This is my first Anita Brookner book and I have complex feelings about this book. It is very depressing and written in such an arid style that I find myself flipping to the back to see how much further I have left to read. Normally, I love reading books about families and their "issues" but this family is so normal that I find myself wondering what their issues were. I ended this book with a dejected feeling ~~ is that all to this book? I will read another Brookner book before I give up on her.

Sofka is the matritach of the family, with oldest irresponsible and shameless flirt, Frederick. Then there is Mimi, the perfect and docile daughter. Betty is the irrepressible youngest daughter who decides to run off to Paris to live flamboyantly. Then there is stern Alfred who was brought up to run the family's finances since Frederick couldn't be counted on to be responsible. And this book is about their lives ~~ how they attempt to leave behind their upbringing. Mimi and Alfred remain behind to devote themselves to their mother while Betty and Frederick took off for places unknown to do what they want to do. And in the end, they remain just as estranged from their family and mother just as they've always been. However, Sofka devotes her thoughts and energy to those two and labels them as her favorite. Even at the end ~~ she remained devoted to her eldest son and youngest daughter, though Mimi and Alfred spent their entire lives taking care of Sofka.

This book is a disturbing look into familial relations and of expectations that didn't measure up. It is an interesting book ~~ but written with such a dry style that I find myself often putting it aside. It is not the worst book I've ever read ~~ but it's not the best. It's great for English literature enthusiasts ~~ but not for others.

4-8-03

If this novel were a person, one would find it hard to get to know, and harder to come to love. It has a peculiarly distant and reserved quality to it, as if it were shy and did not want anyone to approach too closely for observation. As is often the case with people, however, the timid and withdrawn character of this novel do not indicate shallowness, but rather a complex and interesting nature for some reason fearful of easy discovery. "Family and Friends", unlike other Brookner stories, takes place in the somewhat remote past. Its author has chosen a decidedly abstracted narrative style, hard to catch hold of at first, perhaps, but one which gradually earns for itself a fascination uniquely its own. As is usual with Brookner, the story told is first rate, the characters nearly as memorable as one's first heartstopping brush with love. Her themes? The uphill ascent of an adult life; escape as a watermelon rind of light on a sometimes graspable horizon; the complexity of family life as puzzle within puzzle. Though the story imbedded in the pages of "Family and Friends" may at first seem as inaccessible as the images trapped inside an old sepia photograph, try persistence. There is a terrific tale here, ready, if you are, to leap into life.

I've read most of Ms.Brookners books and found this one to be typical of her great writing skills.This may have been the best one I've read-just so poignant I couldn't put it down.I'm sure I'll read it again.

"Falling Slowly" is Anita Brookner's 18th novel in as many years, and one has to wonder: How many ways are there to say that a human's lot is a lonely, desultory one? This is the story of two middle-aged sisters, Beatrice, a stately romantic, and the younger Miriam, a hard realist. Even lovers and marriage offer the sisters no relief from loneliness and their state of being "mysteriously isolated from the world." It is tempting to compare Brookner to Barbara Pym, for they both write about women in that same segment of London society-- intelligent women of "comfortable" circumstances, always assessing how "suitable" everything is and turning to cups of tea in moments of crisis. But while Pym's women seem old fashioned, they are really quite game as they look to catch the vicar's eye at a church "jumble sale." Brookner's women-- and men-- although more modern, are more thoroughly introverted and repressed. When happiness dangles before them they invariably find an excuse to return to their self-imposed solitude. Oddly, however grim Brookner's outlook, one continues to read her novels for their beautiful, precise prose, and for her quiet snatches of humor.

In Henry James's The Ambassadors, the aging protagonist urges his young friend to "Live! Live all you can; it's a mistake not to." Anita Brookner is often compared to James and Brookner's isolated and often friendless heroines inevitably make the quietly tragic mistake which James's character decries. In one finely-drawn novel after another over two decades, she has explored the fascinating consequences of such mistakes, finding drama and passion in what from the outside may seem like very undramatic lives.

In the moving and intelligent Falling Slowly, English translator Miriam Sharpe actually turns to readings Henry James after death and disappointment mar her life. She is a woman whose central imperative in life has been to avoid risk and alarm in whatever form. Raised by difficult, dismissive parents in a bleak household, neither she nor her sister Beatrice had been prepared to be welcomed by the world, let alone loved. Though she tried to enjoy her youth, Miriam found itdisappointing. That time of her life wasn't just a letdown in itself, it never led--as she assumed it would--to a brand new and glorious chapter of her life, "one that was to obliterate botched beginnings."

With "no particular calling," Miriam drifted into working as a translator of contemporary French novels, thanks to her gift for languages and her speed. Though this work means frequent trips to Paris, that city itself holds no romantic promise for her, existing simply as a scene for business. And her translating doesn't seem much more than a kind of intellectual drudgery. While her old-fashioned accompanist sister--whose career is unfulfilling--dreams of a man right out of a Silhouette romance, Miriam longs for a real home, a place bustling with life where she feels connected.

For Miriam, an affair and even a five-year marriage pass as if she were drugged by time itself. Her relationship with her sister fades in and out, growing more like that of her parents. In Brookner's novels, the clash between expectations and reality tends to play out on a field where overly careful people get entangled with the careless. Here, the conflicts are more muted than usual.

Falling Slowly may not be as striking or as focused as last year's stunning Visitors, in part because of POV switches. But it still showcases Brookner's strengths in registering the nuances of lives suffused by resignation and longing. She charts the sad passage of time in changing faces and fortunes, fading dreams and chintzes, better than almost any other contemporary novelist, which gives her small books an unexpectedly expansive feel. And her elegant, insightful prose is so admirably balanced, so consistently pleasurable, so seductively witty that you're often likely to reread passages or even feel moved to read them aloud to others. Like Austen, with whom she is also often compared, Brookner works on a small canvas, but with a profound understanding of the tragicomic potential of desires gone amiss.

Lev Raphael, author of LITTLE MISS EVIL, 4th in the Nick Hoffman series. www.levraphael.com

I should confess at the outset that I harbor the same unbounding love for Anita Brookner's writing that I do for the acting of Anthony Hopkins -- that is, I would be awestruck to see Hopkins on stage merely scratching his head or filing his nails, and I would probably wait on line to see a cheque written by Brookner! My bias notwithstanding, this has become my new favorite Brookner novel, as Miriam is the Brookner heroine with whom I have identified most strongly. She is definitely 'typical' of the somewhat repressed, guarded and alienated upper/middle class women whom Brookner has crafted, but at the same time, Miriam has a spark and feistiness that went far to balance out some VERY sensitive moments vis-a-vis her more delicate sister Beatrice -- think Anna from "Fraud" with a stronger backbone! I expect all Brookner fans will share an enthusiastic reaction to this book, and I believe that it's more contemporary vibe and heroine will attract new readers to the Brookner fold!

For years this novel has intrigued me. It is a wonderfully written insight into the sort of relationships that many of us have little understanding of and I was thus not surprised to close it for the first time and ask, "why?". Several years have gone by and I adore the novel no less as I understand its message far better

The novel offers so much in the definitions and boundaries of love and family. After all, I keep asking, why else would Jane go to so much trouble to make Dolly's life happier? Because she loves her; because Dolly has managed over the course of decades to move from the peripheral boundaries of the family to one of the few people who Jane has left in her life, and vice versa. The novel might be of a great help in anyone trying to conceptualise "family" -- the structure, boundaries, applications -- everything. This is a quiet, powerful novel whose role will, I hope, be realised in the years to come as the family structure continues to evolve.

Brookner has an amazing style - she is able to draw you in to a suffocating world of stultifying decorum and actually make you (sort of) enjoy it. As far as I can tell there is no sex in the Brookner world - although there's an awful lot of attempted seductions. Here it's Dolly as the seductress and a pretty unattractive spectacle she is - selfish to the extreme and completely incapable of any sort of empathy. The book is written from the 18-yr old Jane's point of view, but she seems awfully mature for her age. With her brash youth one wishes that she could just tell Dolly precisely what she thinks of her instead of making perpetual excuses. The trip to Bournemouth is the last straw - Dolly uses Jane just to get a ticket, then drops her the moment they arrive! That is what makes the end so touching and surprising - one sees that Jane has a very big heart and an appreciation for those people who are her exact opposite (and how many of us can claim that virtue!). I heard this on audio in an absolutely brilliant reading by Fiona Shaw - her enunciation is superb and she really gets to the depth of each scene. Mrs B could not have asked for a better reader! Brookner really captures British middle class society in all its wooden stolidity!

The beginning of this novel was difficult, dry and slow-paced. It struck me at first as one of Anita Brookner's less successful efforts, a novel that made me understand why she has her detractors. But I kept reading and am glad I did.

The ending is powerful, disturbing and shocking, pulling the slow opening into focus. The psychological nuances are eerie, yet we know as the story ends that they're not only possible, but true. This is one of those books that makes the implausible absolutely true and inevitable. Dolly is a tale of love and symbiosis and as elegant and frightening as the work of Henry James.

