“Anita Brookner has staked out a distinctive territory … and made it clear that she is one of the finest novelists of her generation.”
— The New York Times
“The meaty topics that Brookner assays — wifehood, motherhood, and lust — are a pleasure to follow.”
— The New Yorker
“Brookner’s vision of human behavior is scrupulously honest, without ever being cruel.”
— Hilma Wolitzer, Chicago Tribune
“[Brookner’s] strength has been her honest, sympathetic portrayal of a person’s secret thoughts, fears and desires — usually passionately at odds with one’s outward demeanor.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Anita Brookner works a spell on the reader; being under it is both an education and a delight.”
— Washington Post Book World
“Brookner’s portraits of inner life are unsurpassable — always penetrating and astoundingly on the mark.”
— Cosmopolitan