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One might think that the climax of the 10-volume Sandman series would come in the last book, or even the second to last. But indeed the heart and soul of Neil Gaiman's magnum opus lies here in Brief Lives. It could be because one of the most central mysteries--that of the Sandman's missing brother--is revealed here (in fact, the plot of this volume is the search for this member of the Endless). It could be because everything that comes after this volume, however surprising or unexpected, is inevitable. But it's more because this is a story about mortality and loss, the difficulty of change, the purpose of remembering, the purpose of forgetting, and the importance of humanity. If you have wanted to find out what all the good buzz on this great comic book series is about and haven't read any Gaiman before, don't be turned off by this volume's pivotal position in the larger story of the Sandman series. This book might actually operate better as a stand-alone story, in that its depth and compassion are more condensed, pure, and brief. --Jim Pascoe
Book Description
One might think that the climax of the 10-volume Sandman series would come in the last book, or even the second to last. But indeed the heart and soul of Neil Gaiman's magnum opus lies here in Brief Lives. It could be because one of the most central mysteries--that of the Sandman's missing brother--is revealed here (in fact, the plot of this volume is the search for this member of the Endless). It could be because everything that comes after this volume, however surprising or unexpected, is inevitable. But it's more because this is a story about mortality and loss, the difficulty of change, the purpose of remembering, the purpose of forgetting, and the importance of humanity. If you have wanted to find out what all the good buzz on this great comic book series is about and haven't read any Gaiman before, don't be turned off by this volume's pivotal position in the larger story of the Sandman series. This book might actually operate better as a stand-alone story, in that its depth and compassion are more condensed, pure, and brief. --Jim Pascoe
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Dream is sulking, until his sister Delirium motivates him to help her look for Destruction, their brother who has abdicated his Endless responsibilities.
On the way, through the various people they meet, and reflected in his servants and helpers, we see Dream's thought processes begin to change and mellow, even more so after he finally gets around to dealing with his son, Orpheus, after such long neglect.
"If this isn't literature, nothing is." --Peter Straub.......2007-07-30
This is one of my two favorites in the 11-volume "Sandman" series, which has proven Gaiman to be a genius storyteller. Three centuries ago, Destruction -- one of the seven Endless, who existed even before the gods -- abandoned his responsibilities, left his realm, and went off to do his own thing. Essentially, he ran away from home. Not that the world has lacked for destruction since then, but he's not behind it, anyway. Delirium, who has roughly the persona of a three-year-old combined with a drugged-out-flower child -- but is a very sweet person for all that (well, . . . not "person" . . .), misses her big brother and tries to find one of her siblings to help her look for him and convince him to return. Dream (the Sandman) finally agrees to accompany her, but for his own reasons, and the quest brings in a number of innocent bystanders (who suffer, as bystanders do), as well as an assortment of ancient but now out-of-work deities. A number of neat ideas are tossed out casually, too, like the notion that a few thousand people still exist on Earth from the very earliest days of civilization, or even from the dawn of the species.
Bernie the lawyer, killed by the collapsing wall of a derelict building, tells Death, "I did okay, didn't I? I lived fifteen thousand years. That's a pretty long time." To which Death, a pragmatic sort who resembles a Goth girl, replies, "You got what everybody gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime. No more, no less." Great stuff.
A must read.......2007-06-27
Read this series! I read these when they were published as individual comics and revisiting the series has been a joy. Read them in order if at all possilble. I wish Gaiman had the time to write another graphic novel series.
It's going to be a beautiful day..........2006-12-28
Did anyone other than myself get addicted to this series due grossly in part to Gaiman's amazing work with his novel "American Gods"? I thought "American Gods" reminded me of King's phenomenal work with Roland in his gunslinger world - and finally, Gaiman expanded on this work with the next chapter of his Sandman stories in "Brief Lives". It seems that I continually go up then down and further up again with this series, and this is one of those chapters that shot me further up into the sky than imaginable. With a fair swoop of his creative pen, Gaiman brings us family, voyages, and the truth about those pesky little creatures roaming our world known as Gods. They do exist. They roam our world. They were here before the birth of this planet, and finally, Gaiman exposes them to the world. They are merciless, they are wealthy, they are strippers ... they are us. Again, nobody could do it like Gaiman does and he proves it with his greatest heroine creation "the Sandman" and with the series entitled, "Brief Lives".