The author's name need not be displayed on the cover of this novel, so much in evidence are the standard Brooknerian themes and features: the professional invalid, whom one suspects of being desperately in need of wide open windows and a good brisk walk; the eternal cups of tea, ever being brewed in cozy kitchens as substitutes for life; the divining eye of the narrator, which eerily registers the thoughts and desires of characters without often resorting to illustrative dialogue and action. It would be difficult to like many of the characters in this novel; they are far too autistic for friendship, far too myopically bent on crashing their luxury liner selves into the shimmering icebergs of life. But in Fay Langdon we have a particularly puzzling person. On Hallowe'en she would have to go out dressed as a gigantic question mark, for her whole existence poses a problem: what happens to people who choose dedication to mediocrity instead of actively pursuing things that really matter to them? Fay spends all her years waiting for someone to come along and make her happy, and the idea never seems to occur to her that she might actually come up with meaningful activities and goals of her own. In addition to being an especially enjoyable way to pass some time, this book is also a provocative and cautionary tale. Its message? The person who settles for kissing frogs may turn into one herself, and never find that prince.

I was warned before I started on "Brief Lives" that in Anita Brookner's novels, nothing much ever happens. I guess I was prepared for the brooding pleasure that one might expect to derive from reading a sad contemplative piece but the experience totally surpassed my expectations. Brookner's facility with words is simply masterful. Her writing is precise, unpretentious, honest and true. Her characters are vividly drawn and always memorable. Contrary to the blurb, this novel is not about a friendship between two women. It is a tale of a thwarted and unfulfilled life, that of Fay's. Her relationship with the monstrous Julia cannot be considered a friendship by any imagination. With friends like Julia, who needs enemies ? Fay is bound to Julia only by a sense of obligation born of low self esteem and guilt pangs stemming from a midlife affair with Charlie. Julia, on the other hand, is a totally self-centred and imperious caricature of the former movie star she was and treats everybody including her husband, her household staff and her "friends" like Fay exactly the same way. There is no evidence of any valid basis for friendship between the two women, not that I can discern anyway. As seen through the eyes of Fay, the three men in Fay's life (Owen, Charlie and Alex) are all vapid and colourless characters deserving of the fate that awaits them - two of them get bumped off unexpectedly. The recurring question in the reader's mind is whether all men in Fay's world are as inherently remote emotionally as they seem or are they simply reacting to Fay's insecurity and inability to articulate her own needs. She is among the last of that dying breed of women from the old world who depend on their menfolk for self definition. She realises in time (but more from fortituous events than from the dawn of self enlightenment) the futility of this condition. As the men drop off like flies, she recoups a measure of resolve and dignity from within herself to lead the rest of her twilight years in a state of modest independence. Even the bullying Julia gets packed off to Spain. So the story ends on a note of hope as Fay contemplates a solitary life but this time without the people who have unconsciously conspired to make her feel undervalued. Brookner has produced a near masterpiece in this introspective study of a woman's life. Unless you're allergic to this genre of novels, I would highly recommend "Brief Lives" to all lovers of literature. It is truly a beautifully crafted piece of work.

I am a long time fan of Ms. Brookner's books. Brief Lives is a fine step in her exploration of the way people get along with one another. Her heroines are often lonely and cerebral yet never weak. I suggest this book to anyone who wants more than the danielle steele fare so prevalent these days.

Faithful devotees of Anita Brookner will want to return again and again to the groundbreaking "Hotel du Lac" as to a kind of sacred literary scripture. This book, with which its creator cast her authorial fishing line out into the world and brought back the considerable catch of the prestigious Booker Prize, is a perfect little novel with a modest voice and absolutely devastating proportions. Though several of Brookner's later books might justly leap into the boxing ring, throw out their chests and duke it out with "Hotel du Lac" for the honor of being the author's best, it is easy to see why "Hotel du Lac" attracted so much attention to its pretty self in the first place. Surrounded by crowds of Brookner admirers, it fans itself calmly, smiles with assurance, and opens wide its lovely eyes to acknowledge the presence of those who think it remarkable. "Hotel du Lac" takes place in an exotic setting. It focusses on a child's handful of characters who slip, at first nearly unnoticed, into the inner caverns of one's brain and remain lodged there with the tenacity of veteran spelunkers. The short time span covered by the book's plot intensifies the urgency of the action to a very heightened degree, as if chef Brookner were heating up the whole concoction in a kind of high tech literary pressure cooker. The result is a flavorful feast for anyone who cares to acquire a taste for her unique fusion of carefully chosen ingredients: the intense internal monologue; observation of phenomena in nearly microscopic detail; the situation of those who, by choice or otherwise, must live their lives essentially alone. Edith Hope, the book's main character, once met can never be forgotten. Why not walk by her side for the short space of these twelve lovely chapters? Would her decisions be yours? "Hotel du Lac" is a particularly intriguing resort destination, well worth the price of a week on its venerable verandahs.

