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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Both atmospheric and mysterious, Anita Brookner explores ideas of love, purpose, and healing through the eyes of Edith, a romance writer who is just emerging from her own tragic romance and entering the Hotel Du Lac. The concept of Hotel Du Lac as a solace for those of have lost their way in life was expertly executed through the artful descriptions of the setting as well as the compelling characters that somehow both jump off the page and also blend into the background. With memorable, witty, and poetic prose, the author develops the plot slowly and intriguingly towards a satisfying and hopeful conclusion.
Although I liked her created stories of her fellow hotel guests but the reality was far too ho-hum boring. Maybe that was the point,
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Anita Brookner wrote this book in the early 1980s, but it is clearly set in an earlier time period. A time when it was expected that women will get married and settle down, even women who pay their own bills and are otherwise quite independent.
The protagonist, Edith Hope, is a writer of romance novels, one who has never missed a deadline. The novel begins with her being packed off at end of season to a hotel in Switzerland, where she is expected to remain till she gets some time reflect and till the scandal she has left behind dies down. It turns out that the scandal was nothing more than she deciding to call off her wedding on her wedding day, because she realised that going through with the marriage would be a monumental mistake on her part.
At the hotel she creates back stories for the other guests and gets to know a few of them. Conscious of her deadline, she writes everyday, but not all of it is her forthcoming novel- many are letters to her married lover who she would meet in secret whenever he could come over. At the hotel, she is courted by an older, financially well off man who offers marriage. He is perceptive and she enjoys being with him, and all he wants is a wife- he openly tells her that she can continue having affairs as long as she is discreet about them. Will she accept or not?
I was surprised to read that the book was written in the 1980s, because it is clearly set in an older period- a time when a woman was defined by her relationship, and was expected to have a man in her life to complete it. The book is not very kind to women- they are depicted as the ones who enforce a patriarchal system on other women. The book is full of lines like- "The company of their own sex was what drove many women into marriage", and "women hide their sadness. Their joy they like to show off to one another." She talks of romance novels, where the tortoise gets the man- according to Edith, while that is never the case, stories attempt portray it that way because most readers tend to be tortoises themselves.
This is a languid read, and well worth the time you spend reading it. The descriptions of the settings and the people too are spot on.
The protagonist, Edith Hope, is a writer of romance novels, one who has never missed a deadline. The novel begins with her being packed off at end of season to a hotel in Switzerland, where she is expected to remain till she gets some time reflect and till the scandal she has left behind dies down. It turns out that the scandal was nothing more than she deciding to call off her wedding on her wedding day, because she realised that going through with the marriage would be a monumental mistake on her part.
At the hotel she creates back stories for the other guests and gets to know a few of them. Conscious of her deadline, she writes everyday, but not all of it is her forthcoming novel- many are letters to her married lover who she would meet in secret whenever he could come over. At the hotel, she is courted by an older, financially well off man who offers marriage. He is perceptive and she enjoys being with him, and all he wants is a wife- he openly tells her that she can continue having affairs as long as she is discreet about them. Will she accept or not?
I was surprised to read that the book was written in the 1980s, because it is clearly set in an older period- a time when a woman was defined by her relationship, and was expected to have a man in her life to complete it. The book is not very kind to women- they are depicted as the ones who enforce a patriarchal system on other women. The book is full of lines like- "The company of their own sex was what drove many women into marriage", and "women hide their sadness. Their joy they like to show off to one another." She talks of romance novels, where the tortoise gets the man- according to Edith, while that is never the case, stories attempt portray it that way because most readers tend to be tortoises themselves.
This is a languid read, and well worth the time you spend reading it. The descriptions of the settings and the people too are spot on.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first Anita Brookner book I have read and it makes me want to read more. It is beautifully written and does an excellent job of conjuring up the setting and characters. There is a neat swerve at the end that saves Edith from being rather too pathetic and limp.