For the past several episodes, Gaiman has been dropping hints that Sandman had a missing brother that left the family a long time ago, there was sadness, but most were moving away from any sort of emotional scarring. Well, I should say "most", because little sister Delirium cannot seem to forget about her big brother. She wants to find him, and while most of her other siblings turn her away, Sandman jumps in headfirst in hopes that he can eliminate the worries about loosing a woman that he has been with for some time. He needs to shake her feelings, so he travels with his sister to find their brother, Destruction. As they travel, they meet up with old friends, Gods, which assist with their journey. These friends of the family assist with unlimited spending cash, a chauffeured vehicle, and a path towards their final destination. While our travelers decide to stay in the "real world", they learn more about the dying breed of Gods and, my favorite, that Death does not show favoritism.
Just as we prepare ourselves for a two part episode, an unexpected guest (who is actually expecting them) welcomes our travelers into his home, only to share his disappointment with his current state of the world as well as his position. In a rather emotional ending, Gaiman twists his words together to point the finger back at our current society as well as the state of this series. He even takes Sandman closer to his family, and asks him to perform a deed that was unexpected as this journey began. In one quick collection of stories, Gaiman has successfully given us back the power, the force, and the drama that reminded me of how this series began. Since the first collection, I didn't quite see that same emotion until I read "Brief Lives". In a short 150 pages, the raw force of the series was sparked back. The family dynamics, the power of the unknown, and the idea that our world - planet Earth - is just the backdrop to a much larger grandiose story that will constantly boggle our mind and expand our universe - was exactly what made this "Brief Lives" the best collaboration.
Overall, I would like to say that if you read just one collaboration in this series YOU MUST READ "Brief Lives". I fell in love with this entire family all over again this in one short collection. We had a chance to see their lives, their human nature, and their need for each other. I loved being back with Sandman, in which I missed him with the prior collection. He is the star and full supporter of these graphic novels. Gaiman, I believe, realizes this as he receives most of his praise for those in which he blows our minds with simple stories with amazingly sharp characters. There was not one flawed scene in this entire collection. I could - and will - read this again. For those seeking Gaiman's best work, and what makes him stronger than the words that he prints - I would highly suggest "Brief Lives".
There - I have drooled enough. Time to read it again.
Grade: ***** out of *****
One of the series' best........2005-11-30
Neil Gaiman, Sandman: Brief Lives (Vertigo, 1995)
Sandman has had its ups and downs over the years. Brief Lives is very much an up, perhaps second in the series only to Dream Country in its brilliance.
Brief Lives tells the story of Dream and Delirium, off to search for their missing brother Destruction, who abandoned his realm three centuries before. As they search, the people they try to get to help them have a startling habit of ending up dead, leaving Dream to question the wisdom of Delirium's quest.
The book ties up a few minor loose ends from other books in the past, but that's just icing on the cake. Gaiman and co. stick with a simple story here, perhaps the simplest they've yet told in the books, and in doing so they truly allow Gaiman's considerable narrative talents to shine through undiluted. We already know we're going to get good art and great characters. The story's the thing, then, and this one shines. **** ½
Product Description
The whole ferment of the Elizabethan age and the vigor of the century that followed come alive in these "brief portraits" that have been looted by scholars for centuries. Here are Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Thomas More, Shakespeare, Milton, Marvel, and countless others, who in these pages become not abstract names from a history book, but flesh and blood characters. Brief Lives was written by John Aubrey (1626-1697), the greatest gossip columnist of the seventeenth century: a hanger-on among the rich and famous who left posterity a sprawling collection of notes, anecdotes, and morsels of gossip that the editor has sutured together into a series of unforgettable portraits. These men flawed, vain, ambitious, vulnerable are more alive and kicking in these pages than in any formal history. As Edmund Wilson writes in his introduction, "I have never read anything else that makes me feel in quite the same way what it must have been like to live then."
