Customer Reviews

A Misalliance

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With an unmistakable air of dignity and deliciously wry insight, British novelist Anita Brookner once again tweaks the microscope on the human psyche as she examines the intricacies of life, love and friendship within contemporary society.

It is April, and Blanche Vernon finds herself divorced and alone in her Park Lane flat after twenty years of marriage to a man who had once found her too exuberant for his tastes. Yet, her efforts in cultivating a drier, more serious countenance had little effect upon his regard for her-or lack thereof. Rather, Bertie Vernon left his wife for a passionate though shameless young woman by the name of Mousie.

Maintaining a simple yet respectable existence, Blanche finds herself spending many an afternoon at the National Gallery, where she lingers before masterpieces depicting the hedonism of the gods and the virtue of the saints. So absorbed is she within the solitude of her circumstances, Blanche sees little possibility of amending her routine until one particular day in which she encounters Elinor, a child of boundless seriousness who has never uttered a word, and her step-mother, Sally, a beautiful yet artless woman of little conscience, in the outpatient ward of the hospital where Blanche volunteers twice a week. Immediately taken with the unusual demeanor of the child, Blanche finds her curiosity and desire to do good drawing her into a world wherein she becomes an unwilling accessory to and victim of petty manipulations and self-aggrandizing agendas.

Illuminating the ageless tug-of-war between freedom and responsibility as well as the perpetual struggle between humanity's hedonism and saintliness, The Misalliance lures the reader into an internal dialogue within which she very well may begin to contemplate her own nature as well as the motivations of those to whom she bestows her trust.

I'm a fan of the writing of British women, with few exceptions, and I was long overdue in trying Anita Brookner. In this novel Brookner exhibits strong literary prowess in her impeccable use of the language. Nary a word is wasted in this tight, fast-moving novel. I was entirely immersed in this book for the gripping nature of the plot as well as the empathy I felt for the characters. An absolutely fabulous read! I'm now onto _Hotel du Lac_ and have no doubt it will be an equally engaging read.

Once again a lonely heroine who has somehow missed the boat in life, and must make the best of a situation less than wholly desirable. Once again that fine observation of minute details of life, of character and gesture. Once again a kind of heroine with integrity who somehow does not manage the world to her own advantage. Once again that slightly gloomy feeling, that all - pervasive loneliness which is the hallmark of the Brookner sensibility. And once again a tremendous skill in language, a satirical commentary on human pretense and foible. And with it a story which somehow does not develop into any kind of adventure but does involve a transformation if not of character then of situation at the end.
Brookner is a very 'civilized writer'. And I greatly enjoyed her description of some of the relationships in this work, especially that of the heroine to her former husband, who despite his new much younger wife, continues to visit his former wife. The involvement which complicates the story and turns out in the end not to be of lasting significance is the heroine's meeting with a young irresponsible mother and her three year old mute daughter. My sense in reading the work is that what matters in it are the line- by - line observations, the commentary and insights, and not the development of the story.
For those who like Brookner this will be a very enjoyable work.

Blanche Vernon is a divorced middle-aged woman living an independent and dignified life alone in London. Her husband Bertie left her in the favour of Amanda - he refers to her as Mousie - a bubbling yuppie in her twenties.
She finds solace in the paintings of the British Museum and in her voluntary work at a local hospital. That is where she meets Susan Beamish and her eight-year old girl Elinor. Although not deaf, Elinor is unable to speak due to some psychic trouble. Blanche soon starts to have some protective and motherly feelings for Elinor but later has to realise that her mother sees Blanche's attempts at love for Elinor as misappropriation and that she herself doesn't fully understand the laws of property.
Although the notion of misalliance is an interesting one, it seems a rather thin one to be at the core of a two-hundred page novel. There are many passages revolving around Blanche's current state of mind, often concerning matters of little interest such as her health or her eating habits. Nevertheless the quality of the writing is excellent as usual in Anita Brookner's novels. It is perhaps the choice of the topic which is a little unfortunate.