The Bay of Angels

By: Anita Brookner

Narrated by: Eleanor Bron

Moving between Nice and London, The Bay of Angels makes the point that not everyone needs conventional relationships to be happy. It relates the story of Zoe, whose life changes when her widowed mother marries a wealthy older man and moves to Nice.

©2001 Anita Brookner (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A "celebration" of passivity and death

As always, Eleanor Bron is a superb reader. The book, though, which is about characters of an astounding lack of vitality, itself lacks any narrative drive. The least interesting Anita Brookner I've read or listened to.

The signifigance of small things

As with so many of Brookner's novels, the central feature of this short book is the inner life of a lonely woman. A bleak prospect? Yes, but also a rewarding one that offers qualified hope along the way as life surprises her. A life in the shade may also be enlivened by the sun breaking through.

Some regard this as a minor work and, to be fair, it is a short book without much narrative substance. However Brookner is such a beautifully balanced writer, such an unobtrusive but impeccable stylist, that the spell is cast and the significance of small things becomes compelling.

The experience is greatly enhanced by a superb reading from Eleanor Bron. Her reading is a performance, and it is an exemplary one.