“They sat islanded in their foreignness, irrelevant now that the holiday season had ended, anachronistic, outstaying their welcome, no longer necessary to anyone’s plans. Priorities had shifted; the little town was settling down for its long uninterrupted hibernation. No one came here in the winter. The weather was too bleak, the snow too distant, the amenities too sparse to tempt visitors. And they felt that the backs of the residents had been turned on them with a sigh of relief, reminding them of their transitory nature, their fundamental unreality. And when Monica at last succeeded in ordering coffee, they still sat, glumly, for another ten minutes, before the busy waitress remembered their order.
‘Homesick,’ said Edith finally. ‘Yes.’ But she thought of her little house as if it had existed in another life, another dimension. She thought of it as something to which she might never return. The seasons had changed since she last saw it; she was no longer the person who could sit up in bed in the early morning and let the sun warm her shoulders and the light make her impatient for the day to begin. That sun, that light had faded, and she had faded with them. Now she was as grey as the season itself. She bent her head over her coffee, trying to believe that it was the steam rising from the cup that was making her eyes prick. This cannot go on, she thought.” (Anita Brookner – Hotel du Lac)
Now I like Anita Brookner – although I accept that she is an acquired taste. In July she will be 85 – and I thought it might be nice to honour such a prolific and well thought of British author with an Anita Brookner reading month. Brookner published her first novel A Start in Life in 1981 when she was 53 – since then publishing a novel almost every year.
Anita Brookner’s writing is beautifully poignant – maybe to be avoided if you are feeling down, but I do find her portrayal of small disappointed middle class lives to be exquisitely done. The themes of her novels are largely those of loss, disappointment and fitting into society, her characters are often lonely or isolated in some way. There is no one who captures the mood of rainy London streets at dusk, or the sadness of a Sunday afternoon like Brookner.
So July it will be – a chance to read her for the first time, or like me to read novels which you already have TBR. I have gone for a month rather than a week – as it gives people chance to dip in and out – maybe reading an Anita Brookner novel at the beginning of the month and another at the end of the month. I have to admit that Brookner is probably not an author whose novels I would want to read too closely together. However I do have five Brookner TBR – and this will be a good chance to get at least some of those read.
Anita Brookner has published twenty four novels – her last full length novel was published in 2009, since then there has been a novella published exclusively as an ebook. Of these I have read eleven. So there are still plenty that I could choose from, as I intend to read ones I have not read yet rather than revisit ones I’ve already read.
This is the list of Brookner works according to Wikipedia.
• A Start in Life (1981, US title The Debut)
• Providence (1982)
• Look at Me (1983)
• Hotel du Lac (1984), which won the Booker Prize
• Family and Friends (1985)
• A Misalliance (1986)
• A Friend from England (1987)
• Latecomers (1988)
• Lewis Percy (1989)
• Brief Lives (1990)
• A Closed Eye (1991)
• Fraud (1992)
• A Family Romance (1993, US title Dolly)
• A Private View (1994)
• Incidents in the Rue Laugier (1995)
• Altered States (1996)
• Visitors (1997)
• Falling Slowly (1998)
• Undue Influence (1999)
• The Bay of Angels (2001)
• The Next Big Thing (2002, US title Making Things Better), longlisted for the Booker Prize
• The Rules of Engagement (2003)
• Leaving Home (2005)
• Strangers (2009)
• At The Hairdressers (2011), novella, available as an ebook only
So I do hope that some of you will join me in reading some Anita Brookner in July. I would be grateful if you could all help spread the word, I know that there are many Brookner fans out there – and it would be nice to reach some of them.
Now then for the techy bit – lots of people hosting reading weeks/months/challenges have a snazzy little button to go with it. I haven’t got one – last time I tried (and sort of succeeded) in making one – I nearly had a breakdown and needed loads of techy help – so I’m not going there again. If there is anyone out there who likes doing that kind of thing and wants to make one for me – I would be hugely grateful. Otherwise I am sure we can manage without a snazzy little button.
If you don’t have any Brookner novels and want to join in, UK readers may I point you towards your local charity shops, almost all the Brookner novels I have now and have read in the past have come from charity shops – I see them all the time.
This is a really good idea; I loved Brookner when I first read her but faded with the later novels, so this will be an opportunity to add her in to my Month Of Re-Reading In July and revisit some of the early ones. Thank you for having this idea!
Glad you will be joining me 🙂
Aha! Charity shops! Yes, you are right there – I’m sure I’ve seen some locally 🙂 Which ones would you particularly recommend? I know I read Hotel du Lac when it came out but I can remember *nothing* about it!
I really enjoyed Look at Me, A Closed Eye and Falling Slowly – and I recently read and enjoyed Brief Lives.
