Rating: 
Summary: We are all of us human
Review: Reading a novel by Anita Brookner is as intense an experience as I've ever had. I buy each one as soon as it comes out and settle in to read it with a sense of adventure. Brookner is a firm narrator and an excellent dramatist. Despite this story of impending doom, there are sections full of lyricism, lightness and delight. There is much talk of Nyon, a small town outside of Geneva and, in fact, I finished this book after riding my bike on the hills above Nyon, looking down over what Brookner describes as the "penumbra" of lac Lèman. This is the story of an elderly London man, Julius Herz, who is compelled by loneliness and circumstance to reflect on the finality of his remaining days. His body betrays and goads him incessantly: he suffers light but debilitating dizzy spells and loss of breath; he delights in repose on a bench in the park, appreciating the sun and the air as a man might who knows his days are numbered; he is physically attracted to his young female neighbor. Having spent his life taking care of his parents and brother, he is continually disturbed by the memory of having had his youthful proposal of marriage rejected by his cousin: a proposal made many years earlier at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Nyon where the lady resided - in characteristic Brookner fashion - with her mother in a style so recherché that a dramatic mishap and heartache are inevitable. Now, under the duress of old age and near-infirment, she has reconsidered and contacted him. Julius prepares himself and his cousin for their new life through a series of intense and astounding letters. "The next big thing" takes over. The British edition is entitled THE NEXT BIG THING. I have wondered what the motivation is to change the American edition to MAKING THINGS BETTER. The writing is, as always, as sharp as a surgical knife. The plot, which spans generations and customs, encompasses a tight realm of parents, siblings, neighbors, ex-wives, and colleagues inhabiting lives influenced by immigration, insanity, wasted talent, and sexual attraction. The narrative is unnerving and exciting. I am in awe of this writer. I sometimes see her at the supermarket in London, across from me in the checkout line. At these times, I try to forget that she is also a renowned art historian and am amazed that readers have been given so much by someone so obviously human and charming, that even though our worlds are far apart, they can meet in a such a simple and human way.
Rating:
Summary: A WORK WORTH READING
Review: This was my first expierence reading Ms Brookner. I doubt seriously if it will be my last. I enjoyed this book, depressing as it was. Ms. Brokner's syntax is wonderful. Her insight into her characters is qutie remarkable. I work with the aged, talk with them on a daily basis. I find it remarkable that the author was able to approach her subject with such clarity and authority. I found the authors ability to take the mundane and transform it into the profound, quite surprising and rewarding. I would recommend this work to anyone interest in themselves or simply interested in verg good writing! Be warned though, this is not a "happy book" per se. In may ways, it is reality, and as we all know, reality is not always the nicest thing to ponder.
Rating:
Summary: A BOOK WORTH READING
Review: This was my first expierence reading Ms Brookner. I enjoyed it.
Her syntax is wonderful. Her insight into her characters is quite remarkable. I work with the aged, talk with them on a daily basis. I find it remarkable that the author was able to approach her subject with such clarity. I found the authors abilty to take the mundane and transform it into the profound quite surprising and rewarding. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in themselves or simply interested in simple good writing.
Rating:
Summary: A BOOK WORTH READING
Review: This was my first expierence reading Ms Brookner. I enjoyed it.
Her syntax is wonderful. Her insight into her characters is quite remarkable. I work with the aged, talk with them on a daily basis. I find it remarkable that the author was able to approach her subject with such clarity. I found the authors abilty to take the mundane and transform it into the profound quite surprising and rewarding. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in themselves or simply interested in simple good writing.
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