Rating: 
Summary: A Gift Of Life
Review: Anita Brookner has penned another masterpiece...This is not just writing, but literature at the highest level. Her ability to pierce the uncertainty of older age along with her perception of life's realities is stunning. To many of her readers, this perception hits home and so does the realization for those of us who have reached this age...we are not alone.
Rating: 
Summary: making things boring
Review: Brookner's newest book is so boring I could not slog to the end. The main character, a dull man who thinks too much about nothing and is a total bore, the plot is silly, and the ending O'Henery ish (cute and tricky). I am a Brookner fan and have read all of her books and was so looking forward to the new Brookner...what a disappointment
Rating:
Summary: Title Change
Review: I enjoy Ms. Brookner's novels tremendously. This book is another great addition to my collection and I enjoyed it very much. However, I ordered Ms. Brookner's The Next Big Thing from England in June when the Booker list was announced, and this is the same book under the United States title. Unfortunately, Ms. Brookner has not published twice in the last six months.
Rating:
Summary: Plodding, predictable, dull
Review: I read the British edition of this novel with a more appropriate title (as other reviewers have noted) and was transfixed. I've read almost all of her novels and rank this with her best, up there with Dolly (Original title in the UK: A Family Romance) and Family and Friends. Hotel du Lac (which won the Booker) is one of her weaker novels.Brookner's style can take some getting used to -- she often presents her stories with a minimum of dialogue -- and she is certainly not the writer if you're looking for escapist fluff or happy endings. Herz is a memorable character and she delves into his psyche with laser-like precision. I especially enjoyed the depiction of Herz' relationship with his doctor, who pooh-poohs
Herz' outmoded Freudian ideas. This novel is a good place to start for anyone new to Brookner.
Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: I read the British edition of this novel with a more appropriate title (as other reviewers have noted) and was transfixed. I've read almost all of her novels and rank this with her best, up there with Dolly (Original title in the UK: A Family Romance) and Family and Friends. Hotel du Lac (which won the Booker) is one of her weaker novels. Brookner's style can take some getting used to -- she often presents her stories with a minimum of dialogue -- and she is certainly not the writer if you're looking for escapist fluff or happy endings. Herz is a memorable character and she delves into his psyche with laser-like precision. I especially enjoyed the depiction of Herz' relationship with his doctor, who pooh-poohs
Herz' outmoded Freudian ideas. This novel is a good place to start for anyone new to Brookner.
Rating:
Summary: making the next big thing better
Review: I was also confused when Anita Brookner's brilliant book, The Next Big Thing was described under the title, Making Things Better. Julian Herz is a great character, but I doubt he had the stamina, at his age, for a sequel, something Ms. Brookner has never previously written.
I'm sure Americans will love this book, and that there are good reasons for changing the title.
Rating:
Summary: Plodding, predictable, dull
Review: I'm usually a fan, but this is a book in which nothing happens, and in which that nothing is truly surprising mainly for its predictability.
Rating:
Summary: An Astonishing & Haunting Work of Brilliance
Review: Miss Brookner is an unrivaled literary genius--there really is no other way to describe her and her masterworks. As far as I'm concerned, she is "21 for 21"--every single one of her novels is the equivalent of a grand slam, seventh game of the World Series, home run or a World Cup championship-winning goal scored from mid-field. "Making Things Better" (aka "The Next Big Thing") is yet another priceless treat from this, the finest novelist of the past 20 (and I hope for the next 20) years! It's been my supreme PRIVILEGE to have read every word of every one of her indescribably delicious novels.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant , but depressing!
Review: My wife started this novel, and before finishing it, told me that I too must read it. The book deals with German-Jewish refugees who fled to Switzerland and England, and made her feel quite ill, since it features 'weak' men and supremely selfish women, who apparently resemble characters that she knew quite well. Brookner has an awesome ability to picture her unselfish but somewhat indecisive anti-hero, and the horrible women who fill his life. I reccomend this novel to anyone who feels too cheerful, and requires some depressing. I personally wanted to give up on it half-way, but finished it, having been promised a stunning ending. The ending lived up to its advance acclamation. I won't spoil the reader's suspense by revealing it! Incidentally, this book would make a wonderful play.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant , but depressing!
Review: My wife started this novel, and before finishing it, told me that I too must read it. The book deals with German-Jewish refugees who fled to Switzerland and England, and made her feel quite ill, since it features 'weak' men and supremely selfish women, who apparently resemble characters that she knew quite well. Brookner has an awesome ability to picture her unselfish but somewhat indecisive anti-hero, and the horrible women who fill his life. I reccomend this novel to anyone who feels too cheerful, and requires some depressing. I personally wanted to give up on it half-way, but finished it, having been promised a stunning ending. The ending lived up to its advance acclamation. I won't spoil the reader's suspense by revealing it! Incidentally, this book would make a wonderful play.
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