Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Rules of Engagement

By: Anita Brookner
Narrated by: Joanna David
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.33

Buy for $21.33

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

"I have come to believe that there can be no adequate preparation for the sadness that comes at the end, the sheer regret that one's life is finished, that one's failures remain indelible and one's successes illusory."

Elizabeth and Betsy are old school friends. Born in 1948 and unready for the sixties, they had high hopes of the lives they would lead, even though their circumstances were so different. When they meet again in their thirties, Elizabeth, married to the safe, older Digby, is relieving the boredom of a cosy but childless marriage with an affair. Betsy seems to have found real romance in Paris. Are their lives taking off, or are they just making more of the wrong choices without even realising it?

©2004 Anita Brookner (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Rules of Engagement

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brookner's London life

Although she was not an early starter, as a novelist Anita Brookner was prolific and highly skilled. She also created and explored a territory in a manner uniquely her own. Her books are London books, through and through. The changing of the seasons, long walks through streets and parks (all her protagonists seek the solace and escape provided by thinking and walking), small flats and sumptuous houses, the V&A, the river and all else that a solitary mind might consider. This time, in this familiar setting, a female narrator tells her own story and that of a childhood girl friend when, as adults, their fates intersect again due to a man. Read with insight and furnished with subtle character creation, this superb reading by Joanna David does Brookner full justice. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Harsh Reader

Joanna David, the reader, gives the main character (who narrates the book) a very harsh, strident voice. As a result, any sympathy for this primary character is lacking, and we don't feel the nuances of her behavior or thoughts. Anita Brookner has a unique way of presenting interiority, and that gets lost in this unfortunately narrow presentation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The English language

Anita Brookner writes with such profound knowledge and love of the English language, it warms the heart!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful