I really don't know where this week has gone to and now it's the weekend already! I've just had the front garden done with blue slate chippings - as I got really fed up with the lawn which never really looked right in any case and didn't grow very well in patches where it got too dry and where it got no sun. We've still got the hedge and the Rowan tree so it's not completely barren. Next door one side had their pocket handkerchief done as well. At the moment it looks very bright but it will look all right once it's been rained on.
I'm currently still indulging in an orgy of Jane Austen; reading Mansfield Park and listening to Sense and Sensibility. I'm also reading The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas which is about a man at a friend's BBQ who slaps a child - not his own. The book is about the repercussions from that one single act has amongst the friends who were at the BBQ when the parents of the child go to the police.
What a good idea for a novel you might think as it provides lot of opportunities for showing characters in their ordinary lives and the effect of one ill thought out action on them and their relationships. But it is set in Melbourne and the culture there must be completely different from the UK. There is much use of heavy duty swear words, casual racism and a fascination with violent imagery. At least two of the main characters - male - are having affairs.
It is clear the men are the boss at home. They walk into a room and change the music their wives are listening to and insist on their choices. Wives get bawled out if they talk about their lives to anyone and the husbands are always thinking about smashing their faces in even if they regard themselves as happily married. Not pleasant. The writing is good and it would be even more powerful if the bad language, violence, misogyny and racism weren't there. It is perfectly possible to indicate that a character swears without using the words.
For light entertainment I'm also reading Victoria Clayton's Dance with Me.
I have received today - from Amazon - my copy of Leigh Russell's Road Closed - the month before official publication so I will probably be able to post my interview with Leigh AND a review of the book at the same time. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Showing posts with label Victoria Clayton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victoria Clayton. Show all posts
Friday, 28 May 2010
Saturday, 29 December 2007
Moonshine
I have nearly finished Victoria Clayton's 'Moonshine'. This is a mammoth effort as the book is almost 700 pages long. It is well written - could almost qualify as literary fiction - and is full of memorable characters.
Bobbie - Roberta to her parents - has an affair with married MP, Burgo Latimer, which is exposed in the press after nearly a year. So far so ordinary. Bobbie decides to escape and gets herself a job in Ireland as housekeeper at a castle. At first she wonders whether she's done the right thing, especially after a pleasant journey through Ireland with Kit, a literary agent she meets on the ferry, she is met at a deserted bus station by someone who appears to be a tramp. There follows a wet trip through deserted countryside in an open horse and cart.
The castle is run down, and in need of costly repairs. Bobbie at first is not universally welcomed. Constance is the owner's sister and is wholly in favour of Bobbie staying as her own cooking skills are in danger of poisoning the household. Then there are the three children - Flurry (short for Florence), a slightly autistic boy who is building a steam engine; Flavia - who is growing up fast and always reads at the dining table and dislikes sad books; Liddy - Phylidda - a former anorexic teenager.
Violet - the owner's wife is in her 30s but is confined to bed as a virtual vegetable after a stroke - is the mother of the three children. She can hardly speak and is fed only fluids. (the mad woman in the attic ). Then there is Maud - Violet's mother and Finn - the owner of the castle who is also a member of the Senate. There is also Sissy who always dresses as though appearing on stage, and who used to be a member of a circus - she is reputed to be Finn's mistress but no one really knows. The final member of the household is Eugene, a poet, who was stood up at the altar and still wears the same clothes he was wearing then. He came to dinner because people felt sorry for him, and is still there a year later. There are also 3 servants - two women and a man - all of whom are usually drunk from the illegally distilled whiskey brewed by Timsy in the apple store.
Bobbie finds solace in the domestic tasks and enjoys cooking. The household gradually warms to her because at last the food is edible. She starts to clean and re-decorate the castle as well as planting fruit and vegetables in the walled garden which has been allowed to go to seed. Everyone gets involved. She persuades Flurry to eat other things apart from sausages, and manages to help Violet to regain consciousness and her speech, with the help of a physiotherapist and speech therapist.
Finn, the owner, does not appear until about half way through the book and is not at all sure at first that he likes the improvements, but gradually gets used to them as nearly the whole household is involved and enthusiastic. Bobbie finds by this time she has recovered from her broken heart, and is faced with several possible suitors including Kit, but she realises - as Violet is recovering her senses - that it is Finn she loves.
The characters are eccentric and lovable and the descriptions of country living are enjoyable. One reviewer on Amazon mentioned she was a little fed up with a heroine who succeeds at everything she tries, but I feel this is a little unjust. She has to work hard for her success and starts off at a disadvantage. Maybe that reader had forgotten that she had been running her parents' large house before she went to Ireland and would have had most of the skills required.
The relationships between the characters are complex and intriguing though ultimately satisfying from the the reader's point of view. I am thoroughly enjoying it and will be sorry when I finish it.
