Reviews

Falling Slowly: A Novel by Anita Brookner

hardcoverhearts's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

ruthiella's review

2.0

Reading slowly is more like it. Ever wonder what people are thinking during their morning commute; while idly listening to someone at a cocktail party; their innermost thoughts? “Falling Slowly” attempts to give the reader a window into the lives of two middle aged sisters, dependent upon each other, after surviving an unhappy childhood. Neither have friends, only acquaintances. They don’t even seem to confide in each other. They lead dull insular lives. Brookner is worth reading for her psychological insight into people who lead dull, insular lives, but I wasn’t in the right space to appreciate this book. It put me to sleep. I much preferred “Hotel du Lac”. I read this for the "International Anita Brookner Day" to be celebrated at the website http://myporchblog.blogspot.com/ on July 16, 2011.

balancinghistorybooks's review against another edition

3.0

There is a slight detachment at play within Anita Brookner's Falling Slowly. The plot is rather drawn out, and it did not feel as though there were enough occurrences or character developments here to sustain a novel of this length. Very little happened, even in comparison to other, slower books of Brookner's. The characters never really came to life; I found them unrealistic, particularly toward the end of the book. The relationships drawn between them too are very bizarre, and not at all what I was expecting. Although Falling Slowly follows similar conventions to some of Brookner's other books, I did not enjoy it anywhere near as much. Whilst it is not badly written, the dialogue feels awfully dated, and it is perhaps therefore more of a 2.5 star read than a 3.