My initial interest in this book was solely based around the public shyness of the author. From Naples, Italy, Elena Ferrante's work is published by Europa Editions. Rumors abound on who the real identify of the elusive writer is. Some say she is covering for another writer. Some say it might be a male author. And some just think she doesn't want anything to do with public scrutiny.

It was intriguing and I wanted to pick the book up immediately. Thanks to my local library, I was able to get it right away, and I promptly read it in a day and a half. I would have finished it a lot sooner, had I not thrust the book down for extended periods of time in complete disgust by several actions by the main character, Olga.

The down and dirty of this story is that Olga has been married to Mario (one heck of a sh*t human being) for fifteen years and they have two children. He decides to leave her, unceremoniously announced one day, and Olga is left completely alone in the city. The summer is upon her and she begins to unravel. Her identity with this man was clear for fifteen years and The Days of Abandonment is a thoroughly unapologetic view of one woman's breakdown. It is vulgar, it is heart-wrenching, it is disturbing. It's hard for me to say whether or not I liked it, though. When I look back at my notes on Goodreads, it seems pretty evident that I miserably and voraciously hated it. I don't think there is one single note I made in that day and a half that was positive at all. However, I don't feel right to say that I hated it. I'm conflicted.

Olga's husband is a complete loser. I hated him immensely. He is no honorable man. I understood the initial moments of Olga's immediate breakdown, sanity falling away in those first few moments, but the eventual result and actions (or inaction, in some cases) of her worst moments that occur with her children and her dog made me absolutely mute with helpless anger. I couldn't deal with any more pages of Olga falling apart, and so many times it was almost willingly. In part, I cheered her on to come out of it, since I did not want her to lose herself and allow her husband, that little moron, to come out unscathed. Argh, he was horrible. Horrible! But so was Olga and there is no excuse with it at all, I felt. So I was just frustrated. But it's when the actual finality of her weakness is evident with her responsibilities and her children, and then with her dog that I found it all completely unforgivable and I had absolutely no sympathy. There was just no way I, as a reader, could recover from page after page of this helplessness. I hated Olga.

After coming off of Kate Chopin's classic short story The Awakening, I'm struck by some of the similar themes of a woman falling apart, from books published more than 100 years apart. I'm annoyed by it because doggone it, women can be and are, much, MUCH stronger than this.

So that is why I am conflicted by The Days of Abandonment. I was insanely frustrated by Olga and was disturbed by her complete lack of common sense and how she miserably threw it all away, allowing her children and dog to suffer (which drove me BATTY with anger, resentment and frustration with her), but again, like The Awakening, it was still beautifully written. It was so VIVID, the descriptions of certain scenes absolutely painful, poetic and genuine. Amazing. There is almost a stream of consciousness to the writing style that I loved, but then again, it was also a stream of only Olga suffering all the time, and it was something like complete selfishness that overtakes her and she ultimately focuses only on her own pain, allowing others to suffer who depend completely on her.  I get that this is extremely symbolic to the story, but it drove me nuts. Beautifully written, but absolutely frustrating to read.

It's very difficult for me give a thumbs up or down for this book. You read it and let me know what you think. For me, I wanted to devour the beautiful words (excellent translation), and then on the other hand, I wanted to throw the book across the room as I read.

I'll still read another one by Elena Ferrante, though.

Passages of Note:

Certainly something had happened to me during the night. Or after months of tension I had arrived at the edge of some precipice and now I was falling, as in a dream, slowly, even as I continued to hold the thermometer in my hand, even as I stood with the soles of my slippers on the floor, even as I felt myself solidly contained by the expectant looks of my children. It was the fault of the torture that my husband had inflicted. But enough, I had to tear the pain from memory, I had to sandpaper away the scratches that were damaging my brain. (p.101)

Publisher: Europa Editions
Release Date: 9/15/05
Pages: 192

Others said:
Bibliophile by the Sea
Care's Online Book Club
Dolce Bellezza
Reviews by Lola

FTC Disclosure: I checked this book out for free from my awesome local Virginia Beach Public Library.

About the Author (from Europa Edition's website)

Elena Ferrante was born in Naples, Italy. Though one of Italy's most important and acclaimed contemporary authors, she has successfully shunned public attention and kept her whereabouts and her true identity concealed.

Well, it is immensely satisfying when you can read a book and think, "This book is going on my list of Best Books Read in 2012. Hands down." 

Harold Fry lives a quiet and uneventful retirement in England, each day ordered and routine. In his 60s and after forty years of marriage with Maureen, the last half resulted in Harold sleeping in a separate bedroom. The only wrinkle each day is whether Harold's done anything to annoy Maureen. Other than that, in the lifetime of their marriage, it's the same as the day before. When Harold receives a startling letter from a person he hasn't spoken to in twenty years, it hits him hard. Queenie Hennessy, a dear friend, is dying from cancer, with not much time and no chances left. The news is devastating and he struggles with finding the right way to respond back to her. He finally puts down a few words and closes up the envelope.

With his tie squarely knotted, and his yachting shoes snugly fit, Harold walks the short distance from his house to the mailbox, but finds that he might need to go a little bit further. With each mailbox he comes across it seems to him more appropriate to mail it at the next one. Before he knows it, he's traveled further and come to a decision: He will walk all the way to Queenie in hospice six hundred miles away and will give her the letter in person and to thank her for her friendship. Harold painfully regrets the years of not speaking with Queenie, and so with this pilgrimage, he is confident she will live. Along the way, he comes across people with their own story of regrets and he realizes that it's really never too late to live a life of purpose. With Maureen waiting at home for his occasional phone call providing status updates, the separation between them grows and each feel the gaping hole of absence. 

I fell in love with this book, with Harold, with his pilgrimage, absolutely everything. I had a lump in my throat by page 10 and I consistently blinked back tears with every person Harold meets. Each character, Maureen especially, is not what they initially seem, and before I knew it, I found that all had a deeper tale to tell of understanding, love, loss, pain, and regret.

This was an absolutely beautiful story. Sweet, confused, regretful and saddened Harold Fry had the urge, a revelation to finally do something in life, to feel whole and complete and to feel that he has accomplished something of importance, and I was there cheering the whole time. Harold's journey reveals wounds that have been covered for years, and he's deeply disappointed with his own life and all the people he knows he has let down. Even Maureen, who initially comes across as cold and heartless, goes through her own reawakening that breaks my heart even more and at one point, I was dumbstruck by how much pain has been in both of their lives. It is a powerful story told quietly with subtle moments so compelling that I know I will always remember it. A book about regrets and the hope of redemption no matter when it's realized in life is something that will always tug at my heartstrings and this one even more so. To me, the quieter book draws the pain of regret much more vividly than any other. I eagerly await Rachel Joyce's next novel.

You really, really, REALLY need to read this book.

Passages of Note:

Harold sat in silence. The silver-haired gentleman was in truth nothing like the man Harold had first imagined him to be. He was a chap like himself, with a unique pain; and yet there would be no knowing that if you passed him in the street, or sat opposite him in a cafe and did not share his teacake. (p.89)

He understood that in walking to atone for the mistakes he had made, it was also his journey to accept the strangeness of others. As a passerby, he was in a place where everything, not only the land, was open. People would feel free to talk, and he was free to listen. To carry a little of them as he went. He had neglected so many things, that he owed this small piece of generosity to Queenie and the past. (p.90)

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Release Date: 7/24/12
Pages: 336

About the Author

Rachel Joyce is an award-winning writer of more than twenty plays for BBC Radio 4. She started writing after a twenty-year acting career performing lead roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and also winning multiple awards. Rachel Joyce lives in Gloucestershire on a farm with her family and is at work on her second novel.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for inviting me to participate. For all other tour stops for this incredible debut novel, please click here.

Sarah Kunitz is sixteen-years-old and lives in a suburb just an hour north of Boston in the "perfect" family. After all the recipe for a perfect family is that of a mother and father who both live at home, children, a big house, and money. On the surface, at least, it's perfect. This is the Kunitz family of Boston in the 1970s.

In this quiet and compelling coming-of-age story of the only daughter in a dysfunctional family, sixteen-year-old Sarah has never felt mothered by the woman who now glides through life, a drink in one hand and a pill in the other. A classically trained violinist, was it the arthritis in her mother's hands that forced her to stop playing? Was it inheritance money that caused an emotional distance for them? Or was having a family the mistake? What was it that made Sarah's mother drift through life without being connected with her own children?

