Hotel du Lac

Now this is a fabulous novel !
I was immediately drawn into Edith Hope’s life, the main character. The book starts with her arrival in a Swiss hotel, where she has to spend some time away from home following an embarrassment. Edith is a romance-writer, used to solitude, but soon she is getting involved with the other guests at the hotel, mainly Mrs Pusey and her daughter, a rather glamorous pair, that holds a certain fascination for Edith. Mrs Pusey is still charming and self possessed at the age of 78, her daughter Jennifer (a less convincing version of her mother, also described as “gamine”) devoted to her.The Puseys are spending their time hunting luxury clothes on the costs of Mrs Pusey’ deceased husband.They also dominate the hotel’s social Szene. Edith gets taken under their wing, half willingly.
Also impressive is Monica, a lady being sent to the hotel by her husband after failing to produce an offspring. Edith.
Edith observes her extravagant and unhealthy eating habits (she refuses regular meals but consumes cakes), her extreme thinness and beauty. Eventually, Monica and Edith spend more time with each other. Furthermore there is an unfortunate older deaf lady who has been abandoned at the hotel by rich relatives.
With time, the reader learns about Edith’s circumstances: She lives by herself but is in a long time affair with a married man, David. Her best friend has tried to bring her into a “decent” marriage.Edith initially complied-but pulled out last minute on the wedding day, when she sees her friend and the dull husband standing in front of the registry office….This causes such upset, that her friends have sent her to the Hotel Du lac.
Edith reflects about her situation repeatedly in letters to David (very enjoyable for the reader).Author Anita Brookner is always very strong in the description of moods, induced by impression from light, landscape or human encounters. We can therefore literally live at the hotel with Edith.
In the course of the novel, a handsome gentleman , Philipp joins our group and is attracted to Edith. They are starting to spend time on walks together and eventually,he proposes to Edith, for an unusual type of marriage, which provides status and comfort for both but is devoid of love. Edith contemplates agreeing to this, but first wishes to write one last letter to Davis, her lover.Having written this, she is about in the hotel at night and catches her new husband-to-be coming out of Jennifer’s room in a nightgown…In reaction, she destroys her letter to David and orders a taxi to the train station instead !
This double triumph of a lady’s independence via declining two marriage proposals in one novel is being presented in a half humorous, half serious way. Just as Edith’s romantic novels, “Hotel Du Lac” seems to ponder around the question: what is becoming to a woman, in which role and circumstances does she thrive best. Edith is not impressed by the variations of woman’s lives she can observe at the hotel and she clearly choses her own way.
There are many insights into her thoughts and inner life, that allow the reader to build their own image of this character.
Anita Brookner has got an excellent writing style, her descriptions of people and situations are always sharp and often very witty. Here, the personnel at this very conservative Hotel also get their important roles. (Example: upon Edith’s arrival, the Hotelier wonders about her name: Edith Hope - not quite English, and maybe not quite a lady ?)
I did love this book and devoured it with great joy.
Not the strongest part was maybe the relationship with Philipp at the hotel-it did not seem so likely, that she would attract another proposal that easily, this was a little forced for effect.
In summary however I can recommend this to all.

This was recommended in The Daily Mail UK July 2016 for summer reading, and I bought the e-copy. I found it very disappointing. The surprise twist that was promised was a damp squib!