Attempting to read all the Bookers has now
taken me to three libraries across the county and I’m starting to learn the
remaining titles off by heart, although I still take along my list! I stand there hopefully scanning the
shelves, my heart beats faster as I recognise the author and then…usually the
disappointment that it’s unfortunately another of their books. However, occasionally author and title
combine and I happily snatch it from the shelf and check it out. Although I do miss the librarian
and the chats you used to have about the books you were taking out. And when I was growing up I was always
fascinated by how they used to slide the book along the counter which triggered
a clunk, followed by the date stamp with another satisfying thud. The machine, despite very cleverly
working out which books you are taking out even when they are in a pile just
isn’t the same!
Anyway this most recent Booker was rather
non-descript really. It was
readable, had some quite engaging characters and an interesting premise but it
felt like something was missing that would have made it really good, but I’m
not sure what!
The Hotel du Lac of the title is a hotel in
Switzerland where the protagonist Edith Hope, an author, goes to stay to escape
a scandal at home which is only explained towards the end of the book. She observes the other guests at the
hotel and gradually befriends them and through her time at the hotel she
reflects on various aspects of her life. I felt as though I didn’t get much of
a feel for the atmosphere of the setting although Brookner’s characters were
more fully realised. And that’s
pretty much it. It wasn’t a
particular highlight but then it wasn’t a chore to read either – just rather
ordinary.
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