Customer Reviews:
Early gossip columnist.......2007-07-03
Lives of the rich and famous recorded a time when there were no libel laws meant that even the dirt that wasnt fit to print could be disseminated, whether true or not. It still makes fascinating reading.
A Fine Edition of a Classic.......2000-01-20
"Brief Lives" has always been a delight, but it was Oliver Lawson Dick's scholarly editing that revealed Aubrey's genius. And Lawson Dick's Introduction, "The Life and Times of John Aubrey", is a miracle of synthesis and compression: certainly one of the finest biographical essays ever written. This Nonpareil Books edition is sumptuous - a joy to read in these days cheap, quickly produced paperbacks.
Book Description
In addition to a review of the literature on psychotherapy process and outcome, this book contains detailed clinical accounts of seven patients treated by an immensely powerful method of dynamic psychotherapy (intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy). This treatment is capable of producing major improvements, and even cure, in a wide range of patients. The authors believe that the scientific study of psychotherapy must include highly subjective judgments, provided the evidence upon which they are based is provided in great detail. In the present volume, verbatim transcripts from therapy sessions and follow-up interviews provide this kind of data, which can be evaluated by all who read them. Relying solely on paper and pencil tests, which evaluate only conscious material, is extremely limited and needs to be fortified by the kind of data provided here.
This volume gives an account of what dynamic psychotherapy can achieve at its best. It combines detailed clinical case studies with the scientific research and also gives an overview of the literature available. It is based on the authors’ extensive experience of researching and using psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent resource for clinicians.......2006-11-22
"Lives Transformed" is not only a testimonial to the effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) but to the skill of master clinician Dr Patricia Coughlin Della Selva. The treatments of seven of Dr. Coughlin Della Selva's patients are presented through detailed session transcripts and commentary which carefully explain the methodology and interventions. What I particularly appreciated were the detailed follow up reports on each of the 7 patients (4 to 10 years after termination) - something I'd never seen before. Hopefully, this is a trend that other clinician/writers will choose to follow. Treatment results in the 7 cases were dramatic and speak not only to the skill of Dr. Della Selva but to the value of this approach. I'm sure this will become a classic reference in the field of experiential dynamic work.
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Garibaldi: A Great Life in Brief (Great Lives in Brief)
Denis Mack Smith
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0313236186 |
Average customer rating:
- Rambling 17th century gossip
- A unique gleaning of 17th century English history and gossip
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Brief Lives (Penguin Classics)
John Aubrey , and
John Buchanan-Brown
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0140435891
Release Date: 2000-10-31 |
Book Description
With deft, picturesque prose, Aubrey presents biographical sketches for an intriguing and colorful parade of statesmen, poets, philosophers, and scientists, including Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon, William Shakespeare, John Milton, Thomas Hobbes, and Rene Descartes, as well as a host of lesser known but equally fascinating figures. This anecdotal, gossipy collection brings to life the tumultuous world of Elizabethan and Stuart England and its revolutions in politics, science and morality. At the same time, Aubrey revels in the sheer variety of human nature and in the detailed, intimate, and sometimes scandalous aspects of his subjects' lives. An antiquarian, Aubrey began his collection as source material for his friend Anthony Wood's histories of Oxford University. In this new edition, more faithful to the original text than previous versions, Brief Lives emerges as a revolution in the art of English biography, a mixture of entertainment and erudition, and a lively portrait of an age.
Customer Reviews:
Rambling 17th century gossip.......2001-02-15
It's fun reading this collection of digressive informal anecdotes about famous (and some obscure) Englishmen. If you enjoyed "An Instance of the Fingerpost" (where some of thc characters appear) you'd like this. As a primary source for information it gets less reliable the further back it goes. Aubrey was born in 1626 so his accounts of Shakespeare and Elizathans are a generation removed, but he had met Harvey and Penn and had been through the Civil War and the rule of Cromwell.
