In "Levels of Life," Julian Barnes explores the complexities of love and loss. He suggests that a significant part of love involves a confrontation with the inevitable reality of death. Following such a profound loss, emotions can spiral into madness and deep loneliness. It's a painful experience that many people will eventually say one can recover from.

However, Barnes provides a stark metaphor for the recovery process, comparing it not to a joyous emergence from darkness but rather to a gull escaping an oil slick. This signifies that while one may eventually move past the initial grief, they carry the lasting scars of the experience, forever altered by the impact of love and loss.