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Dolly
In her superbly accomplished new novel, Anita Brookner proves that she is our mast profound observer of women's lives, posing questions about feminine identity and desire with a stylishness that conveys an almost sensual pleasure.
From the moment Jane Manning first meets her aunt Dolly, she is both fascinated and appalled. Where Jane is tactful and shy, Dolly is flamboyant and unrepentantly selfish, a connoisseur of fine things, an exploiter of wealthy people. But as the exigencies of family bring Jane and Dolly together, Brookner shows us that we may end up loving people we cannot bring ourselves to like -- and that this paradox makes love all the more precious and miraculous.
From the moment Jane Manning first meets her aunt Dolly, she is both fascinated and appalled. Where Jane is tactful and shy, Dolly is flamboyant and unrepentantly selfish, a connoisseur of fine things, an exploiter of wealthy people. But as the exigencies of family bring Jane and Dolly together, Brookner shows us that we may end up loving people we cannot bring ourselves to like -- and that this paradox makes love all the more precious and miraculous.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Anita Brookner
60 books656 followersAnita Brookner published her first novel, A Start In Life in 1981. Her most notable novel, her fourth, Hotel du Lac won the Man Booker Prize in 1984. Her novel, The Next Big Thing was longlisted (alongside John Banville's, Shroud) in 2002 for the Man Booker Prize. She published more than 25 works of fiction, notably: Strangers (2009) shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Fraud (1992) and, The Rules of Engagement (2003). She was also the first female to hold a Slade Professorship of Fine Arts at Cambridge University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
November 16, 2025
I’ve read a half dozen novels by Anita Brookner, all but one before I started writing GR reviews. (I reviewed Undue Influence.) The rap on Brookner by some critics and readers is that she “writes the same book over and over.” There’s some truth to that, but Dolly is different, although it’s still mainly about loneliness.
The main character is a young woman, Jane. She has no friends, other than her parents, the maid, and an old family friend who is a lawyer. She had a childhood friend who moved away. She has a part-time news clipping job but no social interaction with the other employees. She has no men in her life. Her parents die by the time she’s 18 (it’s around 1980 in London). Later in life, the older lawyer, a widower, becomes romantically interested in her, but it’s not reciprocal.
Jane grew up disliking Dolly, the wife of her mother’s brother. Dolly is foreign (German), too showy, condescending to others and critical of Jane. Dolly’s life is showing off her clothes and servant-prepared hors d’oeuvres to her large group of card-playing friends. It’s the type of group that talks dirt about those who aren’t there that day.
Jane is just the opposite of Dolly. Jane is bookish, socially awkward and a bit plain. Dolly’s interaction with her is largely to tell her “do something with your hair” or clothes. Dolly is always saying to the young woman “Charm, Jane, Charm!” Here’s a quote: ‘Don’t underestimate charm,’ she said, peering at me to see if she could detect any.
Fortunately Dolly only came into Jane’s life occasionally. She’s more of an ‘absence’ in Jane’s life than a ‘presence.’ Dolly would visit Jane’s mother a few times a year to regale her with stories of her active social life. Jane’s mother led a life as dull as Jane is now leading.
The young woman’s parents are comfortable, not well off, and yet when Dolly’s husband dies, Dolly’s mother feels an obligation to help Dolly out even to the point of giving Dolly financial support despite Dolly’s spendthrift ways. When Jane’s parents die, Jane continues financial help to Dolly despite her dislike of her. Each is the other’s only remaining ‘family’ even though they are not related by blood. Dolly is in her early 60’s at this point.
The question the novel asks is “can you love someone you don’t like?” “But I realized then that love was unpredictable, that it could not be relied upon to find a worthy object, that it might attach itself to someone for whom one has felt distaste, even detestation…”
There’s good writing:
“It is not true that children do not understand adult feelings. They understand them all too well, but they are powerless to deal with them.”
“We are always kindly disposed toward those who have the good taste to think that we are beautiful.”
“[Her husband’s] death had made her not only sad but bitter, as if it were inevitable that the men in her life should let her down.”
“She really should have been a dog breeder rather than a mother…”
“She came after me into the kitchen, her hands still clasped, as if to release them would be tantamount to revealing a capacity for work.”
I like Brookner’s novels although I note that she tends to get relatively low ratings on GR. She’s not Henry James but she’s like him somewhat in her psychological focus and in her analysis of manners, mannerisms, gestures. Maybe Henry James ‘lite.’