It's a question no child would want to ask of their mother, and especially by an only daughter. Sarah is just beginning to find her own place in life, and even a slight connection with her musical mother by developing a strong singing voice. But her chances to learn more of her mother's past are cut short when a car accident in the heart of Boston on an icy night leaves Sarah and her three brothers motherless. Now a new question surfaces: Was the car crash truly an accident, or did her mother choose to leave them?

This was a deeply touching and acutely felt story. Jessica Keener succeeded in building a fully developed character in Sarah, one whose emotional story was laced with flaw, tinged with regret, and ultimately ached to receive motherly guidance in any way possible. While I felt there were a few plot points that went on longer than necessary, those are minor quibbles about a story that felt genuine with every page and character. The sad fact was that it already seemed as though Sarah had always been living without a mother, with the accident securing what she couldn't (or didn't want to) recognize before. That might be what ringed the most genuine in this story. It's not when the person dies that makes you realize that things can never change now; instead, it's realizing that nothing ever would have gotten better even if the person had lived.

Night Swim is an emotional tale of growing up and feeling lost in a big family with parents who are emotionally absent. With summer romances, tough questions, drugs, loss, and heartache, the 1970s will be Sarah's time to make the choices that will shape her future and ultimately, make her whole. I enjoyed this story and anticipate a long career from Jessica Keener; I look forward to reading much, much more from her.

Publisher: The Fiction Studio

Release Date: 1/10/2012

Pages: 284

Side Notes

• Although this is not a memoir, readers who enjoy them, along with coming-of-age stories, will find a lot to discuss and think about with Night Swim. A book club will likely feel comfortable to reminisce with their own personal stories of growing up as well.
• While the character is a teenager, the reader should know that the story does deal with big topics such as drugs, alcohol, and sex, but this can provide a great opportunity for discussion with your teenager. If they read it, you should, too, and talk about the issues addressed.
• Food was occasionally mentioned throughout the novel, and whenever I see something I've never heard of before, I research until I find a good recipe. For that reason, I made Noodle Pudding over the weekend, and I'll be posting it this Friday for Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking meme.

About the Author

Jessica Keener is the author of her acclaimed debut novel, Night Swim. She grew up in Boston and received her Master's from Brown University. A freelance writer, she has published in The Boston Globe Magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, Inspired House, Coastal Living, Design New England, and Poets & Writers. Her stories have been listed in The Pushcart Prize under "outstanding writers." She currently lives in Boston.

Follow the author:

• On her website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On her blog

Others said:
Beth Fish Reads

TLC Book Tours

Many thanks to TLC Book Tours for including me. The Night Swim tour goes through February 23, 2012. To read the reviews at all of the tour stops, click here.

Ages ago. I listened to this ages ago. And it's taken me so long to put a post together that I felt good about because I so want to accurately convey my love of this story without giving one iota of the subtle plot away.

I decided to download and experience this in an audiobook format. (Lately, I've found that my previous perception of audiobooks was either wrong, or maybe I just needed to get used to "reading" this way. I'm still not sure what made me fall in love with audio, but now I can never be in a car without one ready to go).

Never Let Me Go has been such a popular book and a movie with Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley was recently released which I've heard great things about, so looks like I'm going to have to Netflix that one soon.

Kathy H., our main character and narrator of the story, is a carer (or caregiver) by occupation. Now in her early thirties, Kathy's path has crossed once again with two former classmates, Tommy and Ruth. Once best friends at Hailsham, a beautiful private school separated from society with its own secrets, Kathy begins to share the story of their lives as children, which ultimately affects them today. And it's not a story with adventurous boarding school events - rather it's a quiet study of human behavior, an uncomfortable understanding of what is valuable and true in all of our lives.

To give any more of the story away would mean I'd have to do a spoiler warning and I just can't do that. I want you to experience this story completely and go into it without knowing anything other than what I've just given you. Suffice it to say that the story is melodious, haunting, compelling, and somewhat frightening. Certain moments and realizations surprised me so much that I was stunned by the characters' acceptance of their lives and each situation. I was speechless and with rapt attention I was captivated through each memory Kathy shared. I felt a connection with each character and each emotion - it grounded me to a halt and sometimes I would shut off the audio and think about what had just happened, marveling at Kazuo Ishiguro's ability to brutally mesmerize me. The magic is in the story's reveal - while it is not shared to the reader in one flashing and climactic moment, instead it is pieced together, pocketed into Kathy's honest and simple telling, slowly tugging at you to reconsider what really should be acceptable.