Anita Brookner is one of the best writers today. I read Hotel du Lac right after Undue Influence and was not disappointed. Brookner captures perfectly the mood of Swiss lakeside hotels in the off-season (I know because I ve been there). As with Undue Influence, the interaction between the different characters is rare and seems less important than the description of how they view one another and how they view themselves. The loneliness accurately described by Brookner is as much a result of self-sufficiency and choice as it is a result of fate and wasted opportunities. The writing is very very good.

Anita's Brookner's "Hotel du Lac" is purely perfect. Her writing is precise, sparkling, and emotive. Edith Hope (even the name is evocative), is one of Brookner's most finely drawn characters.

Sent by well-meaning friends to a timeless, proper hotel at the tail-end of the tourist season for a transgression of the romantic sort, spinsterish Edith is left to ponder the outcome of the rest of her life. But there are tentative friendships, quiet observations and a fragile hope that come from her exile.

Reading this novel gave me the exaltation that comes from reading great literary fiction, along with the satisfaction of discovering a well-written story. Treasure this book!

What a tiresome trudge it was to get through this slim book. In a mere 220 or so pages the writer manages to repeat the same boring, navel gazing tosh several times over. The Bay of Angels has nothing of any interest to say and the ennui filled mood of the characters and plot did nothing positive for me. Anita, your characters need to get a life! (I would have liked to give this book zero stars.)

I've been listening to the book on tape, and am giving up. The characters are totally self-absorbed, shallow and uninteresting. A story may develop as time goes on, and Zoe may find some gumption and energy by the end of the book, but Brookner takes too many pages for me to persevere. Sorry.

This writer has got to be the best wordsmith around. In each novel the sentences stand alone, dynamic, fresh and gleaming in intensity. The story is important, the characters are profound but these are often upstaged by the absolute pleasure of reading such sharp writing. I can't be the only person buying the latest novel of Anita Brookner every year as soon as it hits the shelf.

Much has been said about Brookner's lonely women and feminist approach and I will leave that to others who are better informed than me to remark upon. What I look for in every novel is the dramatic turn which never fails to be exciting. In THE BAY OF ANGELS, there are several but the most outstanding is the moment when Zoe returns to reclaim her stepfather's house in Nice and finds it already occupied, cocktails in hand, by his greedy relatives. The attitudes and survival tactics of the women who share the clinique with Zoe's sick mother are searing. Best of all is the moment by the sea when Zoe's reflects on the angels flying up from the bay and inward to land where they will reinforce the already celestial commercialism of earth.

A friend of mine in London once remarked to me that he sometimes sees Anita Brookner early in the morning on the Kings Road heading towards Waitrose supermarket. I was astounded, "doesn't anyone stop her," I asked imagining that she would be beset with fans. "No," said my friend, "nobody knows who she is." I would prefer to think that London is so vast that it renders one anonymous and invisible which is often the very dilemma ensnaring her characters.

I love Edith Wharton and have read many of her books, but this one is just BORING. It goes on and on and nothing ever happens. If the people in it could just be honest with each other instead of lying to try to avoid confronting difficulties the story would have been a lot better and a lot shorter. It is agonizing to read.

Whatever you think of "The Reef," it contains one of Edith Wharton's most wonderful scenes. Our "hero" has been dallying for a while in a hotel with the young girl he picked up on the boat dock, and he's wearying of her. We see his boredom and disillusionment through his reactions to the mere sounds she is making in the next room. He is so familiar by now with her habits and movements that he knows what she's doing without actually seeing her. A gem of a scene, in a strange jewel of a book.

Yes, Wharton was just a tad mean and crude in writing the male counterpart of this book, but that's what makes this book so interesting. These characters had flaws! Actually flaws! I am so sick of reading books with perfect little characters with just one evil villian. This book shows you that no one is perfect, and everyone has a little evil in them.

A charming, poetic, lyrical, and beautiful book to read. Wonderful descriptions, vivid images, lovely constructed sentences.

The cover of THE REEF is also beautiful. The text and lay out enhances the story, the elegance of the past, the wrong and the right. The cover was also rather of a matte type of thing, not glossy, which reminds the reader of ceramic and the older days when they turn the pages and old the book open.

Another lovely read by my favorite female author of the 20th century, Edith Wharton.