'He was haunted by a feeling of invisibility, as if he were a mere spectator of his own life, with no one to identify him in the barren circumstances of the here and now.' Paul Sturgis is a retired banker manager who lives alone in a dark little flat. He walks alone and dines alone, seeking out and taking pleasure in small exchanges with strangers: the cheerful Australian girl who cuts his hair, the lady at the drycleaners. His only relative, and...
At my mature age in life I could understand the issues in this story quite well enough but still found this story much too depressing. The main character emotionally wrestles with every thought and feeling he has concerning his old single self. Though you will appreciate his final independent decision in moving forward in life. I did like the authors book 'Look at Me' and would recommend this novel.
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This is an excellent book but you may need to be 'a certain age' to appreciate it. I did not like the author's Hotel Du Lac but Strangers is mature, well written and very introspective for those facing the last chapter of their lives. As you approach the end of the book, you think the main character will make one of two decisions but he surprises you and I applauded him! I have already recommended this book to several friends...
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Anita Brookner has been my "therapist" for well over the last decade, and I tend to keep this a secret. When a visiting friend has discovered one of her books in my apartment, I am tempted to wrestle it away from them . I believe she does not write for the majority. She is unique. Her work does not remind me of Henry James nor Proust in the slightest. Her novel "Strangers" addresses topics which other acquaintances and...
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Any professional reviewer who could write a line like this one in the PW review cannot be trusted because that reviewer is anti-intellectual: "While the novel happens in the current day, the occasional mobile phone feels as out of place as it would in, say, one of the Henry James novels that could be the inspiration for this tedious exercise in drawing-room politesse." That's dated, vapid contempt: James = boring. I expect...
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Anita Brookner's protagonists invariably take long walks to exhaust themselves and suppress their unwanted emotions. They're more comfortable with books and paintings than with social interaction. And they engage in an endless flow of torturous introspection. In this book Brookner remains true to form. Paul Sturgis is a 72-year-old retired investment banker. Despite his tall good looks, solid finances and courteous demeanor,...
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