, she finally opens up about herself and her life. Just as she did during school, she encourages Jules to return to writing.

Wells shifts the timeline as he tells the story. In the present, we see Jules as married and with children, while in the flashbacks, many years have passed since he parted ways with Alva. This structure heightens our curiosity and pulls us deeper into the story. I must say, Wells' writing is remarkably strong. In a story filled with loss and grief, he uses photography and music as symbols to capture fleeting moments. Jules’ failure to use his camera while his family was still alive, and his only capturing a few shots later in life, represents how the memories of his family are slowly fading and becoming harder to recall. It also reflects the loneliness and grief that dominate his life after their death.

The End of Loneliness has become one of the best books I’ve read this year. As someone who has experienced grief and death, I found it to be a realistic portrayal of how death takes not just a person from us but also the memories and experiences associated with that person. The book effectively explores the complexities of family and romantic relationships, illustrating how a lack of communication stems from the unwillingness to confront feelings, and it brings back the loud silence of loneliness. While there were moments that warmed my heart, it was mostly a story that broke me.