Bobbie - Roberta to her parents - has an affair with married MP, Burgo Latimer, which is exposed in the press after nearly a year. So far so ordinary. Bobbie decides to escape and gets herself a job in Ireland as housekeeper at a castle. At first she wonders whether she's done the right thing, especially after a pleasant journey through Ireland with Kit, a literary agent she meets on the ferry, she is met at a deserted bus station by someone who appears to be a tramp. There follows a wet trip through deserted countryside in an open horse and cart.
The castle is run down, and in need of costly repairs. Bobbie at first is not universally welcomed. Constance is the owner's sister and is wholly in favour of Bobbie staying as her own cooking skills are in danger of poisoning the household. Then there are the three children - Flurry (short for Florence), a slightly autistic boy who is building a steam engine; Flavia - who is growing up fast and always reads at the dining table and dislikes sad books; Liddy - Phylidda - a former anorexic teenager.
Violet - the owner's wife is in her 30s but is confined to bed as a virtual vegetable after a stroke - is the mother of the three children. She can hardly speak and is fed only fluids. (the mad woman in the attic ). Then there is Maud - Violet's mother and Finn - the owner of the castle who is also a member of the Senate. There is also Sissy who always dresses as though appearing on stage, and who used to be a member of a circus - she is reputed to be Finn's mistress but no one really knows. The final member of the household is Eugene, a poet, who was stood up at the altar and still wears the same clothes he was wearing then. He came to dinner because people felt sorry for him, and is still there a year later. There are also 3 servants - two women and a man - all of whom are usually drunk from the illegally distilled whiskey brewed by Timsy in the apple store.
Bobbie finds solace in the domestic tasks and enjoys cooking. The household gradually warms to her because at last the food is edible. She starts to clean and re-decorate the castle as well as planting fruit and vegetables in the walled garden which has been allowed to go to seed. Everyone gets involved. She persuades Flurry to eat other things apart from sausages, and manages to help Violet to regain consciousness and her speech, with the help of a physiotherapist and speech therapist.
Finn, the owner, does not appear until about half way through the book and is not at all sure at first that he likes the improvements, but gradually gets used to them as nearly the whole household is involved and enthusiastic. Bobbie finds by this time she has recovered from her broken heart, and is faced with several possible suitors including Kit, but she realises - as Violet is recovering her senses - that it is Finn she loves.
The characters are eccentric and lovable and the descriptions of country living are enjoyable. One reviewer on Amazon mentioned she was a little fed up with a heroine who succeeds at everything she tries, but I feel this is a little unjust. She has to work hard for her success and starts off at a disadvantage. Maybe that reader had forgotten that she had been running her parents' large house before she went to Ireland and would have had most of the skills required.
The relationships between the characters are complex and intriguing though ultimately satisfying from the the reader's point of view. I am thoroughly enjoying it and will be sorry when I finish it.
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
It's a lovely sunny day
It is as well - after yesterday's dull and wet it made a pleasant change to wake up to bright sunlight. My other half was sick last night and is inclined to blame too much indulgence in chocolates and Christmas pudding. I thought we were doing very well to have got to about 5.00pm without hm feeling ill. His digestive system doesn't always work properly so I suppose neither of us was surprised. He is still feeling fragile today and so has retired to bed.
We watched 'Finding Nemo' on television yesterday. Yes I know - very juvenile - but I love these animations. The films always contain something for adults as well - such as the references to other films as in 'Shrek' - and of course the humour appeals to any age group. The fish with a very poor short term memory - Dorry - not sure the spelling is correct - is my favourite character in 'Nemo'. She always reminds me of those moments we're all familiar with - going into a room and trying to remember why you went in there in the first place.
Today I am taking it easy - apart from loading the washing machine at intervals. I suddenly realised I'd got masses of the stuff sitting glaring at me in the utility room. I shall also be doing some writing a bit later on. I'm reluctant to write more about my current project in case I put a jinx on it.
I've just started reading Victoria Clayton's 'Moonshine' - nearly 700 pages of it. Sort of more up market chick lit I suppose. As I like to have more than one book on the go at once I shall probably start something else before too long.
Happy Boxing Day - or happy St Stephen's day if you prefer.
We watched 'Finding Nemo' on television yesterday. Yes I know - very juvenile - but I love these animations. The films always contain something for adults as well - such as the references to other films as in 'Shrek' - and of course the humour appeals to any age group. The fish with a very poor short term memory - Dorry - not sure the spelling is correct - is my favourite character in 'Nemo'. She always reminds me of those moments we're all familiar with - going into a room and trying to remember why you went in there in the first place.
Today I am taking it easy - apart from loading the washing machine at intervals. I suddenly realised I'd got masses of the stuff sitting glaring at me in the utility room. I shall also be doing some writing a bit later on. I'm reluctant to write more about my current project in case I put a jinx on it.
I've just started reading Victoria Clayton's 'Moonshine' - nearly 700 pages of it. Sort of more up market chick lit I suppose. As I like to have more than one book on the go at once I shall probably start something else before too long.
Happy Boxing Day - or happy St Stephen's day if you prefer.
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