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| Plot Summary of The Bay of Angels |
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"In her latest novel, "The Bay of Angels", Anita Brookner explores again the mother-daughter relationship, this time set against the background of the French Riviera.
Zoe Cunningham's isolated intimate relationship with her mother, Anne, is interrupted by Anne's second marriage to Simon, a much older man, and Anne's move to Nice where Simon owns a garish mansion. Zoe continues her life by attending university and taking up with a boyfriend, Adam, who teases her by frequent infidelities. Zoe visits Anne with Adam and is surprised and disgusted by Simon's arousal outside her bedroom when she is making love to Adam.
Soon afterwards, Simon dies and her mother, driven to hopelessness by her sudden widowhood, is consigned to a nursing home.
Zoe, at first in disbelief in her mother's withdrawal, makes plans to bring Anne back to London where they had lived, but eventually comes to realize that her mother will never live outside the nursing home.
Brookner alternates her themes of despair and loss with an emergence of love and renewal. Unusual for her, Brookner rescues Zoe from a duplication of her mother's live of sacrifice to one of vitality and joy."
Betty-Jeanne Korson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Bay of Angels |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- GENERAL--no other subplots apply
Inside culture (main char)
- French
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- Mother
because he/she is
- clinically depressed
Family, loving relations
Yes
Special relationship with
- mother
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- French
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- scholar
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 9 (quite a lot)
Ice Caps/Sea?
Yes
Where?
- Ocean
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of hetero sex
Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- little dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Anita Brookner Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 TJ Posuni
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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