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drexedit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sed's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sapphire525's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.75
burialshroud's review against another edition
2.0
Thought I'd give this book a go because it was advertised in the back of [b:Tin Toys Trilogy|17172496|Tin Toys Trilogy|Ursula Holden|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358471971s/17172496.jpg|24505519] by Ursula Holden, probably my favourite book from last year. I was also lured in by the Virago Modern Classics Designer edition hardback. I've got a couple of these, they're nice to handle and look well on the shelf.
Good Behaviour deals with the decline of an upper-class Anglo-Irish family as the money starts to run out and the family's values and behaviours become anachronistic. I didn't particularly enjoy Good Behaviour. It was slow to start, and quite nasty. Aroon St Charles is the narrator. She careens through life, dubiously heedless of what's going on around her. Whenever Aroon says something especially oblivious, whoever she's talking to will cock an eyebrow. Wake up Aroon! You mum's a block of ice, your brother's gay and your dad is banging anyone who leans over too far. I get that it's a satire, that these dismissive, entitled jerks are acting as though they're still on top when they're clearly not, it's funny isn't it? Ha ha ha, my sides, please! If any of the main characters could have been given even a teeny tiny ounce of humanity, that would have made the book a little easier. I don't require every book I read to be all about me, but an in would be nice, just a little something to relate to.
Good Behaviour deals with the decline of an upper-class Anglo-Irish family as the money starts to run out and the family's values and behaviours become anachronistic. I didn't particularly enjoy Good Behaviour. It was slow to start, and quite nasty. Aroon St Charles is the narrator. She careens through life, dubiously heedless of what's going on around her. Whenever Aroon says something especially oblivious, whoever she's talking to will cock an eyebrow. Wake up Aroon! You mum's a block of ice, your brother's gay and your dad is banging anyone who leans over too far. I get that it's a satire, that these dismissive, entitled jerks are acting as though they're still on top when they're clearly not, it's funny isn't it? Ha ha ha, my sides, please! If any of the main characters could have been given even a teeny tiny ounce of humanity, that would have made the book a little easier. I don't require every book I read to be all about me, but an in would be nice, just a little something to relate to.
denisec2021's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wtb_michael's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This is a gem - funny, sad and narrated by a brilliantly oblivious main character. A crumbling Irish-Anglo family, stiff upper lips, tragedy and biting satire - really, really enjoyable.
plnodwyer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bronwynmb's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good. Keane’s writing is beautiful. It was a bit hard to read sometimes because Aroon is just so oblivious and caught up in herself - the number of times I thought “oh Aroon!”... I have more Molly Keane to read now and I’m looking forward to it. This was very well done.
emmkayt's review against another edition
4.0
A clever, poisonous novel about largely unclever, poisonous people, a snobbish, financially distressed Anglo-Irish family. They do no work, and are contemptuous of anyone who does, horrified by the effrontery of tradespeople and staffers who expect to be paid for their services. Their home is in a state of decay and their sense of entitlement is endless.
The narrator is the daughter of the house, Aroon St Charles. As the book opens, she is in her 50s, ignoring the protestations of a loyal staffer and bringing her elderly mother a rabbit mousse that her mother most decidedly does not want. The tale then loops back through childhood (“Even then I knew how to ignore things. I knew how to behave.”) and young adulthood, during which bosomy Aroon’s physical being is at odds with the aesthetic of the 1920s but she allows herself to have hopes of her brother’s friend, Richard. Various unspeakable things happen and are, as one would expect, never spoken of. Resentments congeal, and the scene from the outset of the book is better understood.
The narrator is the daughter of the house, Aroon St Charles. As the book opens, she is in her 50s, ignoring the protestations of a loyal staffer and bringing her elderly mother a rabbit mousse that her mother most decidedly does not want. The tale then loops back through childhood (“Even then I knew how to ignore things. I knew how to behave.”) and young adulthood, during which bosomy Aroon’s physical being is at odds with the aesthetic of the 1920s but she allows herself to have hopes of her brother’s friend, Richard. Various unspeakable things happen and are, as one would expect, never spoken of. Resentments congeal, and the scene from the outset of the book is better understood.