Brief Lives

Rating:
Summary: an exploration of compromise
Review: I am a long time fan of Ms. Brookner's books. Brief Lives is a fine step in her exploration of the way people get along with one another. Her heroines are often lonely and cerebral yet never weak. I suggest this book to anyone who wants more than the danielle steele fare so prevalent these days.

Rating:
Summary: A sad tale of an unfulfilled life
Review: I was warned before I started on "Brief Lives" that in Anita Brookner's novels, nothing much ever happens. I guess I was prepared for the brooding pleasure that one might expect to derive from reading a sad contemplative piece but the experience totally surpassed my expectations. Brookner's facility with words is simply masterful. Her writing is precise, unpretentious, honest and true. Her characters are vividly drawn and always memorable. Contrary to the blurb, this novel is not about a friendship between two women. It is a tale of a thwarted and unfulfilled life, that of Fay's. Her relationship with the monstrous Julia cannot be considered a friendship by any imagination. With friends like Julia, who needs enemies ? Fay is bound to Julia only by a sense of obligation born of low self esteem and guilt pangs stemming from a midlife affair with Charlie. Julia, on the other hand, is a totally self-centred and imperious caricature of the former movie star she was and treats everybody including her husband, her household staff and her "friends" like Fay exactly the same way. There is no evidence of any valid basis for friendship between the two women, not that I can discern anyway. As seen through the eyes of Fay, the three men in Fay's life (Owen, Charlie and Alex) are all vapid and colourless characters deserving of the fate that awaits them - two of them get bumped off unexpectedly. The recurring question in the reader's mind is whether all men in Fay's world are as inherently remote emotionally as they seem or are they simply reacting to Fay's insecurity and inability to articulate her own needs. She is among the last of that dying breed of women from the old world who depend on their menfolk for self definition. She realises in time (but more from fortituous events than from the dawn of self enlightenment) the futility of this condition. As the men drop off like flies, she recoups a measure of resolve and dignity from within herself to lead the rest of her twilight years in a state of modest independence. Even the bullying Julia gets packed off to Spain. So the story ends on a note of hope as Fay contemplates a solitary life but this time without the people who have unconsciously conspired to make her feel undervalued. Brookner has produced a near masterpiece in this introspective study of a woman's life. Unless you're allergic to this genre of novels, I would highly recommend "Brief Lives" to all lovers of literature. It is truly a beautifully crafted piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: A sad tale of an unfulfilled life
Review: I was warned before I started on "Brief Lives" that in Anita Brookner's novels, nothing much ever happens. I guess I was prepared for the brooding pleasure that one might expect to derive from reading a sad contemplative piece but the experience totally surpassed my expectations. Brookner's facility with words is simply masterful. Her writing is precise, unpretentious, honest and true. Her characters are vividly drawn and always memorable. Contrary to the blurb, this novel is not about a friendship between two women. It is a tale of a thwarted and unfulfilled life, that of Fay's. Her relationship with the monstrous Julia cannot be considered a friendship by any imagination. With friends like Julia, who needs enemies ? Fay is bound to Julia only by a sense of obligation born of low self esteem and guilt pangs stemming from a midlife affair with Charlie. Julia, on the other hand, is a totally self-centred and imperious caricature of the former movie star she was and treats everybody including her husband, her household staff and her "friends" like Fay exactly the same way. There is no evidence of any valid basis for friendship between the two women, not that I can discern anyway. As seen through the eyes of Fay, the three men in Fay's life (Owen, Charlie and Alex) are all vapid and colourless characters deserving of the fate that awaits them - two of them get bumped off unexpectedly. The recurring question in the reader's mind is whether all men in Fay's world are as inherently remote emotionally as they seem or are they simply reacting to Fay's insecurity and inability to articulate her own needs. She is among the last of that dying breed of women from the old world who depend on their menfolk for self definition. She realises in time (but more from fortituous events than from the dawn of self enlightenment) the futility of this condition. As the men drop off like flies, she recoups a measure of resolve and dignity from within herself to lead the rest of her twilight years in a state of modest independence. Even the bullying Julia gets packed off to Spain. So the story ends on a note of hope as Fay contemplates a solitary life but this time without the people who have unconsciously conspired to make her feel undervalued. Brookner has produced a near masterpiece in this introspective study of a woman's life. Unless you're allergic to this genre of novels, I would highly recommend "Brief Lives" to all lovers of literature. It is truly a beautifully crafted piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: A Cautionary Tale
Review: The author's name need not be displayed on the cover of this novel, so much in evidence are the standard Brooknerian themes and features: the professional invalid, whom one suspects of being desperately in need of wide open windows and a good brisk walk; the eternal cups of tea, ever being brewed in cozy kitchens as substitutes for life; the divining eye of the narrator, which eerily registers the thoughts and desires of characters without often resorting to illustrative dialogue and action. It would be difficult to like many of the characters in this novel; they are far too autistic for friendship, far too myopically bent on crashing their luxury liner selves into the shimmering icebergs of life. But in Fay Langdon we have a particularly puzzling person. On Hallowe'en she would have to go out dressed as a gigantic question mark, for her whole existence poses a problem: what happens to people who choose dedication to mediocrity instead of actively pursuing things that really matter to them? Fay spends all her years waiting for someone to come along and make her happy, and the idea never seems to occur to her that she might actually come up with meaningful activities and goals of her own. In addition to being an especially enjoyable way to pass some time, this book is also a provocative and cautionary tale. Its message? The person who settles for kissing frogs may turn into one herself, and never find that prince.

Rating:
Summary: A sad tale of an unfulfilled life
Review: To read this book is to endure. Awful is the first word that comes to mind. Tedious, sickly, and painful to read. Without charm, wit or humor, this book plods forward without going anywhere. Giving this book the Booker award is like giving a blue ribbon to the patient with the biggest tumor. Don't waste your time.

Rating:
Summary: For Masochists Only!!
Review: To read this book is to endure. Awful is the first word that comes to mind. Tedious, sickly, and painful to read. Without charm, wit or humor, this book plods forward without going anywhere. Giving this book the Booker award is like giving a blue ribbon to the patient with the biggest tumor. Don't waste your time.