A unique gleaning of 17th century English history and gossip.......1998-03-18
Because its author never completed most of the entries for this biographical work, and never published it, what he did set down about his varied noble and ignoble subjects is uncensored, gossipy, perhaps unsubstantiated, and delightful. If you like browsing in Pepys' diary, or are fascinated by English life in the 17th century, this is the book to leave about for the occasional free moment.
Book Description
40 practical COACHING TECHNIQUES to coach clients both personally and professionally.
Customer Reviews:
Your Identity vs. Your Infinite Self.......2003-11-25
Belf and Ward offer a way to grasp a personal growth concept that can be difficult to understand. At least, I know I struggle with it. Chapter 13 dives right into a good description of a difficult paradox -- squaring the concrete "identity" of who we are with the abstract "infinity" of our spirituality. If you want to get anything done, one has to set limits, create structures, and define boundaries. That's often difficult if one takes a broader view such that "letting go" is paramount so that those details don't matter. Cultivating the ability to dance between the two paradoxical partners of identity and infinite self opens the world to incredible richness.
The Joys of Life.......2002-08-17
Simply Live It Up gives each of us an opportunity to fine tune our living space which includes family and friends since they are in our realm of daily activities. I followed the simple steps in this book and my life has been more wonderful each day with better communication within famiy and friends, with greater abundance of love and acceptance coming into our life each and every day. I now bring all of this to my clients.
These were my goals and I am meeting them every day.
The fine tuning can come in different ways but once you have your Purpose combined with your Values and Beliefs, you can only imagine the wonders that will liven up your life to give you more of your time to do and enjoy things and people you want.
Practical tips for a better life.......1997-11-29
I've recommended this book to all of our clients and customers because it gives you things you can do today to easily make your life better. I particularly enjoyed their chapter on the PhotoReading whole mind system which tells you how to read books at remarkable speeds with heightened comprehension. And if you ever have questions, both authors are very responsive to mail and telephone calls. It is obvious that they live what they teach.
I now have the tools to get out of stuck places.......1996-01-26
I now have tools to get me out of stuck places and a framework for managing my life from a wholistic perspective. Tina Anderson, Management Consultant, U.S. Arm
Now I can make magic.......1996-01-26
I have been depending upon magic, now I can make magic. C. White, President, Management Support Systems, Internationa
Book Description
In the first in a new series of brief biographies, bestselling author Peter Ackroyd brilliantly evokes the medieval world of England and provides an incomparable introduction to the great poet’s works.
Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400, lived a surprisingly eventful life. He served with the Duke of Clarence and with Edward III, and in 1359 was taken prisoner in France and ransomed. Through his wife, Philippa, he gained the patronage of John of Gaunt, which helped him carve out a career at Court. His posts included Controller of Customs at the Port of London, Knight of the Shire for Kent, and King's Forester. He went on numerous adventurous diplomatic missions to France and Italy. Yet he was also indicted for rape, sued for debt, and captured in battle.
He began to write in the 1360s, and is now known as the father of English poetry. His Troilus and Criseyde is the first example of modern English literature, and his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, the forerunner of the English novel, dominated the last part of his life.
In his lively style, Peter Ackroyd, one of the most acclaimed biographers and novelists writing today, brings us an eye-opening portrait, rich in drama and colorful historical detail, of a prolific, multifaceted genius.
Customer Reviews:
A great thing in a little package.......2005-12-06
Geoffrey Chaucer, most famously the author of "The Canterbury Tales," is a challenge to modern day profilers in search of the kind of detail that fills steamer trunk sized biographies. The 14th century England in which he breathed was a long, long time ago, in a far-off turbulent galaxy at that. Yet, he left behind a remarkable contribution to literary tradition, one that continues to hold influence and pleasure, and his emergent literate and litigious culture left behind enough public records to save him from total obscurity. Peter Ackroyd, known for novels and more voluminous biographies, here creates in CHAUCER a concise yet multidimensional and very satisfying look at the man and his achievement.