I’ve enjoyed many other novels by Anita Brookner and below are links to my reviews of them. The two I enjoyed most were Hotel du Lac and Making Things Better. (I gave those two novels a rating of 5; all the others, 4.)
The Bay of Angels
A Friend from England
Look at Me
Hotel du Lac
Making Things Better
Altered States
A Private View
The Debut
Visitors
Undue Influence
Painting ‘Alone in the City’ by Leonida Fremov at gemmaschiebefineart.files.wordpress.com
Photo of London from zmescience.com
Photo of the author (1928-2016) from nytimes.com
The main character is a young woman, Jane. She has no friends, other than her parents, the maid, and an old family friend who is a lawyer. She had a childhood friend who moved away. She has a part-time news clipping job but no social interaction with the other employees. She has no men in her life. Her parents die by the time she’s 18 (it’s around 1980 in London). Later in life, the older lawyer, a widower, becomes romantically interested in her, but it’s not reciprocal.
Jane grew up disliking Dolly, the wife of her mother’s brother. Dolly is foreign (German), too showy, condescending to others and critical of Jane. Dolly’s life is showing off her clothes and servant-prepared hors d’oeuvres to her large group of card-playing friends. It’s the type of group that talks dirt about those who aren’t there that day.
Jane is just the opposite of Dolly. Jane is bookish, socially awkward and a bit plain. Dolly’s interaction with her is largely to tell her “do something with your hair” or clothes. Dolly is always saying to the young woman “Charm, Jane, Charm!” Here’s a quote: ‘Don’t underestimate charm,’ she said, peering at me to see if she could detect any.
Fortunately Dolly only came into Jane’s life occasionally. She’s more of an ‘absence’ in Jane’s life than a ‘presence.’ Dolly would visit Jane’s mother a few times a year to regale her with stories of her active social life. Jane’s mother led a life as dull as Jane is now leading.
The young woman’s parents are comfortable, not well off, and yet when Dolly’s husband dies, Dolly’s mother feels an obligation to help Dolly out even to the point of giving Dolly financial support despite Dolly’s spendthrift ways. When Jane’s parents die, Jane continues financial help to Dolly despite her dislike of her. Each is the other’s only remaining ‘family’ even though they are not related by blood. Dolly is in her early 60’s at this point.
The question the novel asks is “can you love someone you don’t like?” “But I realized then that love was unpredictable, that it could not be relied upon to find a worthy object, that it might attach itself to someone for whom one has felt distaste, even detestation…”
There’s good writing:
“It is not true that children do not understand adult feelings. They understand them all too well, but they are powerless to deal with them.”
“We are always kindly disposed toward those who have the good taste to think that we are beautiful.”
“[Her husband’s] death had made her not only sad but bitter, as if it were inevitable that the men in her life should let her down.”
“She really should have been a dog breeder rather than a mother…”
“She came after me into the kitchen, her hands still clasped, as if to release them would be tantamount to revealing a capacity for work.”
I like Brookner’s novels although I note that she tends to get relatively low ratings on GR. She’s not Henry James but she’s like him somewhat in her psychological focus and in her analysis of manners, mannerisms, gestures. Maybe Henry James ‘lite.’
I’ve enjoyed many other novels by Anita Brookner and below are links to my reviews of them. The two I enjoyed most were Hotel du Lac and Making Things Better. (I gave those two novels a rating of 5; all the others, 4.)
The Bay of Angels
A Friend from England
Look at Me
Hotel du Lac
Making Things Better
Altered States
A Private View
The Debut
Visitors
Undue Influence
Painting ‘Alone in the City’ by Leonida Fremov at gemmaschiebefineart.files.wordpress.com
Photo of London from zmescience.com
Photo of the author (1928-2016) from nytimes.com
June 2, 2018
Just finished reading this for the second time. Almost 20 years after I read it the first time. Definitely one of my favorite Brookners I think. Although I still have 11 more to re-read.
October 7, 2019
When I turned to go, on that particular evening, the evening of my revelation, Dolly stood at the window and waved to me, continuing to wave until I was nearly out of sight. I knew that she would turn away from the window into an empty room, an empty evening, an empty life. Yet I think she was unaware of the implication of this emptiness. She would simply look forward to the next human contact, perhaps to my next visit.
