Hi, I happened to find a copy of Hotel du Lac at a petsit I was doing and loved it for her incredibly constructed sentences, the vast vocabulary she highlights and since it is a slow pace, it caught my attention and made me ask, what the hell is going to happen in this?! It was a very different reading experience than I’ve had before. I didn’t think it was depressing. Anyhow, I loved your video and will watch any other ones you have made. How amazing you have a “reading partner” whose tastes resemble yours! I look forward to the ones you e suggested, very observant reviews and critiques. Much appreciated! Keep sharing!
She is my favourite author. No one writes with her astute eye into peoples inner psyches. Cannot recommend highly enough. She delves into our private secret thoughts. Almost a psychiatrist into insights into women that few can manage. Magnificent!
For added context: Brookner was an old child of Jewish refugees . Her parents helped and supported Jews escaping Europe throughout the 1930s. This may help to explain her preoccupation with staying safe.
Sarah, your presentation is delightful. Listening to you n now for the third time, reinforces my lingering taste for her books and read them avidly as I try to psychoanalyze her.
This video is fantastic, Sarah! You couldn’t have done our project and the joy we got out of it more justice and I believe readers who never read her really get an idea of the kind of novels she wrote. This project was pure delight, my friend, to do it with you gave me one of the best reading experiences of my reading life!
I have read every book, many twice. I gave my collection to Oxfam. Your review is excellent. Another enjoyable aspect was how she captured the late 20th century ambience of the salubrious areas of London north of the Thames. Many books included a walk from Knightsbridge to Marylebone via Hyde park. I used to share a list of the more verbose adjectives such as nugatory and ludic with a friend. They nearly all turned up in each book.
I have read upto Incidents in the Rue Laugier and last year picked up a nice hardback copy of Strangers for 50p, so I expect sometime I will finish reading all her books. Hotel du Lac was the first of hers I read and my first Booker book. Current 'I've started, now I'll finish' reading plans are for the authors Penelope Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Taylor.
I wont just leap in….. I’m doing a full dive!! In fact, I’m going to see if Blackwells ships to Canada. And I look forward to the Hermione Lee Bio to add to my Lee shelf… I have all but one of hers. Thanks again!!!
I didn't know Anita Brookner until I heard about her in your channel. I intend to read all her books, in order, as you did. And also in that Penguin collection, with very charming covers. If not yet, please start to consider yourself a real influencer. I'm about to start the second one, Providence. I finished A Start in Life some months ago, and I already found it a little depressing... THANK YOU very much for saying that her vocabulary is "unusal". I thought that my english was dying.
Well thank you! Allow me to give you a heads up that she traffics in depressing/ lonely people so if that’s not something that appeals, you may want to space them out or focus on the highlights. Her sentences are always exquisite, and she can certainly write.
I’ve only recently heard of this author, by way of a podcast called Backlisted. Since this introduction/string endorsement I’ve never seen any of her works stocked at any of the brick and mortar bookstores here in Toronto, new or used. Thank you for this video. I’ll have to purchase a couple of these novels online.
I did actually start with Hotel du Lac and loved it! I actually read it right around the same time I read Rebecca for the first time. Embarrassingly, the fact that both novels are set during extended hotel stays among a certain social class means some elements of the two books melt together in my head. Which actually might speak to your point of Anita Brookner's books feeling MUCH older than they are, since Rebecca was written in the 1930s!! Thanks so much for this great video. I've been wondering if/where to turn with Anita Brookner next, and this was so helpful!
That’s made me laugh about how the similarities of Rebecca and Hotel du Lac. And I do love when books seem to be in conversation for us when we read them back to back. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent review! I stumbled upon Brookner's Hotel Du Lac after just having finished a couple Barbara Pym (in addition to Enchanted April, again a hotel setting), and was later astonished to find Brookner's book was written in the 80s!
Hello Sarah, Thank you for introducing me to Anita Brookner.I bought “A start in life” And look forward to reading it tomorrow 2023. My last book was at the hairdressers and it was glorious! Maybe because of my age I enjoyed latter books, Although I agree some of them are depressing. But sometimes when you get older, you want to read about someone more depressed than you are.😊 I haven’t read most of the favorite books that you and Leo picked. Fantastic video. Aloha
Thank you for such an informative video! I did read years ago Hotel du Lac since I have a thing for books set in a hotel 😊 Read too Brief Lives. I will definitely pick up the short story one, and Start in Life just for this first line!
Hi, I happened to find a copy of Hotel du Lac at a petsit I was doing and loved it for her incredibly constructed sentences, the vast vocabulary she highlights and since it is a slow pace, it caught my attention and made me ask, what the hell is going to happen in this?! It was a very different reading experience than I’ve had before. I didn’t think it was depressing. Anyhow, I loved your video and will watch any other ones you have made. How amazing you have a “reading partner” whose tastes resemble yours! I look forward to the ones you e suggested, very observant reviews and critiques. Much appreciated! Keep sharing!
