Altered States
Worth buying if: Anita Brookner’s cool, exact prose.
Skip it if: You need plot-twisty momentum and big set pieces.
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9780679773252. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
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Summary
Altered States traces the quiet fallout of desire and compromise as a reserved professional weighs marriage, memory, and the cost of obsession in late-20th-century London. Brookner’s precision makes every hesitation and misstep sting.
Why this book now
A concise Brookner from 1998, ideal for rediscovering her cool, exact take on intimacy and self-deception.
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Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- Anita Brookner’s cool, exact prose.
- London novels about longing, marriage, and self-deception.
- You need plot-twisty momentum and big set pieces.
- You prefer sprawling casts to a close, solitary perspective.
- You are specifically hunting for the newest framing rather than a backlist perspective.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9780679773252
Worth buying if: Anita Brookner’s cool, exact prose.
Skip it if: You need plot-twisty momentum and big set pieces.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Light Short sit-downs
At 240 pages, Altered States is a concentrated, evening-or-two read that rewards unbroken attention.
What stands out here
Random House Inc’s 1998 publication presents Brookner’s novel in a clean, compact 240-page edition.
Best way to approach it
Take it slowly, letting Brookner’s exact sentences and social observations build toward the novel’s understated reckoning.
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Exact edition: ISBN-13 9780679773252
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.