Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
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Book Reviews of Hotel Du Lac
Book Review: An Entertaining Entree
Summary: 4 Stars
Faithful devotees of Anita Brookner will want to return again and again to the groundbreaking "Hotel du Lac" as to a kind of sacred literary scripture. This book, with which its creator cast her authorial fishing line out into the world and brought back the considerable catch of the prestigious Booker Prize, is a perfect little novel with a modest voice and absolutely devastating proportions. Though several of Brookner's later books might justly leap into the boxing ring, throw out their chests and duke it out with "Hotel du Lac" for the honor of being the author's best, it is easy to see why "Hotel du Lac" attracted so much attention to its pretty self in the first place. Surrounded by crowds of Brookner admirers, it fans itself calmly, smiles with assurance, and opens wide its lovely eyes to acknowledge the presence of those who think it remarkable. "Hotel du Lac" takes place in an exotic setting. It focusses on a child's handful of characters who slip, at first nearly unnoticed, into the inner caverns of one's brain and remain lodged there with the tenacity of veteran spelunkers. The short time span covered by the book's plot intensifies the urgency of the action to a very heightened degree, as if chef Brookner were heating up the whole concoction in a kind of high tech literary pressure cooker. The result is a flavorful feast for anyone who cares to acquire a taste for her unique fusion of carefully chosen ingredients: the intense internal monologue; observation of phenomena in nearly microscopic detail; the situation of those who, by choice or otherwise, must live their lives essentially alone. Edith Hope, the book's main character, once met can never be forgotten. Why not walk by her side for the short space of these twelve lovely chapters? Would her decisions be yours? "Hotel du Lac" is a particularly intriguing resort destination, well worth the price of a week on its venerable verandahs.Book Review: Go slowly in making changes in a life
Summary: 4 Stars
Edith Hope, a British writer of popular fiction that indulges in the comforting illusion that the tortoises of the world win the race against the hares, has been shuttled off to the Swiss Hotel Du Lac on Lake Geneva by her friend Penelope to contemplate and to rehabilitate from a significant social indiscretion. There the approaching gloom of the winter and the grayness of the mist arising from the lake contribute to a somber environment for reflection.
Though largely unoccupied, this understated hotel for the well-to-do has as guests four women living in various stages of illusion and desperation. Edith is drawn to one of those guests, Ms. Iris Busey, an elderly lady who defies her age and demands and commands attention and service whether it be at the hotel or in her extravagant shopping forays. Edith is forced to contemplate her rather limited and closeted existence as a writer of romantic fantasies versus the worldly social presence of a Ms. Busey, which does have its own costs.
The author is a master of wording, precisely capturing the environment and actions and thoughts, though the sentences can seem rather complicated. One shouldn't look for sweeping conclusions. If Edith has become more accepting, or even wiser, of her situation, then her fortnight of contemplation and testing others' illusions will have been worthwhile. The same can be said for the reader.
Book Review: It Grew On Me
Summary: 4 Stars
Hotel Du Lac is short book about a woman's escape to a Swiss hotel after something socially difficult has occurred in London. The difficulty is revealed though slightly later in the book.
The heroine, Edith Hope, is a writer of romantic fiction and is very sad person in love with a married man. At the hotel, she meets quite a few strange and wealthy characters. I didn't really enjoy the first part of the book where she first forms impressions of these fairly vacuous people and then converses and gets acquainted with them. Even though the book has a modern setting, it could have been set in many different times and very few changes would have to be made. This is reflective of the Hotel Du Lac which is lost in time.
The second half of the book is more interesting as we discover more about Edith and her reasons for fleeing her life. She is also presented with a very interesting proposition that requires a difficult decision.
I can see how some would find this book a little boring. Some might call the language flowery but it's appropriate when describing a romance novelist at a Swiss hotel on a lake.
I definitely have thought about this book quite a bit after finishing it and I think I've grown to appreciate it more after a couple of days of thought.
I liked it a lot but it won't be everyone's cup of tea.
Book Review: Creature From Another Planet
Summary: 4 Stars
Once again, I finished a Brookner novel wondering if I have read science fiction or maybe the Brits are from another planet. I always have a strong urge to find some one to discuss a Brookner novel with because it they are generally maddeningly absurd in the portrayal of characters. The writing and scenery are fine. I believe that the author attempts to remind us of our own foolish feelings: Remember how it feels to "love" someone foolishly the way Edith "loved" David? (Do you know why you did you did it, or why you are doing it?) Is freedom better than love or mining for a rich husband even though you might have to pay for it by continuing with a empty "love" non-relationship with a David? Brookner does paint in vexing terms these asinine relationships that we have been involved in. The parent/child relationship is there. Master/slave is always lurking in the name of love. Things are not what they seem because this is a satire. You are reminded of your self if you are a woman. But please, Anita, give us a break. There are happy relationships out here. Try to write about one now and then.Book Review: Precise and Elegant Storyline
Summary: 4 Stars
Hotel Du Lac is a treat. It reminded me of Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools, but with a hotel setting rather than a ship setting, because of the wonderfully drawn characters who come together in this hotel. I was intrigued with Edith's banishment to the Hotel Du Lac by her friends. What could she possibly have done? The setting is superb in its grayness. It feels cozy to me- the walks around the lake, tea drinking. Edith is an old soul, though only 39 years old, and is so likable. She's generous and thoughtful, and she learns a great deal about herself while at the hotel. We should all banish ourselves away somewhere when we are troubled! I loved the ending; I was so fearful it would go one way, and was grateful that it didn't. I can't wait to read more of Brookner, and am so grateful to have found her. She writes cleanly, with precision, and with beautiful word choices. She rates right up there with the best writers of women's fiction (with Kate Chopin, Katherine Ann Porter, Edith Wharton, especially). Highly recommended!