I loved ‘Hotel du Lac’ but then found her novels difficult to differentiate one from another and rather gave up. However, I know I have some unread ones on my shelves so I’ll see what there is and maybe join you, although I’m not promising anything.
I do hope you’ll be able to join us 🙂
I might well join you. I have hotel du lac on my booker list which I want to reread. This cd be good incentive.
Hotel du Lac is very good, I think it might have been the first Brookner I read.
There was some kind of Brookner event last year, I think, and I bought a book for it, but ended up not reading it. So…I have a copy of Dolly and if I can I will join in with you!
: ) excellent – Dolly is called A Family Romance over here – I enjoyed it.
I loved Hotel du Lac, but haven’t read it for a long, long time, and haven’t read much else of her’s, so I shall pin a notice to the backroom board at Oxfam asking people to stick anything they come across one side for me, and then read whatever turns up. A kind of literary pot luck I guess!
I like the sound of that Oxfam arrangement 🙂
I’m in – I bought a copy of The Rules of Engagement with a gift voucher. Looking forward to reading it!
Glad you’ll be joining me, That’s one of the books I haven’t read, I will look forward to your thoughts on it.
[…] Anita Brookner turns 85 this July, so heavenali is hosting a reading month for you to revisit some old favourites, or like me, read her works for […]
I had stopped reading book blogs because I became overwhelmed with how much there is to read and how little time. I am a BIG Anita Brookner fan. I think I have an obsession.. proof of that is that I have a google alert just for her name. So this is how I found your blog. I will definitely join in July. I will have to buy the ebook and read it on my iPod because I refuse (still) to have a kindle.
Thank you for commenting : ) so glad to have another Brookner fan on board.
I loved #3, 4 and 5 on the above list. After that, my memory is muddy as to which others I’ve read. But, this is an inspiring list, and I’m going to pick up something more recent and see if it’s as enjoyable as 3, 4, and 5. Would you categorize her as a classic “woman’s writer”? (Interestingly, I first heard of her when a gay male friend raved about “Look at Me”.)
She probably is more of a woman’s writer, though not exclusively so, some of her novels do have a male central character. Look at me is a brilliant novel.
[…] Brookner. I plan to re-read ‘Incidents in the Rue Laugier’. For Paris in July, for Anita Brookner Reading Month, and for my Century of […]
[…] Du Lac – which I actually read some years ago and introduced me to her work. I am hosting an Anita Brookner reading month in July, so maybe someone would like the chance to join in with that. I love Anita Brookner’s […]
I can never resist a Brookner, so count me in. It will be fun trying to find one I haven’t read, given how hard I find it to tell them apart!
[…] I’m pleased to say that I shall be joining in as best I can (my current reading commitments are getting very behind!) with HeavenAli’s Brookner in July Reading Event – read her post here. […]
[…] – a re-read), then one of the Pyms, then “Hotel du Lac” for Ali’s Brookner read-along and then the other Pym. Phew! Then I shall have a lie-down in a darkened […]
[…] du Lac, the Man Booker prize winner by Anita Brookner. I’ll be reading this as part of the Anita Brookner reading month hosted by Ali at heavenali in July. I enjoyed this when I read it many years ago but have […]
I read Hotel du Lac in my determination to read every Booker Prize novel, and enjoyed it. She has a sly wit. I will pick a novel to read along with the group. I’m looking forward sharing insights with the group. Thanks for leading the way.
So glad you are joining us : )
Me, too. It looks like a good way to become more familiar with her work. My good spider friend Mary Ronan Drew shared your link. (In case you’re wondering what a ‘spider’ friend is, it’s someone you meet on the web.)
😀 ha! I have lots of those.
[…] with Bessie Head’s Maru for Kinna’s Celebration. I’m also planning to read some Anita Brookner for Heavenali’s Month celebrating her […]
Just spotted this, will join in, albeit rather late. I have read all the AB books, I find her books very calming. Some of her sentences are real works of art! Strangers and The Next Big Thing are on my list to re read :)))
Glad you love her too, I intend to read more by her this year If I can fit it in.
Enjoy! Which will you choose?
probably A friend from Englan, The Next Big thing or Family and Friends.
i think I’m an AB addict! I have read all her books at least twice, some I have read three or four times. I keep going back to them to glean more from the characters and the sense of place – London, Paris, Nice. Particularly interesting is the exploration of ennui, passivity and yet for me it’s quite thrilling.
I must read more Brookner next year,
Rereading A Start in Life, brilliant and some sentences/ narratives are pure magic….
I read that some time ago – really liked it.
What amazes me is that there is so much tension that I’m on the edge of my seat yet there is not huge drama – it takes place inside. Characters? Julia in Brief Lives – should be seen on the screen!