After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie
by Jean Rhys
First published 1931 · English · 191 pages
- Novels
- Love and romance
- Family saga
Set in Paris and London between the wars, this novel follows Julia Martin, a woman in her middle years whose long relationship with a wealthy man has just ended. Given a small payment and left to manage alone, she moves between cheap hotels and cafes, and returns to London to see her sick mother and a disapproving family. The book looks closely at loneliness, ageing and the hard economics of a woman's life without support, in Rhys's clear and restrained style.
Quotes
She seemed to be contemplating a future at once monotonous and insecure with an indifference which was after all a sort of hard-won courage. (chapter 3)
It was the darkness that got you. It was heavy darkness, greasy and compelling. It made walls round you, and shut you in so that you felt like you could not breathe. (chapter 3)
She said 'darling' with her lips, but her heart was dead. (chapter 5)
The last time you were happy about nothing; the first time you were afraid about nothing. Which came first? (chapter 12)