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jennyyates's review against another edition
3.0
This is a slow-moving novel about two sisters living in London. The older, Beatrice, is a pianist who accompanies opera singers, while the younger, Miriam, translates novels into English.
They are both single. Although they have their chances at love, it doesn’t really work out for them. Beatrice is too romantic to settle for any ordinary man, although she enjoys their attentions. Miriam is more sensible, but unwilling to play a soft, feminine role, even when she marries. She falls in love only once, with a beautiful, confident married man, and is rather floored by the ease with which he discards her.
The writing is sometimes elegant, sometimes rather wordy, as it analyzes the inner worlds of these two sisters, and their slide into isolation, loneliness and acquiescence.
Some passages I liked:
< Home in fact was a concept, like the grail; in both cases instant recognition would be its own reward. This home would be bathed in sunshine, the golden sunshine of evening: there would be a garden, large irregular rooms, deep colours and a bedroom of such paradisial quiet that she could hear a late bird, or an owl, or the bell on the neck of a tame cat. >
< “You’re looking well,” they both lied. >
< Although her work was by all accounts excellent she always felt timid when handing it over, largely for some extraneous reason, such as a sudden realization that her skirt was too long or that her hair needed cutting. >
< Some time ago she had tried to substitute irony for longing, and had almost succeeded. >
They are both single. Although they have their chances at love, it doesn’t really work out for them. Beatrice is too romantic to settle for any ordinary man, although she enjoys their attentions. Miriam is more sensible, but unwilling to play a soft, feminine role, even when she marries. She falls in love only once, with a beautiful, confident married man, and is rather floored by the ease with which he discards her.
The writing is sometimes elegant, sometimes rather wordy, as it analyzes the inner worlds of these two sisters, and their slide into isolation, loneliness and acquiescence.
Some passages I liked:
< Home in fact was a concept, like the grail; in both cases instant recognition would be its own reward. This home would be bathed in sunshine, the golden sunshine of evening: there would be a garden, large irregular rooms, deep colours and a bedroom of such paradisial quiet that she could hear a late bird, or an owl, or the bell on the neck of a tame cat. >
< “You’re looking well,” they both lied. >
< Although her work was by all accounts excellent she always felt timid when handing it over, largely for some extraneous reason, such as a sudden realization that her skirt was too long or that her hair needed cutting. >
< Some time ago she had tried to substitute irony for longing, and had almost succeeded. >
lamorcom's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 I am a Brookner fan, but as with several other reviewers here, I didn’t enjoy this novel half as much as the others I’ve read by her. There was too much exposition, not enough dialogue or in the moment writing for me. I also found some of the dialogue dated (a teenager - as I was in 1998, when this was published - would not have described anything as ‘smashing’). But I still enjoyed reading the perspective of the often ignored voice of the single older woman, which is Brookner’s strength and look forward to reading more by this great writer.
hardcoverhearts's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
ruthiella's review
2.0
Reading slowly is more like it. Ever wonder what people are thinking during their morning commute; while idly listening to someone at a cocktail party; their innermost thoughts? “Falling Slowly” attempts to give the reader a window into the lives of two middle aged sisters, dependent upon each other, after surviving an unhappy childhood. Neither have friends, only acquaintances. They don’t even seem to confide in each other. They lead dull insular lives. Brookner is worth reading for her psychological insight into people who lead dull, insular lives, but I wasn’t in the right space to appreciate this book. It put me to sleep. I much preferred “Hotel du Lac”. I read this for the "International Anita Brookner Day" to be celebrated at the website http://myporchblog.blogspot.com/ on July 16, 2011.
balancinghistorybooks's review against another edition
3.0
There is a slight detachment at play within Anita Brookner's Falling Slowly. The plot is rather drawn out, and it did not feel as though there were enough occurrences or character developments here to sustain a novel of this length. Very little happened, even in comparison to other, slower books of Brookner's. The characters never really came to life; I found them unrealistic, particularly toward the end of the book. The relationships drawn between them too are very bizarre, and not at all what I was expecting. Although Falling Slowly follows similar conventions to some of Brookner's other books, I did not enjoy it anywhere near as much. Whilst it is not badly written, the dialogue feels awfully dated, and it is perhaps therefore more of a 2.5 star read than a 3.