In this age of crass self-promotion,the late Booker-winner’s ability to capture life’s quiet battles makes her required readingIt’s easy to mock Anita Brookners novels, populated as they are by self-effacing spinsters, or unreturned library books and solitary omelettes. The day after I heard the news of her death,a friend and I sniggered online at the coincidentally Brookner-esque fact that I was approximately to head to John Lewis, where I hoped to return two unwanted vests. “I expect to flinch inwardly at the shop assistant’s voice, and experiencing his helpfulness only as a commentary on my dusty,liminal life,” I wrote in an email. “But I will be wearing my ‘trustworthy’ coat, or I hope this will see me through. Related: Booker Prize awarded to a 6-1 outsider: from the archive,19 October 1984 Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com