I’ve not read all of Brookner’s work, but it seems like ‘aloneness’ is her subject. She has several recurring character types and all of them are found in this novel: only children who seem to exist slightly apart from their parents, women who live on their own (widows, divorcees and the emotionally undeveloped), solitary men. Her novelistic world is made up of people who live in cities (London, or Paris), but are mostly isolated in their own separate spheres.
There is a gentle irony to the title of this book as the two main characters - Jane, the narrator; and Dolly, her aunt by marriage - could not be more different in background, looks or outlook. Because of their attenuated family, and because Jane inherits a generous fortune and Dolly does not, Jane becomes a caretaker (of sorts) to her aunt. The ‘story’ (if you can call it that) is Jane’s character sketch of Dolly. Although the book takes place in a comfortably middle-class English setting of bridge and tea parties, of private incomes and long, empty days, Dolly’s origins hint at a much less secure world. Dolly - whose motto is ‘let them think of you as always singing and dancing’ - is as much a product of her turbulent European childhood as Jane is of her settled, quiet English one. Dolly spends her life looking for caretakers, while Jane becomes an academic and a rather reluctant career woman. An arid emotional life is what these two very different women have in common.
Brookner’s tone is wistful without being sentimental, and there is an underlying melancholy to her writing which has a strange appeal for me. She is a very elegant stylist, and her novels create a peculiarly enveloping and rather airless world, but she doesn’t write the sort of books beloved by readers who need lots of fast-paced plot.
December 19, 2020
Anita Brookner published twenty-four novels, starting in 1981 at age 53. Remarkably, writing fiction was Brookner’s third distinguished career. I’ve read most Brookner novels over about forty years, and I find them deeply affecting. A Family Romance, published in 1991 and Brookner’s thirteenth novel, similarly affected me. Published in the U.S. as Dolly, A Family Romance follows Jane Manning from her childhood as the solitary daughter of two quiet, loving, withdrawn parents, ”living lives of the utmost orderliness and decorum. . . mild and conscientious. . .”, through their deaths in her teens to her young adulthood, where she finds success as a respected author of popular children’s books, a sought-after book reviewer, and an internationally renowned expert on fairy tales. Throughout this Bildungsroman, Brookner presents Jane as largely isolated, a single young woman living alone and working in a solitary profession.
In my initial reading of A Family Romance, I found Jane as affecting as other Brookner protagonists: it was palpably painful for me to read about Jane’s single-ness, her lack of lovers and a circle of friends, spending some days at her typewriter and other days returning home at night to an empty apartment. By the time Jane reaches eighteen and is orphaned, her sole living relative is Marie-Jeanne Schiff, her self-obsessed, greedy, aunt-by-marriage Dolly. Here’s the perfect conversation between Jane and Dolly, with Jane saying: ”’Well, I’m going to Cambridge next year. . . ‘ / ‘Are you indeed? [answers Dolly] Well, you know best. But I always think that charm is more important to a woman than a lot of degrees. Don’t underestimate charm,’ she [Dolly] said, peering at me to see if she could detect any.”. And here’s Jane, reflecting on Dolly: ”Nobody loved Dolly: that was her tragedy. Nobody even liked her very much, and she knew that too. She was accepted as a friend by women inferior to herself because she was vigorous and clever, because she entertained and fed them, because she sorted out their affairs, and listened with every appearance of interest to their feeble gossip.”
After rereading and thinking more about A Family Romance, I realized that my initial reading was in fact a profound misreading that did an injustice to Brookner and to Jane Manning. As an adult, Jane’s neither sad nor lonely. Rather, in Brookner’s typically quiet, bourgeois London world, Brookner dares to portray Jane as an adult who chooses singleness and rejects long-term romances and almost all friendships. Jane’s neither sad nor lonely and she freely chooses her singleness: ”I wanted no one. Short of a man’s faithful friendship I wanted nothing. I had had brief liaisons with men I had met at the college and they had left me dissatisfied. I came to the conclusion that I was destined to remain alone, for I was not good at dwindling affection or growing estrangement. I preferred to be precise. . . When I came home at night and stepped into the silent warmth of my flat I was grateful that no voice would be raised from the bedroom, reminding me that I was not alone. I resolved that no one would ever again take up residence. . .”
Even by Brookner’s sometimes languid story-telling and plot development standards, some readers may find that A Family Romance starts slowly, but Brookner soon gets down to the coal face of what she did best: wonderful quick character portraits of isolated, sometimes unhappy, sometimes lonely, sometimes triumphant people. Brookner the novelist saw her characters clearly, as if Brookner the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Cambridge University and the Reader at Courtauld Institute of Art refused to allow writing another novel slow her from moving on with her pressing academic commitments. A Family Romance contains several such wonderful portraits, my favorites among them being Dolly’s Parisian childhood with her mother, beloved seamstress to prostitutes and Dolly’s luftmensch husband.
5 Brookner stars, among her best
In my initial reading of A Family Romance, I found Jane as affecting as other Brookner protagonists: it was palpably painful for me to read about Jane’s single-ness, her lack of lovers and a circle of friends, spending some days at her typewriter and other days returning home at night to an empty apartment. By the time Jane reaches eighteen and is orphaned, her sole living relative is Marie-Jeanne Schiff, her self-obsessed, greedy, aunt-by-marriage Dolly. Here’s the perfect conversation between Jane and Dolly, with Jane saying: ”’Well, I’m going to Cambridge next year. . . ‘ / ‘Are you indeed? [answers Dolly] Well, you know best. But I always think that charm is more important to a woman than a lot of degrees. Don’t underestimate charm,’ she [Dolly] said, peering at me to see if she could detect any.”. And here’s Jane, reflecting on Dolly: ”Nobody loved Dolly: that was her tragedy. Nobody even liked her very much, and she knew that too. She was accepted as a friend by women inferior to herself because she was vigorous and clever, because she entertained and fed them, because she sorted out their affairs, and listened with every appearance of interest to their feeble gossip.”
After rereading and thinking more about A Family Romance, I realized that my initial reading was in fact a profound misreading that did an injustice to Brookner and to Jane Manning. As an adult, Jane’s neither sad nor lonely. Rather, in Brookner’s typically quiet, bourgeois London world, Brookner dares to portray Jane as an adult who chooses singleness and rejects long-term romances and almost all friendships. Jane’s neither sad nor lonely and she freely chooses her singleness: ”I wanted no one. Short of a man’s faithful friendship I wanted nothing. I had had brief liaisons with men I had met at the college and they had left me dissatisfied. I came to the conclusion that I was destined to remain alone, for I was not good at dwindling affection or growing estrangement. I preferred to be precise. . . When I came home at night and stepped into the silent warmth of my flat I was grateful that no voice would be raised from the bedroom, reminding me that I was not alone. I resolved that no one would ever again take up residence. . .”
Even by Brookner’s sometimes languid story-telling and plot development standards, some readers may find that A Family Romance starts slowly, but Brookner soon gets down to the coal face of what she did best: wonderful quick character portraits of isolated, sometimes unhappy, sometimes lonely, sometimes triumphant people. Brookner the novelist saw her characters clearly, as if Brookner the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Cambridge University and the Reader at Courtauld Institute of Art refused to allow writing another novel slow her from moving on with her pressing academic commitments. A Family Romance contains several such wonderful portraits, my favorites among them being Dolly’s Parisian childhood with her mother, beloved seamstress to prostitutes and Dolly’s luftmensch husband.
5 Brookner stars, among her best
August 15, 2022
Full disclosure: Now, having read several of her novels, this reader confesses to being under the spell of Anita Brookner. As one who describes himself as a bookish, introvert it is no wonder that I find Ms. Brookner, the brilliant chronicler of bookish introverts, to be such a delightful author. In "Dolly" the reader is introduced to Jane, a shy, intelligent, introspective young woman. Jane is the narrator, and it is through Jane that we learn of her family's history and the dynamics that shaped its various personalities. The character development here is superb throughout. Jane's older brother eventually marries Dolly. Dolly is stunningly beautiful, outgoing, vivacious, and eager to improve her social standing. She is the opposite of Jane and, at times, looks down on her with disdain for the way she dresses, her quiet lifestyle, and intellectual pursuits. Jane, in turn, just barely tolerates Dolly and her circle of acquaintances. And that is the set-up, after which Ms. Brookner masterfully takes the reader through the lives of these two quite different women. I loved it. Cheers!
March 3, 2023
An interesting character based novel about two women, Jane Manning, the narrator, and her aunt Dolly. Dolly was the wife of Jane’s uncle Hugo. Dolly is a social climber. The daughter of a poor Parisian dressmaker. When her husband Hugo dies, Dolly is able to cajole Jane’s rich mother, Henrietta, into writing her cheques. Dolly is a socialite who lives comfortably, doesn’t earn any income independently and is always reliant on others to support her financially. Dolly is flamboyant and selfish. Jane is a very lonely, shy, quiet woman who doesn’t need to work but does so mainly for the company. The relationship between Dolly and Jane over the years is quite intriguing. The characters are very well developed.
There is an elegance in the author’s writing style that I particularly appreciate. Here is an example of her writing style that I have picked randomly:
Writing about Dolly, Jane states, “She descended on us more rarely than she had done when first making her way in what she clearly thought of as more superior company: when she did it was in a spirit of public service, as if to spread a little gossip and glamour into our colourless preoccupations. It was important to her to be admired, and my mother genuinely admired her, not, as Dolly thought, for her social brilliance, but for her uncompromising sense of reality.” (Page 92 of Jonathan Cape hardback edition).
I found this novel to be an enjoyable, satisfying reading experience, but then, I am a Brookner fan!
This book was first published in 1993.
There is an elegance in the author’s writing style that I particularly appreciate. Here is an example of her writing style that I have picked randomly:
Writing about Dolly, Jane states, “She descended on us more rarely than she had done when first making her way in what she clearly thought of as more superior company: when she did it was in a spirit of public service, as if to spread a little gossip and glamour into our colourless preoccupations. It was important to her to be admired, and my mother genuinely admired her, not, as Dolly thought, for her social brilliance, but for her uncompromising sense of reality.” (Page 92 of Jonathan Cape hardback edition).
I found this novel to be an enjoyable, satisfying reading experience, but then, I am a Brookner fan!
This book was first published in 1993.
May 27, 2008
Imagine, if you will, a sixty-plus lady dressed in minks who really wishes to lead a grand life but doesn't have the means to do so. A lady who wears silk dresses even in the rain, would rather go hungry than go without scent, and is convinced everything will be all right as long as one remains ultra-feminine and has plenty of charm. A lady who is so unbelievably selfish and greedy that she is actually offended when relatives in whom she has never shown much interest but from whom she has been sponging for years leave most of their money to their daughter rather than to her. That lady is Dolly, the eponymous 'heroine' of Anita Brookner's 1993 novel, whose life is narrated by her 18-year-old niece Jane. Jane dislikes Dolly, who seems rather contemptuous of her. At the same time, however, she is fascinated by her aunt, and like her mother and grandmother before her feels a sense of obligation towards Dolly which leads her to be rather more generous to her than most other 18-year-olds in her position would be. The mutually dependent love-hate relationship between these two very different women is the main subject of Dolly, which is basically an exploration of themes such as loneliness, family and family obligations. And love, for against the odds Jane and Dolly come to appreciate each other in the end, each in her own aloof, detached way.
Anita Brookner (who won the 1984 Booker Prize for Hotel du Lac, which I hope to read soon) has a style and psychological insight rather reminiscent of Henry James and Edith Wharton, a comparison further reinforced by the timeless, old-fashioned quality of her prose. Her portrait of a stolid upper-middle-class English family with a crass and provocative hanger-on gets off to a slow start, but gradually gains power and finishes strongly (although I could have done without the aside on the American feminists towards the end). I'd say it's a three-and-a-half star book rather than a four-star one, but in the absence of half stars I'll give it the benefit of the doubt -- mostly for its merciless portrayal of Dolly, who has to be one of the most selfish (yet alluring) characters in the history of fiction. Becky Sharp, eat your heart out!
Anita Brookner (who won the 1984 Booker Prize for Hotel du Lac, which I hope to read soon) has a style and psychological insight rather reminiscent of Henry James and Edith Wharton, a comparison further reinforced by the timeless, old-fashioned quality of her prose. Her portrait of a stolid upper-middle-class English family with a crass and provocative hanger-on gets off to a slow start, but gradually gains power and finishes strongly (although I could have done without the aside on the American feminists towards the end). I'd say it's a three-and-a-half star book rather than a four-star one, but in the absence of half stars I'll give it the benefit of the doubt -- mostly for its merciless portrayal of Dolly, who has to be one of the most selfish (yet alluring) characters in the history of fiction. Becky Sharp, eat your heart out!
December 18, 2015
Very disappointed in this work by Anita Brookner. My first four way into her writings was Hotel du Lac, when are the Man Booker Prize. Where is that one explored eloquently the dynamics of a woman dedicated to propriety and the rules of society; how forming our relationship after a divorce in her time was devastatingly difficult, "Dolly" really did nothing except describe aImost hateable, selfish, shockingly heartless Aunt of the narrator, eighteen years old Jane Manning.
Jane could easily sense her strong dislike for her ever since their first meeting when she was a young child. Furthermore, her parents and most other family members dislike her just as much. An exploiter of all the people closest to her, including family members, she is a connoisseur of the finer things in life and has no remorse doing what she does for years. Even worse, she is extremely condescending to those whom cannot afford her way of life. Obviously, because they do not exploit their relatives. Jane has long watched dolly put her mother in a state of anxiety, which would happen every single time the two met without fail. Her father felt nothing for her, but was unable to help his wife feel any better. Supposely the focus in the story afterwards is the love hate relationship between James and Dolly after her mother and father both passed away and all he is all she has left. Honestly, I was not able to really see this in the way Brookner portrayed it. And it seemed a little forced.
I expected much better from Brookner. I will likely give her another chance, but hoping she is not a one hit wonder.
Jane could easily sense her strong dislike for her ever since their first meeting when she was a young child. Furthermore, her parents and most other family members dislike her just as much. An exploiter of all the people closest to her, including family members, she is a connoisseur of the finer things in life and has no remorse doing what she does for years. Even worse, she is extremely condescending to those whom cannot afford her way of life. Obviously, because they do not exploit their relatives. Jane has long watched dolly put her mother in a state of anxiety, which would happen every single time the two met without fail. Her father felt nothing for her, but was unable to help his wife feel any better. Supposely the focus in the story afterwards is the love hate relationship between James and Dolly after her mother and father both passed away and all he is all she has left. Honestly, I was not able to really see this in the way Brookner portrayed it. And it seemed a little forced.
I expected much better from Brookner. I will likely give her another chance, but hoping she is not a one hit wonder.
January 13, 2011
I read a blog review somewhere that compared Brookner's books to still, deep pools. I get the comparison - her writing is very internal, psychological, character-driven, not plotty. This is one of the best I've read so far. Jane is an appealing narrator - a bit distanced, but that fits with the quiet, ruminative family in which she was raised. Her aunt Dolly is a selfish, almost ridiculous character one loves to hate, until Brookner works her magic and makes the reader actually sympathize with her. I try to read one of Brookner's novels every couple of months or so, and always savor the experience.
June 7, 2013
I appreciated the skill of the author but I can't say I enjoyed a lot about the book. It's slow, so very English, and I kept having to remind myself this was the 1970's not the turn of the century. I did enjoy the deft word-smithing and vocabulary of the author. I read this for bookclub and cannot recommend it to be read simply for pleasure.
January 19, 2015
After the disappointment of "Fraud" I was hoping that this book wouldn't also be a dud, but no. It's much better.
Brookner is up to her old tricks again in this one. Her portrayal of character is impressive, and once we finish reading the book we feel as though we know these characters very well. The story is told by the title character's niece, who is a young woman and has memories of her aunt, Dolly, that are not warm. Dolly herself is a mix of personalities, but mainly is a manipulative self-centered person who, you might say, gets what she deserves in the end.
No more because I don't wish to spoil the read for you. If you enjoy psychological portrayals and are not concerned about reading through a book in which there is very little action, you'll enjoy Anita Brookner's works.
Brookner is up to her old tricks again in this one. Her portrayal of character is impressive, and once we finish reading the book we feel as though we know these characters very well. The story is told by the title character's niece, who is a young woman and has memories of her aunt, Dolly, that are not warm. Dolly herself is a mix of personalities, but mainly is a manipulative self-centered person who, you might say, gets what she deserves in the end.
No more because I don't wish to spoil the read for you. If you enjoy psychological portrayals and are not concerned about reading through a book in which there is very little action, you'll enjoy Anita Brookner's works.
June 26, 2020
At first I wasn't sure about either the story, or narration, but eventually got some traction. Regarding narration specifically, the reader sounded far older than the character, such that I had to consciously recall that she was supposed to be university student age, rather than an older woman considering life as a "mature" student.
Dolly is, indeed, incredibly self-centered. We learn enough of her background to understand how it came to be, but still, she's not a very nice person. She's difficult to take as a character, compared with nice, well-meaning Jane.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, in the sense that there's tension in the story from the womens' contrast. Still, I could easily understand why some readers disliked it.
Dolly is, indeed, incredibly self-centered. We learn enough of her background to understand how it came to be, but still, she's not a very nice person. She's difficult to take as a character, compared with nice, well-meaning Jane.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, in the sense that there's tension in the story from the womens' contrast. Still, I could easily understand why some readers disliked it.
April 16, 2008
If I don't finish it, does it count as "read?"
I just can't take it anymore.
The reviews had me convinced I *should* enjoy this. I found it boring, dull, dry, slow, surface, and just generally too much effort. On page 112 I thought, "this is sort of interesting now." But another fifteen or so pages in, I can't make myself finish it. I despise putting down a book. My ego is bruised. I've lost the battle.
Clearly, Brookner can write with an impressive vocabulary. Her tone is "old fashioned" or maybe it's just British. In any case, I kept being surprised to find this was about the recent past (mostly 80s, back into the 30s and on up for the background).
I just can't take it anymore.
The reviews had me convinced I *should* enjoy this. I found it boring, dull, dry, slow, surface, and just generally too much effort. On page 112 I thought, "this is sort of interesting now." But another fifteen or so pages in, I can't make myself finish it. I despise putting down a book. My ego is bruised. I've lost the battle.
Clearly, Brookner can write with an impressive vocabulary. Her tone is "old fashioned" or maybe it's just British. In any case, I kept being surprised to find this was about the recent past (mostly 80s, back into the 30s and on up for the background).
April 9, 2024
This is evidently a novel called by different titles. On Audible, where I re-listened to this, it is called A Family Romance. I found it by turns maddening and intriguing. A bonus to this work is in the last chapter which contains a delicious takedown of humorless feminism and its adherents.
When I first read this novel, I don't think I understood it and found it appalling. Now, at 82, I see the beauty of it, its profundity and benevolence.
When I first read this novel, I don't think I understood it and found it appalling. Now, at 82, I see the beauty of it, its profundity and benevolence.
January 3, 2017
Four and a half.
February 20, 2025
I love Anita Brookner novels, but this one felt a bit meh to me. We follow the story of Jane, a mild-mannered young woman who lives with her parents and enjoys her quiet life. Her Aunt Dolly, a rather vain and selfish older woman, periodically inserts herself into their lives. Following the deaths of her parents, young Jane feels responsible for Aunt Dolly and ends up being somewhat used by her. I kept wanting to tell her to grow a backbone. Still, the prose is excellent...
November 15, 2022
Beautiful. I know a lot of people think Brookner's novels are slow and boring but I'm always impressed by her ability to bring characters to life with such little reliance on plot. Things happen in the book but I'm more interested in the character's perceptions, attitudes, history, likes and dislikes. Details that might seem too forced or would get in the way of the novel's pace and plot in the hands of another writer.
May 14, 2024
Deserving of its place in the classics.
February 3, 2018
really if there were a two and a half, I would give this book that. the blurb on Goodreads which is similar to the one on the back of the book drew me to finally read this book which had been sitting on my book shelf oh so many years. It was an interesting portrait but even though it was a relatively short book, it seemed long at time. I got tired of what seemed like of the near constant foreshadowing...just get on with the story. It would be an interesting book to discuss with someone but just as a read I would have to say it did not do much for me.
May 17, 2017
Even though this novel contains some brilliant observations on very typically English people, I'm on the fence about this novel because of the development of the main character, Jane, over the course of the story.
After being stuck in a strange sort of stasis for the majority of the novel, Jane, develops in leaps and bounds. "Fair enough", you may think, but the sudden presence of (very '80s) feminism in the story (in the penultimate chapter) and Jane's responses to it just left me feeling confused.
Setting aside the above point, the story was sensitively written and very interesting in an understated way.
After being stuck in a strange sort of stasis for the majority of the novel, Jane, develops in leaps and bounds. "Fair enough", you may think, but the sudden presence of (very '80s) feminism in the story (in the penultimate chapter) and Jane's responses to it just left me feeling confused.
Setting aside the above point, the story was sensitively written and very interesting in an understated way.