If you enjoy a story that questions society in a quiet and indirect manner, then you will love this story. As I did.

Emilia Fox was the narrator for this production and she was phenomenal - I can't imagine anyone else capturing the haunting story so effectively. I'll be eagerly looking for more from her.

Happy Listening,
Natalie at Coffee and a Book Chick

Four women in Haven, Michigan find that life in a small town, whether they've just returned or have never left, can be just as tumultuous and disappointing, as it's ever been. Are they living the life they've imagined?

Maeve is the proprietor of the local convenience store and the mother of her daughter, Anna, a Chicago city lawyer. Maeve never thought that the convenience store was going to be her career, but she's been waiting twenty years for her husband to return after he left her and Anna one day with no word. Recently, she's been receiving letters from him, promising her a better future.

Anna has lost a close friend and mentor at the Chicago law firm and has been granted bereavement leave. Returning to Haven isn't easy, but she's not sure where else to go. She's always been strong, almost cold, but coming back to Haven means she might have to deal with her ex-boyfriend, the man who might be the love of her life, who she broke up with before they left for different colleges.

Cami is an old high school friend of Anna, who has recently returned back to Haven with her tail tucked between her legs after submitting to her gambling addiction and stealing money from her boyfriend and losing it all. She returns to her father's home - to a man who doesn't hold back from expressing his emotions of anger and resentment drunkenly and violently. [One nagging little gripe: My only issue with her is that she ends every statement with "yeah." So, for example: "Everything is good, yeah?" I subconsciously began tallying up how many times she ended her sentences like that.]

Amy, once overweight in high school, has now become obsessed with maintaining her successful weight loss. She's engaged to the son of the town's richest developer who happens to be planning to renovate Haven to appeal to tourists and Maeve's convenience store is one that will soon be destroyed. Amy's dream to have her perfect wedding, though, is on track. So she thinks, until the stress of wedding planning and wondering if she's making the right decisions has her doubting. Recently, she's bumped into Ed, an overweight and friendly guy who has a dog that just happens to get along with her own dog. Will the life she's imagined be what she's needing?

Ultimately, I liked this story a lot, even though each character frustrated me with Amy disappointing me completely. I cheered her on and for just a moment, I thought she had grown a backbone, but then...she didn't. With each chapter alternating between the primary characters making it a quick read, and although I wanted just a touch more from specific secondary characters, Kristina Riggle successfully exposes the lives of four women who feel like they just may have missed out on life.  After a while, each character finds that there is a beauty and sadness in realizing that it may be possible that the life being lived right now isn't any better or worse than what imagination can bring.

Moral of the story? Make good choices, people. But, no matter what, never look back.

My favorite passage is when Amy is trying on her wedding dress. Although she's lost the weight that she felt has held her back, her mother has never lost her own weight. While sitting in the boutique as Amy admires herself in the mirror, her mother tries on her mother-of-the-bride outfit and it is a disaster for her. While the boutique owner and Amy try to reassure her mother that she looks fine, she waves off the compliments. She knows she doesn't look the way she wants to, and Amy realizes that she needs to hold her tongue on issuing any reassurances:

"You look lovely," I tell her.

"Not hardly," she answers, but waves away further protest and starts digging in her purse. I know enough to give up at this point. Persistent argument will only escalate, and she'll just get more and more vicious with herself in an effort to convince us she truly is hideous. (p. 270)

This struck a chord with me. I know that if I don't feel good about myself, no amount of compliments will make me happy. I hate how we as women do this to ourselves.

Thanks to the Crazy Book Tours team for sending me a copy of this book for review!

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick

Guess what happens next week?  Evenfall by Liz Michalski is finally in stores!

The cover alone is a beautiful work of art, right?  And if you even have the slightest inkling and interest in stories dealing with regret, love, loss, history, ghosts...then you should probably rush to your local bookstore and pick up debut author Liz Michalski's Evenfall, which is scheduled for release next week.  And you might not like the book, instead you might actually love it.  Like me.