Even without his literary legacy, Chaucer bears attention because of what he represents of the changing medieval English social structure. A member of the merchant class, he was able to move into the royal circle, signaling the monarchs' reliance on commerce. Before he came to moonlight as the favorite court poet, he was a talented negotiator sent abroad and it was during a fortuitous sojourn in Italy that he encountered the literary models of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio that he would internalize and make uniquely his and England's own new vision.
Working with what is definitely known and leaving guess work to others, Ackroyd offers an agile, chronological review of Chaucer's works and the events of his life, forming a vivid picture of an artist's growing awareness of the possibilities of art and his role in fulfilling them. It is good historical reading, it is fine critical reading and it is delightfully intelligent general reading rendered in a firm and graceful voice. This is supposed to be the first of a series of "brief lives" by Ackroyd and on the basis of CHAUCER, I'm signing up to read them all.
Chaucer: Ackroyd's Brief Lives.......2005-08-16
This is a very informative book. I knew very little about Geoffery Chaucer before reading this book. I was surprise to find out the he was more than just a poet. Overall, I was pleased.
A wonderfully concise biography..........2005-04-01
... and history of the late 14th century. Ackroyd is more than just an excellent writer and distiller of information. He is clearly well-versed in the significance of Chaucer's writings and impact upon English literature. I am one who greatly appreciates the fact that many lives can be elegantly presented in under 800 pages. Ackroyd proves this point, bringing his slim volume in at 175 pages. Generally, something would have to give in this smaller dosage, either Chaucer's other writings or a sense of the historical time in which the subject lived. Both, however were well presented, creating a rich tapestry of a time long ago.
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- A Satisfy Summary of Royal Monarchs
- From 1066 to 2006
- From 1066 to today: A succinct survey of Great Britains royalty
- intriguing overview of the royals and their spouses
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Royal Panoply: Brief Lives of the English Monarchs
Carolly Erickson
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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Bloody Mary
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To the Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette
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The First Elizabeth
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The Last Wife of Henry VIII: A Novel
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Great Harry
ASIN: 0312316437
Release Date: 2006-05-02 |
Book Description
With her trademark blend of probing scholarship, lively prose and psychological insight, Carolly Erickson focuses on each monarchs entire lifefrom the puny, socially awkward Charles I, to the choleric, violent William the Conqueror, to the well-meaning, deeply affectionate Queen Anne, who was so heavy she had to be carried to her coronation. Royal Panoply recaptures the event-filled, often dangerous, always engaging lives of Englands kings and queens, set against the backdrop of a thousand years of Britains past.
Customer Reviews:
A Satisfy Summary of Royal Monarchs.......2007-01-11
As a lay person, I found this book a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the British Monarchy. Most of my exposure to them has been through plays or movies, touching on a short vignette or period of time. Having recently seen "Henry V," I was interested in reading what happened to him after Agincourt. And "The Lion in the Winter" was a majestic play that left me wondering which of Elinor's sons would become king. This book is easy reading and a delicious look at the royalty.
From 1066 to 2006.......2006-06-13
"Royal Panoply" is an indispensible book for anyone wanting a good, well-written overview of the British monarchy. From William the Conquerer to Elizabeth II, author Carolly Erickson covers the good, the bad and the plain incompetent. It is all of English Royal history in one volume.
Carolly Erickson began her career writing about the Tudors and the Stuarts, so it is not surprising that she is at her best when writing about those reigns. Her brief analysis of those characters who limned the golden age of the English renaissance are the best in the book. She is on less sure, and more gossipy, ground in the chapters on the more modern kings and queens of Great Britain.
Erickson's later writing has suffered in comparison with her first efforts at historical biography, especially "The First Elizabeth" and "Great Harry." She has even condescended to write historical fiction, a "hidden" journal of Marie Antoinette.
With this valuable volume in hand, the eager student of English history will find fascinating facts and tidbits on all of England's Majesties.
