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A review by marjorieapple
Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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
3.75
Its a lovely story, albeit an extremely internal one. The setting is also lovely and intriguing. I enjoyed spending a summer at the Hotel du Lac despite its air of desperation.
I found the writing was technically not my taste. Its fine. You might like it. But I don't like sentences that never end. Or long narrative passages that tell me what a character is thinking and why. I'd prefer the author show me the character's behavior or dialog and let me apply what I know about human nature to their emotional state. That being said, I do not think Brookner relies too heavily on telling (not showing.) It just happens that the action of this book happens in the protagonist, Edith Hope's head. And therefore Brookner takes her narrative there.
It read like a longish short story for me. There didn't seem to need any chapters divisions. Like the long stretch of summer ahead of Edith, the story moves along a similar ribbon.
I found the ending very satisfying and kind of delightful, so there's that to look forward to. Also its quite short which is helpful given the density of some pages.
I probably will read Brookner again, just to see if all her novels are like this. She has a real gift for realistic but quirky characters and scene building, two things I really love. I just wish she stuck to a standard style book more closely.
I found the writing was technically not my taste. Its fine. You might like it. But I don't like sentences that never end. Or long narrative passages that tell me what a character is thinking and why. I'd prefer the author show me the character's behavior or dialog and let me apply what I know about human nature to their emotional state. That being said, I do not think Brookner relies too heavily on telling (not showing.) It just happens that the action of this book happens in the protagonist, Edith Hope's head. And therefore Brookner takes her narrative there.
It read like a longish short story for me. There didn't seem to need any chapters divisions. Like the long stretch of summer ahead of Edith, the story moves along a similar ribbon.
I found the ending very satisfying and kind of delightful, so there's that to look forward to. Also its quite short which is helpful given the density of some pages.
I probably will read Brookner again, just to see if all her novels are like this. She has a real gift for realistic but quirky characters and scene building, two things I really love. I just wish she stuck to a standard style book more closely.