I cannot gush enough about this story.  Can you sense it?

I was so fortunate to pick her book up at the SIBA Trade Show in Daytona Beach last year, and the cover alone compelled me to read it immediately. Then the characters, the setting, the story, regret, love...it resonated with me and I wanted more.  There was such a unique way the three characters were weaved into each of their own chapters told from their perspectives - including Frank, a ghost who has a deep regret still felt.  You can read my full review by clicking here.

Farm Lane Book Blogs wrote a recent post about why she loves debut authors, and I completely agree.  Visit her site by clicking here.

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Liz Michalski, debut author of Evenfall

Liz Michalski was kind enough to participate in an interview and I'm so excited to share with you this author - I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and implore you to pick up the book when you are next in the store, read the jacket, flip through the pages...it will pull you in.

And for those who attend her book signings or send an email to this address with a picture of themselves and their copy of the book?  She's giving out a url and code which, when you jump onto her haunting and whimsical website to find the "secret" pages, you'll get even more of the backstory of Evenfall!

Author Interview

1. Evenfall deals with several different themes such as love, regret, death, family - what specifically compelled you to craft a story about all of these elements?

The story evolved over an extended period of time, and really just kept growing. Looking back, I think part of my inspiration was that I knew I'd be leaving the small rural town I'd been living in for the past 10 years. It was the best move for my family, but at the same time there were a lot of things I knew I'd miss. I was able to draw on those emotions for my characters, who wind up missing a lot of the things I did.

2. I think Frank was my favorite character! In the story, Frank is a ghost and still living in his house - his regret is so apparent and thoughtful, and it was easy to see that these emotions were so incredibly strong that he still maintained an "existence" after his death. How did you decide that one of the primary characters would be a ghost?

The whole first line of the novel popped into my head one morning in the shower, but I had no idea what to do with it, or who Frank was. But a few weeks later, I was viewing a house -- one of my freelance jobs was as a real estate writer -- and it had the most amazing attic, dry and peaceful and resembling a ship. The agent I was touring with told me it was possible that shipwrights had built it. From there, Frank just kind of moved in and took up residence. 

3. The afterlife is always a debatable topic, but it's important to many people who have lost loved ones. Sometimes the knowledge that there is an afterlife is more reassuring to someone not for themselves, but it provides a comfort to know that their loved one has moved on to a better life. Are there specific books, films, or events that helped you through the process to write about the afterlife, and Frank's perspective?

It was important to me that Frank's actions as a ghost be logical -- that they fit into the rules of the natural world. I'm the least scientific person in the world, probably, but I tried to keep what he could do -- in the beginning, particularly -- within the realm of what I thought of as reasonable. He couldn't just wave an arm and have a door downstairs shut, and he had to deal with the frustration of that limitation. I also read The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier several times during the course of writing Evenfall -- it approaches the afterlife in such an original and interesting way, and it is just such a great book. 

4. History is a significant piece of Evenfall as well - Aunt Gert certainly was an incredible woman in her life. Being a part of World War II as a nurse seems to truly develop the strength of her character as a strong woman who won't take any guff - what were your inspirations to develop Aunt Gert?

I read several biographies of women who served as nurses in World War II -- their tales were very inspiring. Also, my mom was a nurse in a very tough New England town in the 70s and 80s, and I drew a bit on what I remember of she and her friends during that time.

5. As a new author, what insights can you share for aspiring novelists?

There are so many blogs and websites and books out there with good advice -- take advantage of them! (I list my three favorite blogs on my website, and for books, I'm partial to Stephen King's On Writing.) I also tried to figure out how my favorite authors write so well -- how they break down a story in terms of pacing, why they use a certain point of view, how they handle aspects like backstory and flashbacks. When I'm stuck, I'll literally pick apart a scene by someone else to see why it works when my scene doesn't. 

6. What are your favorite books/authors?

I read pretty much everything, but I do have some favorites. Amy Bloom (especially A Blind Man Could See How Much I Love You), Lee Child, Alice Hoffman (Turtle Moon and Practical Magic), Diana Gabaldon, and Barbara Kingsolver are on my 'automatic buy' list. I also love Jane Austen, A.S. Byatt, J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien. 