From 1066 to today: A succinct survey of Great Britains royalty.......2006-05-17
Dr. Carolly Erickson is a prolific author of historical fictin as well as excellent nonfiction works. Her area of expertise is in medieval and Renaissance literature. Nevertheless, she does a good job of survey all the English kings and queens from William the Conqeror in 1066 to the reign of Elizabeth II.
Along the way the reader will read of countless murders, cabals, plagues, wars, adulteries and dynastic battles for power.
There is nothing new here for the serious British historian;
the book is written for a popular audience in need of getting
the basics of British history in their heads. The book would be
an excellent resource for courses in English history and literature. It is well illustrated and is a worthy addition to the library. It can be read from cover to cover or a particular
monarch can be studied to coincide with the reader's interest.
No matter how many biographies and history of England I have read this book is valuable because it:
a. Refreshed my memory on key events that have become murky.
b. Reminded me of how the fight for constitutional liberty in
a democratic nation was a hard, bitter and complex struggle.
Well done and worthy of your time and money!
intriguing overview of the royals and their spouses .......2006-05-03
Starting with William the Conqueror and finishing with Elizabeth II and including every English monarch in between, Carolyn Erickson provides an intriguing overview of the royals and their spouses in a chronological fascinating sweep. Each ruler receives somewhere in the range of seven to twelve pages regardless of historical importance or length on the throne. By going chronological, the reference is easy to read and follow, but repetition also occurs as death marks the end of an era (chapter) and the beginning of the next reign (next chapter). The epigraph that starts each royal provides an interesting perspective on that personage and is especially fascinating with the more famous as the audience sees a somewhat differing view than the textbooks or romance novels. Still the lack of analysis of overarching trends takes somewhat away from a fine look that will elate those who prefer their look at the English monarchy based on facts not tabloids.
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
- A Cautionary Tale
- A sad tale of an unfulfilled life
- an exploration of compromise
- For Masochists Only!!
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Brief Lives
Anita Brookner
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British
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Brookner, Anita
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ASIN: 0394585488
Release Date: 1991-06-04 |
Book Description
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 friendship: that between the flamboyant, monstrously egocentric Julia and the modest, self-effacing Fay, who is at once fascinated and appalled by Julia's excesses. Thrust together by their husbands' business partnership -- and by a guilty secret -- Julia and Fay develop an intense bond that is nonetheless something less than intimacy, a relationship in which we see our own uneasy compromises, not only with other people, but with life itself.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Cautionary Tale.......2000-01-05
The author's name need not be displayed on the cover of this novel, so much in evidence are the standard Brooknerian themes and features: the professional invalid, whom one suspects of being desperately in need of wide open windows and a good brisk walk; the eternal cups of tea, ever being brewed in cozy kitchens as substitutes for life; the divining eye of the narrator, which eerily registers the thoughts and desires of characters without often resorting to illustrative dialogue and action. It would be difficult to like many of the characters in this novel; they are far too autistic for friendship, far too myopically bent on crashing their luxury liner selves into the shimmering icebergs of life. But in Fay Langdon we have a particularly puzzling person. On Hallowe'en she would have to go out dressed as a gigantic question mark, for her whole existence poses a problem: what happens to people who choose dedication to mediocrity instead of actively pursuing things that really matter to them? Fay spends all her years waiting for someone to come along and make her happy, and the idea never seems to occur to her that she might actually come up with meaningful activities and goals of her own. In addition to being an especially enjoyable way to pass some time, this book is also a provocative and cautionary tale. Its message? The person who settles for kissing frogs may turn into one herself, and never find that prince.
A sad tale of an unfulfilled life.......1999-11-06
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.......1999-07-08
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.
For Masochists Only!!.......1998-08-29
To read this book is to endure. Awful is the first word that comes to mind. Tedious, sickly, and painful to read. Without charm, wit or humor, this book plods forward without going anywhere. Giving this book the Booker award is like giving a blue ribbon to the patient with the biggest tumor. Don't waste your time.
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Books Index
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