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A review by teresatumminello
The Debut by Anita, Brookner
3.0
3.5
The title of Brookner’s first novel, aka [b:A Start in Life|1523501|A Start in Life|Anita Brookner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1305983347l/1523501._SY75_.jpg|81589], is a fitting one. It also refers to [b:Un début dans la vie|2554694|Un début dans la vie|Honoré de Balzac|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1335391131l/2554694._SY75_.jpg|2373209] by [a:Honoré de Balzac|228089|Honoré de Balzac|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206567834p2/228089.jpg], whose works are the academic focus of the protagonist, Dr. Ruth Weiss. More important to the woman who believes “her life had been ruined by literature” is the main character of Balzac’s [b:Eugénie Grandet|59142|Eugénie Grandet|Honoré de Balzac|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388286601l/59142._SY75_.jpg|1399014], referenced throughout.
In the beginning I was strongly reminded of Brookner’s third novel, [b:Look at Me|84512|Look at Me|Anita Brookner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483585077l/84512._SY75_.jpg|621659], with the self-centered parents, who are more present in the plot of this story; and the married couple Ruth befriends, though here the couple are benign. While I found Look At Me more intense than The Debut, the latter is still pure Brookner with her trademark irony and (even if detached) cri du cœur.
The title of Brookner’s first novel, aka [b:A Start in Life|1523501|A Start in Life|Anita Brookner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1305983347l/1523501._SY75_.jpg|81589], is a fitting one. It also refers to [b:Un début dans la vie|2554694|Un début dans la vie|Honoré de Balzac|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1335391131l/2554694._SY75_.jpg|2373209] by [a:Honoré de Balzac|228089|Honoré de Balzac|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206567834p2/228089.jpg], whose works are the academic focus of the protagonist, Dr. Ruth Weiss. More important to the woman who believes “her life had been ruined by literature” is the main character of Balzac’s [b:Eugénie Grandet|59142|Eugénie Grandet|Honoré de Balzac|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388286601l/59142._SY75_.jpg|1399014], referenced throughout.
In the beginning I was strongly reminded of Brookner’s third novel, [b:Look at Me|84512|Look at Me|Anita Brookner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483585077l/84512._SY75_.jpg|621659], with the self-centered parents, who are more present in the plot of this story; and the married couple Ruth befriends, though here the couple are benign. While I found Look At Me more intense than The Debut, the latter is still pure Brookner with her trademark irony and (even if detached) cri du cœur.