Published By: Jonathan Cape
Pages: 176
Released On: 22/01/2026
Departure(s) is a work of fiction – but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Departure(s) 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.
*****
Thanks to Jonathan Cape for sending me a copy of this book.
I wasn’t sure if I’d read any of Julian’s books before, but upon Googling him, I came across The Sense Of An Ending which sounded familiar. Either way, I will now be reading all his books.
It is a short book and I think that’s in its favour because it’s quite a heavy topic.
Julian has said this will be his final book due to ill health, which I understand but it is a shame because his writing is just beautiful.
I would describe his writing as a piece of art, and it would be a watercolour, similar to the cover of this book; skilled, subtle, but packs and emotional punch.
I was a little confused at first because it says it’s fiction but it’s written in Julian’s voice, so is it actually a true story with the names changed? Is it a non-fiction, telling the story of his life, his writing, and his friends? Is it fiction or is it real? I support, in some way, it’s both. It’s a story in a story. A fiction in a non-fiction or vice versa, and it took some getting my head round.
It is raw and painful and sad and honest, emotional and so moving.
It doesn’t have chapters, more individual sections. Now, I am a big lover of short, snappy chapters and so splitting a book into sections instead annoys me, but the overall short length of the book means it works with this.
I am 32 and, I assume, although not for certain, that I am not nearing the end of my life. However, I have lost a lot of loved ones and even attempted to take my own life once, and so I think of death more than maybe the average person in their 30s, and so this book really spoke to me and I think it’s going to be one of those important books that lasts a lifetime.
Books By Your Bedside 