Family and Friends

Sofka gazes ahead, with her family's future before her…

Sofka Dorn, widowed matriarch of a German Jewish family living in England, rules her four children with an exacting hand. Frederick, the eldest son, is a disgracefully charming 'ladies' man and, like his flirtatious sister, Betty, is adored and indulged by his mother. Alfred and Mimi, both steady and solitary, are a disappointment to Sofka, who values strength and boldness of spirit. But, as their story unfolds, it becomes clear that the lives each must live and the times each must endure will change them in ways even Sokfa could never have imagined.

Works brilliantly.

Daily Telegraph

Brookner has a merciless comic gift.

Sunday Times