She is my favourite author. No one writes with her astute eye into peoples inner psyches. Cannot recommend highly enough. She delves into our private secret thoughts. Almost a psychiatrist into insights into women that few can manage. Magnificent!
For added context: Brookner was an old child of Jewish refugees . Her parents helped and supported Jews escaping Europe throughout the 1930s.
This may help to explain her preoccupation with staying safe.
@@shodashi108 that is an excellent point! Thank you.
Sarah, your presentation is delightful. Listening to you n now for the third time, reinforces my lingering taste for her books and read them avidly as I try to psychoanalyze her.
@@webworm13 thank you so much!
This video is fantastic, Sarah! You couldn’t have done our project and the joy we got out of it more justice and I believe readers who never read her really get an idea of the kind of novels she wrote. This project was pure delight, my friend, to do it with you gave me one of the best reading experiences of my reading life!
I couldn’t and wouldn’t have done it without you, Leo! ❤️
I have read every book, many twice. I gave my collection to Oxfam. Your review is excellent. Another enjoyable aspect was how she captured the late 20th century ambience of the salubrious areas of London north of the Thames. Many books included a walk from Knightsbridge to Marylebone via Hyde park. I used to share a list of the more verbose adjectives such as nugatory and ludic with a friend. They nearly all turned up in each book.
Do you know where she found her treasury of adjectives? She didn't use any of them in her interviews.
I have read upto Incidents in the Rue Laugier and last year picked up a nice hardback copy of Strangers for 50p, so I expect sometime I will finish reading all her books. Hotel du Lac was the first of hers I read and my first Booker book. Current 'I've started, now I'll finish' reading plans are for the authors Penelope Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Taylor.
Those are great plans.
Hi Sonia, I really enjoyed Strangers. Aloha
I wont just leap in….. I’m doing a full dive!! In fact, I’m going to see if Blackwells ships to Canada. And I look forward to the Hermione Lee Bio to add to my Lee shelf… I have all but one of hers.
Thanks again!!!
I didn't know Anita Brookner until I heard about her in your channel.
I intend to read all her books, in order, as you did. And also in that Penguin collection, with very charming covers. If not yet, please start to consider yourself a real influencer.
I'm about to start the second one, Providence. I finished A Start in Life some months ago, and I already found it a little depressing...
THANK YOU very much for saying that her vocabulary is "unusal". I thought that my english was dying.
Well thank you! Allow me to give you a heads up that she traffics in depressing/ lonely people so if that’s not something that appeals, you may want to space them out or focus on the highlights. Her sentences are always exquisite, and she can certainly write.
I’ve only recently heard of this author, by way of a podcast called Backlisted. Since this introduction/string endorsement I’ve never seen any of her works stocked at any of the brick and mortar bookstores here in Toronto, new or used. Thank you for this video. I’ll have to purchase a couple of these novels online.
* “. . . strong endorsement . . .”
You may want to check out some used bookstores where you can often find a book or two of hers.
@@HardcoverHearts I’ll keep trying, and one way or another get to reading one.
I did actually start with Hotel du Lac and loved it! I actually read it right around the same time I read Rebecca for the first time. Embarrassingly, the fact that both novels are set during extended hotel stays among a certain social class means some elements of the two books melt together in my head. Which actually might speak to your point of Anita Brookner's books feeling MUCH older than they are, since Rebecca was written in the 1930s!! Thanks so much for this great video. I've been wondering if/where to turn with Anita Brookner next, and this was so helpful!
That’s made me laugh about how the similarities of Rebecca and Hotel du Lac. And I do love when books seem to be in conversation for us when we read them back to back. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent review! I stumbled upon Brookner's Hotel Du Lac after just having finished a couple Barbara Pym (in addition to Enchanted April, again a hotel setting), and was later astonished to find Brookner's book was written in the 80s!
Thank you. I understand the shock at realizing the publication date, as her work feels decades older than that!
I love Barbara Pym .. AND Enchanted April 😊
Hello Sarah, Thank you for introducing me to Anita Brookner.I bought “A start in life” And look forward to reading it tomorrow 2023. My last book was at the hairdressers and it was glorious!
Maybe because of my age I enjoyed latter books, Although I agree some of them are depressing. But sometimes when you get older, you want to read about someone more depressed than you are.😊
I haven’t read most of the favorite books that you and Leo picked. Fantastic video. Aloha
It’s been my pleasure, Marilyn! I’m so glad they have resonated with you.
Thank you for such an informative video!
I did read years ago Hotel du Lac since I have a thing for books set in a hotel 😊
Read too Brief Lives.
I will definitely pick up the short story one, and Start in Life just for this first line!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the short story and A Start in Life as much as we did.
Thank you, Sarah! I've only read A Start in Life. Loved hearing your favorites and I will check out At the Hairdresser's, for sure.
Thank you, Sherri! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.