Fraud | 
pickOne sign of a great writer is that they can violate all the so-called rules of good writing with impunity. This is the second Anita Brookner novel I've read now, and I'm hard-pressed to think of another writer who does so much telling (about her characters' personalities and thought processes) in relation to showing, but it's so nuanced and well-observed that I immediately feel like I know and sympathize with these lonely introverts.
pickWell that was a treat (in a weird, gloomy kind of way 😆). Thanks for putting the book in my hand @Rissreads . The inner lives of women of a certain age. Very relatable even though the book was set in a time and place where not getting married was considered sad and unfortunate. Some may say this is still the case 🤷🏻♀️. I loved Brookner‘s writing. She capture ideas, life‘s moments and “truths” so simply and effectively. I‘m keen to read more…
@Rissreads is such a bad influence, in the best possible way. We were at the same show last night, sitting on opposite sides of the theatre. Nerissa comes over at interval to give me a random bag of books that she has ‘saved‘ for me. How lucky am I? 🥰👏📚🙏
pickBrookner‘s at times poignant but usually scathing prose brilliantly tells this tale of a spinster just trying to be a person, whilst she endures the judgment of those around her. My 3rd Brookner to date, and I‘ve loved them all. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #50in50
pickAnita Brookner manages to do solitude and even gloominess in such a way that it is DELIGHTFUL. She‘s a magician! In this novel she painstakingly dissects the quiet lives and thoughts of a very well behaved spinster who seems to have missed out on love and friendship and a curmudgeonly widow. It is also a close look at a few parent and child relationships and tensions and how others expectations may ensnare us. #spinsterlit for sure
pick#maymoviemagic
Brookner has the ability to draw you in to people‘s lives, even though her stories cover the every day mundanities of life.
There‘s often something unspoken in the background, and we become anxious to find out what this is.
It just goes to show that #younevercantell what goes on, particularly if someone is being a fraud to themself as well as to others.
I didn‘t love this quite as much as Hotel du Lac but it wasn‘t far off.
pickI loved this one. I know some find Brookner “ tiresome” ...but I love her , she is insightful & funny. In this book its Mothers & daughters & the good old behavior of sacrificing your life for your mother. Anna Massey captures Brookners characters perfectly ... if you do audio, this is brilliant!! Set in London. Around the 1950‘s. Upper class behavior exposed. What‘s underneath the stiff upper lip.
Starting this audible now ... another from Anita Brookner ❤️ read by Anna Massey , I love her voice
pickAnita Brookner pierces the interior lives of women of a certain age living in London. This is a brilliant, careful study of women who struggle w their family‘s expectations; it‘s especially good on mother-daughter dependence. They lead cloistered lives: a change of pace from the controlled rage & virtuosity of Beloved but equally compelling & told w empathy. English sensibility: bone-dry, sharply observed w a feminist outlook that I appreciated.
Pre-movie drink. A beautiful warm evening as I try to recover from Beloved with this novel of English manners and mother-daughter relationships.
