Brief Lives

by Anita Brookner

Book Overview

With this novel, Booker Prize-winning author Anita Brookner confirms her reputation as an unparalleled observer of social nuance and deeply felt longings. Brief Lives chronicles an unlikely... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679737332
• ISBN13: 9780679737339
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A sad tale of an unfulfilled life

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.

an exploration of compromise

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.