Items related to Brief Lives

Anita Brookner Brief Lives ISBN 13: 9780140145519

Brief Lives - Softcover

 
9780140145519: Brief Lives
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
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.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:
Anita Brookner was born in London and, apart from several years in Paris, has lived there ever since. She trained as an art historian and taught at the Courtauld Institute of Art until 1988.
From Publishers Weekly:
A latter-day Jane Austen, Brookner distills irony and tragedy from the essence of quiet lives. Here she reaches new heights of insight and empathy in the story of a woman whose life, while not brief in years, is emotionally stunted, circumscribed by her passive personality and the social climate of her times. The brevity of hope and "the hopelessness of desire" are the elegiac leitmotifs that run throughout this lucid, meticulously written story. Narrator Fay Langdon futilely seeks to recapture the "Edenic simplicity" of childhood, never achieving the romantic love promised in the popular songs of the '20s which she once sang on the radio. Now a "woman of advanced years,"she looks back and reflects on her empty existence. As the compliant wife of a coldhearted workaholic lawyer who does not return her yearning for tenderness and intimacy; as the obedient friend of Julia, a monstrously snobbish, selfish woman, married to Fay's husband's business partner; and as the mistress of the latter after her husband dies, Fay has learned to serve others with humble self-effacement that masks her secret bitterness, desolation and longing. Brookner dips her pen in acid for her portrait of the poisonous Julia, and in rue for her evocation of the specter of solitary old age that Fay faces with dignity.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherPenguin Books Ltd
  • Publication date1991
  • ISBN 10 0140145516
  • ISBN 13 9780140145519
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages217
  • Rating

Buy Used

Condition: Very Good
The book has been read, but is... Learn more about this copy

Shipping: US$ 6.11
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to Basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780679737339: Brief Lives

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0679737332 ISBN 13:  9780679737339
Publisher: Vintage, 1992
Softcover

  • 9780394585482: Brief Lives

    Random..., 1991
    Hardcover

  • 9780224027472: Brief Lives

    Jonath..., 1990
    Hardcover

  • 9781585470181: Brief Lives

    Center..., 2000
    Hardcover

  • 9780517109434: Brief Lives

    Random..., 1993
    Hardcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Anita Brookner
Published by Penguin Books Ltd (1991)
ISBN 10: 0140145516 ISBN 13: 9780140145519
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR002240509

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 4.98
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 6.11
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Brookner, Anita
Published by Penguin Books Ltd (1991)
ISBN 10: 0140145516 ISBN 13: 9780140145519
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Brit Books
(Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. ***Simply Brit*** Welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there is something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Seller Inventory # 3802509

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 8.39
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 15.25
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Anita Brookner
Published by Penguin Books Ltd (1991)
ISBN 10: 0140145516 ISBN 13: 9780140145519
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 1.1. Seller Inventory # 353-0140145516-vrg

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 23.65
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds