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Incidents In The Rue Laugier (1997)

Incidents in the Rue Laugier (1997)

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Rating
3.63 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0679765123 (ISBN13: 9780679765127)
Language
English
Publisher
vintage

About book Incidents In The Rue Laugier (1997)

As I continue to read Anita Brookner's books, I find increased admiration and awe for her skill and precision in her writing. Her language use is elegant and the depth of her character development is succinct and dramatic."Incedents in the Rue Laugier" is an absorbing study of a group of people, especially Maud Gonthier and Edward Harrison. Initially as I viewed their activities, language and comportment, I had the impression that I was reading about the Victorian era. However, it became evident that it was then in the 1970's. Much stress was placed on propriety,- being involved with the right people and especially appearances. These strictures placed upon the main characters in this novel are the essence of the psychological drama which was a constant thread throughout. The major theme for Edward and Maud and others was one of longing, epecially to belong, to love and be loved and to be viewed equitably by others. At the same time, it seemed important for them "never to let their guards down".One could not consider this an uplifting piece, yet I was captivated immediately by Brookner's style and her ability to paint such vivid pictures with her writing.

'All life is good, even if it is ficticious.' Yet another wonderful book by Ms Brookner. After 'Strangers' and 'The Next Big Thing', it was a pleasure to read of main characters who are somewhat younger than Paul Sturgis et al. I like this author best when she writes from within her characters rather from outside. 'Incidents' is essentially a tale of choices made and the consequences that the characters choose to endure and in less than 250 pages, it ranges from London to Paris to Dijon to Eastbourne to 'a hollow between Meaux and Melun' with each locale concisely and vividly evoked. A very real strangeness comes from the book's narrator Mary Francoise who at the start of the book begs us to 'Please accept that I am an unreliable narrator' and who then proceeds to relate the story of her mother Maud and her subsequent marriage to Edward. This is a beautiful piece of fiction.

Do You like book Incidents In The Rue Laugier (1997)?

I liked the depiction of a pre-war moral heritage lived out in the 'libertine' 1970s. Their aspirational longings were thwarted but I wanted to shake Maud and say 'Get over it! You married a good man!' But no, she lauded reserve and containment and thereby allowed her entire joy in life (and most of her husband's) to be stolen by that cad. I enjoyed the comparison of Edward's warm, outgoing family with Maud's more detached upbringing. In the end, the more emotional side became wearisome and unhelpful. A lesson there.
—maggie

Maud is raised in Dijon, France by an emotionally removed mother after her father dies at a young age. The widow struggles to social climb on her beautiful daughter's coat tails within a restricted budget. Her haughty well-to-do sister grudgingly supplements widow Nadine's fixed income. While vacationing at this particular aunt's estate, Maud succumbs to the charms of renowned cad Tyler. Once he flees, upstanding yet bland Edward steps up to marry disappointed Maud's pompous ass.I took off a cou
—Emi Bevacqua

None of the reviews here seem to mention the fact that it is an unreliable narrator telling the story of Maud and Edward ("Please accept me as an unreliable narrator," she even writes). Their daughter, "Maffy," comes across some notes jotted by her mother into a notebook and discovered after both her parents have died. She transforms these 9 words into a story. "It is a fabrication," Maffy says, "one of those by which each of us lives, and as such an enormity, nothing to do with the truth. But perhaps the truth we tell ourselves is woth any number of facts, verifiable or not. This unrecorded story--unrecorded for a very good reason--is a gesture only, a gesture towards my mother...who told me nothing either of what happened or what failed to happen, and how she came to live with us, so far from home." So, what is more interesting than the story, to me, is how Maffy came to tell that story and why she transformed those 9 words into the story she tells.
—Lauren Albert

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