July 28, 2011
As with all of Brookner's books, there's very little action and most of the writing focuses on character development, especially women. I think we've all known a Dolly in our life, someone who feels about money, "You have it, I need it". I must admit, I'd love to live in the time when I could have had a full-time maid, especially one who whips up little party treats (and it turns out so did Dolly's friends). I think Brookner was heavy-handed in the contrast of how extroverted Dolly was compared to how introverted Jane and her family were. It does make you think of how money could change Dolly into different characters throughout her life, yet Jane lives her life (with money) without many changes.
January 25, 2009
This is a little depressing I suppose - however it is so beautifully written, and ultimately very moving that I can't help but say I really enjoyed it - although I am aware that enjoyed is possibly the wrong word really. I sat up in bed late last night to finish it - and I did finish it with a quite genuine tear in my eye. The lives of these characters, their motivations and concerns had been so minutely examined by Brookner, that by the end the pathos with which we see the conclusion (although it is not really you feel) of Jane and Dolly's lives is real.
November 16, 2013
This was recommended by a friend (who also led me to Anne Tyler) with the comment that Brookner is the British AT. For me this was true to a small extent, both are respectful of their characters and both can give views into cultural aspects of the times. Those were about the only similarities that jumped out at me. The style for "Dolly" was like a layer cake that kept having copious amounts if icing layer over all. Skill prose with a focus on character but not much on plot development. "Looking into a deep pool" is an apt metaphor for this wrier.
March 27, 2016
"A Family Romance" must be one of Anita Brookner's gentler books, and as such, one of her tamest. Narrated by a sexless, aloof bystander, the novel reads like a well-meaning act of penance, as if Brookner were sorry for the way she'd savaged similar characters before and now wants to make amends. Personally, I would've preferred to have read an unapologetic dissection of anti-heroine Dolly (a social climber of high order) than a justification of selfishness. That said, the prose is impeccable.
August 21, 2014
I really loved this book, which is narrated from childhood to early adulthood by a shy, observant girl watching and listening to her parents, grandparents, housekeepers, and aunt & uncle -- a family mix of people that are variously strong-willed, meek, outrageous, and careful. She is very observant, and the minute gestures and glances that she observes give away the true nature of the other friends and family members. She's also quite good at discerning people's motives and desires, including her own. I will happily read more by Anita Brookner.
April 26, 2009
Jane grows up fascinated by her aunt Dolly yet put off by her behavior. Dolly wanted the grand life even if it wasn't something she could afford, which she faults on others. She is selfish and thrives on her social life. She can't be bothered to be there for her niece when her niece needs her the most.
I found the book a boring at first. About halfway through, it picked up but I can't excepting more to the story.
I found the book a boring at first. About halfway through, it picked up but I can't excepting more to the story.
December 30, 2012
For some reason less satisfying than most Brookner I have read. A lot of energy is expended in fleshing out Dolly's portrait, but Jane feels oddly unfinished. This is especially apparent in the coda, which focuses primarily on Jane and seems tacked-on, as though it's introducing a new character instead of completing the story of a familiar one.
Also, I've often had the feeling, when reading Brookner, of wanting to give the main character a good slap; this time the urge was overwhelming.
Also, I've often had the feeling, when reading Brookner, of wanting to give the main character a good slap; this time the urge was overwhelming.
November 6, 2013
I listened to the delightful Fiona Shaw read this, as I drove to and from a wedding, a quite considerable distance over two days. At times I wondered if I would have felt differently about it if I was reading it myself. It is a very quiet, reserved story of quiet and reserved Jane and her attractive and vivacious aunt, Dolly. They don't like each other and the book gives the family background, the history of how the family came together and Jane's journey into adulthood and understanding.
July 27, 2014
Returned to Brookner after many years, and was reminded how like I find her to Henry James in some ways. Her quiet, exquisite examination of smallest details, the patient accumulation of observations, and the realized conclusion is as momentous as a boulder dropped in a swimming pool. The disturbance can rock you. In Dolly, what does Jane's discovery say about Dolly, and what does it say about Jane?
March 31, 2016
I bought this Brookner in honour of the author who died recently, but despite some beautiful writing and excellent vocabulary, I have to admit I found the novel entirely dull. The narrator is so boring (she is a "plain Jane" after all) that most of the time I couldn't find myself caring what she had to say at all. And her aunt Dolly, who is the other main focus of the book, is such an unlikable character I didn't really feel I wanted to hear about her life either. I forced myself through this.
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