7. What's next for you?

I'm working on a story about a family where, in every generation, one daughter is born with the power to make things disappear. It's a little bit more magical realism in terms of genre than Evenfall. It's about love and siblings and how we decide who 'belongs' and who doesn't. I just sent the first 50 pages to my agent, and I'm really excited about it.

Liz Michalski

Author Bio

Liz Michalski's first novel, EVENFALL, will be published in February 2011 by Berkley Books (Penguin).  She's been a report, an editor, a freelance writer, and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and private corporations.

In her previous life, she wrangled with ill-tempered horses and oversized show dogs.  These days she chases after small children and a medium-sized mutt.  She likes dark chocolate caramels, champagne, and licorice tea (preferably not all served at once).  In summer you'll find her visiting farmer's markets and trying to talk her family out of making her swim at the Connecticut shore.

The rest of the year she's home in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and son, hard at work on her next novel.

Note from Coffee and a Book Chick

Many thanks go to Liz Michalski for taking the time to interact with the book blogging community and her readers.  It goes a long way when someone who doesn't have to, but does, participate, and does it so genuinely and with such a good spirit.  I look forward to her next book!

In stores next week for February 2011 releases by Berkley Books (Penguin)!

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick

Hotel du Lac, by Anita Brookner surprised me.  The first forty or so pages, while beautifully written, were a tad tough to meander through at times.  But then, oh then, all of a sudden, and at some point I can't recall, I was quite happy -- it pulled me in and although it's a quiet and contemplative story, it was really quite interesting and I felt at home with it.

Edith Hope is a romance writer who writes under another name -- she's accomplished, but to be honest, she writes about feelings and events that she's never sure she'll ever have, or at least have forever.  She's withdrawn, and doesn't fit with her "friends."

Edith is sent away from "civilized" society in London to a quaint and quiet hotel in Switzerland following a scandal that it has been deemed should not occur amongst polite and learned men and women.  While there, she encounters a sad variety of characters that initially seem almost so uninteresting, that they are interesting.  Eventually, you are drawn into each one, into their nuances, their sad or internally destructive personalities. While one character, Mrs. Pusey initially impresses upon Edith that she is kind and lovely, it soon becomes evident that she's really just lacking in the same things that most of the hotel guests are without as well -- after all, why are they all sequestered in this hotel, away from family and friends, during a quiet time of season?  It seemed to be that they all were suffering in some way.

Do not expect a flurry of events in the winner of the Man Booker Prize of 1984.  Expect instead a quiet discussion, a studied review of a writer's perspective of those she meets and interacts with, amidst the background of an incredible hotel.  There is not a hurry from one thing to another.  It is a slow exercise of evaluation and word usage to describe each scene, moment, person.  Could it be considered tedious and boring to some?  Perhaps.  Could it also be viewed as deceptively pleasing, slowly building the undercurrent of anticipation for something, something brilliant and cunning to breach the water line and unfold its secret?  Yes.

At times, it was a bit humorous, but I found it to be an overall sad book, about people who were sad and who either were forced to be in exile by others, or simply had nowhere else that they could go.  It's an insightful and thoughtful novel on love, loss, and regret.  Although I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, I would say that if you like a quiet novel that delivers an introspective view on one's own life, then this sad little beauty is a book for you.

Every word is quotable in this beautiful and very short book, but this one I found delightful:

He was a man of few words, but those few words were judiciously selected, weighed for quality, and delivered with expertise.  Edith, used to the ruminative monologues that most people consider to be adequate for the purposes of rational discourse, used, moreover, to concocting the cunning and even learned periods which the characters in her books so spontaneously uttered, leaned back in her chair and smiled.  The sensation of being entertained by words was one which she encountered all too rarely.  People expect writers to entertain them, she reflected.  They consider that writers should be gratified simply by performing their task to the audience's satisfaction.  Like sycophants at court in the Middle Ages, dwarves, jongleurs.  And what about us?  Nobody thinks about entertaining us.

I look forward to reading more Anita Brookner novels.  Particularly when I learned from Thomas at My Porch that Ms. Brookner is now in her eighties and has written a book a year since her first published fiction novel in her early fifties.

Other fabulous book bloggers said this:
Carol's Notebook
Vintage Reads
Savidge Reads

Happy Reading,
Coffee and a Book Chick