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A review by otherwyrld
Undue Influence by Anita Brookner
1.0
I would have liked to have given this book 1 1/2 stars - I didn't actively hate it, but I didn't really like it that much either. As someone who prefers reading plot driven stories, a character driven story like this one was always going to be difficult, but it would have been easier if I had actually liked any of the characters concerned. I particularly disliked Claire, the narrator and main subject of the book. Her passivity, lack of self-esteem and willingness to take the blame for everything made her an uncomfortable subject for the story, which made it difficult to like any other part of the book. My dislike may in part be because I recognise a lot of myself in Claire, and I would hate to feel that I was anything like as inconsequential as Claire is.
The book might have been saved by a better ending, as the middle part did actually pick up and it seems as if Claire is actually going to make the changes in her life that she needs to, but at the end the author chickens out and Claire is left floundering and lost. The changes that are about to happen as the book ends now feel like running away rather than running towards a better life.
As I understand that pretty much all of the author's books are the same story told with different characters, I won't be hurrying to read any more of them.
The book might have been saved by a better ending, as the middle part did actually pick up and it seems as if Claire is actually going to make the changes in her life that she needs to, but at the end the author chickens out and Claire is left floundering and lost. The changes that are about to happen as the book ends now feel like running away rather than running towards a better life.
As I understand that pretty much all of the author's books are the same story told with different characters, I won't be hurrying to read any more of them.