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michael_levy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mariags_00's review against another edition
4.0
Freya is not a perfect character; she is selfish and headstrong. She wants things done and expects other things, which she then doesn't apply to herself. However, Quinn makes her memorable and ambitious; she is hard-working, firm in her beliefs, and loyal to her loved ones. She is so human.
I loved how so many historical facts and events were thrown in; it is proper to what life in the 40s, 50s and 60s would have been. Moreover, Quinn's ability to encompass the mentality of the time is very well done because you can see their reasoning and how it makes sense for them.
My only downfall was the lack of relationship between Freya and Nancy; it was teased but ultimately no gayness there. Because of this, I was going to give it four stars, but I thought it was essential to show how it is. Some people are not gay, and friendship is all they can give you; this book shows that very well.
I loved how so many historical facts and events were thrown in; it is proper to what life in the 40s, 50s and 60s would have been. Moreover, Quinn's ability to encompass the mentality of the time is very well done because you can see their reasoning and how it makes sense for them.
My only downfall was the lack of relationship between Freya and Nancy; it was teased but ultimately no gayness there. Because of this, I was going to give it four stars, but I thought it was essential to show how it is. Some people are not gay, and friendship is all they can give you; this book shows that very well.
verityw's review
2.0
***Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****
I'm quite confused about this book. I liked Quinn's last book Curtain Call - and was interested in the idea of this - particularly as it's tangentially connected to the characters in Curtain Call. That last book was a murder mystery (if quite a literary fiction-y one) and this definitely is literary fiction, or wants to be.
It is a coming of age story that starts at the end of the war and goes through until the 1960s and covers a lot of the ground that you would expect a book about an ambitious woman who has tasted freedom and the world of work during the war to cover. But Freya is deeply dislikable - and doesn't ever seem to learn or grow from her mistakes. As I've said before, you don't have to like characters to want to read about them, but Freya is too far over that line - she's arrogant, mean, judgmental, happy to walk all over people and use them (except in a couple of notable and out of character seeming moments). There is a core cast around her, of whom Nancy is the only one I cared about - and she makes some dumb decisions of her own.
I really struggled with why I disliked Freya so much, when I was able to get past some similar decisions/traits in other books (the younger generation in the Cazalets make some bad decisions in the war and post war period but I didn't have as strong a reaction to them as I did to Freya) and I think it's probably because of her lack of self awareness and utter conviction in her own superiority. Freya is very quick to see faults in other people - but incapable of seeing that she often does similar things. It takes a lot for me to not get outraged on behalf of workplace sexism, but when Freya's not getting the breaks she thinks she deserves, I was thinking back to her harsh critique of Nancy's novel back in university days and wondering if it was payback for someone who isn't as good or important as she thinks she is!
Now you can probably tell from this that I think it would make a great book club book - I've written loads about this despite the fact that I didn't really like it much. There are a few clunky bits of writing, but most of my gripes are with the characters and the story not the writing. Thought provoking, but I'm not sure I'll be reading the next book from Quinn.
I'm quite confused about this book. I liked Quinn's last book Curtain Call - and was interested in the idea of this - particularly as it's tangentially connected to the characters in Curtain Call. That last book was a murder mystery (if quite a literary fiction-y one) and this definitely is literary fiction, or wants to be.
It is a coming of age story that starts at the end of the war and goes through until the 1960s and covers a lot of the ground that you would expect a book about an ambitious woman who has tasted freedom and the world of work during the war to cover. But Freya is deeply dislikable - and doesn't ever seem to learn or grow from her mistakes. As I've said before, you don't have to like characters to want to read about them, but Freya is too far over that line - she's arrogant, mean, judgmental, happy to walk all over people and use them (except in a couple of notable and out of character seeming moments). There is a core cast around her, of whom Nancy is the only one I cared about - and she makes some dumb decisions of her own.
I really struggled with why I disliked Freya so much, when I was able to get past some similar decisions/traits in other books (the younger generation in the Cazalets make some bad decisions in the war and post war period but I didn't have as strong a reaction to them as I did to Freya) and I think it's probably because of her lack of self awareness and utter conviction in her own superiority. Freya is very quick to see faults in other people - but incapable of seeing that she often does similar things. It takes a lot for me to not get outraged on behalf of workplace sexism, but when Freya's not getting the breaks she thinks she deserves, I was thinking back to her harsh critique of Nancy's novel back in university days and wondering if it was payback for someone who isn't as good or important as she thinks she is!
Now you can probably tell from this that I think it would make a great book club book - I've written loads about this despite the fact that I didn't really like it much. There are a few clunky bits of writing, but most of my gripes are with the characters and the story not the writing. Thought provoking, but I'm not sure I'll be reading the next book from Quinn.
poppymaeve's review
3.0
"Freya" is a lighthearted and enjoyable read. Okay, perhaps lighthearted isn't the right word. It has the feeling of a book written in the 40s-60s about a girl trying to make her way in the post-war world, but a non-censored book. It wasn't quaint and overtly feminine as perhaps one would expect, the setting moving from post-war Oxford to London in the 1960s. The protagonist has an awfully foul mouth and finds herself in...certain situations that defiantly wouldn't have graced the pages of a writer contemporary to the time. In this way it is refreshing. Quinn also sheds light on how "career women" were treated at this time, an endlessly interesting topic that never ceases to amaze me.
It is also probably worth my saying that I only got this book out of the library because I liked the cover. I didn't even read the blurb.
Spoiler
I was also hoping all throughout the book that something romantic would happen between Freya and Nancy. I adore strong female friendships, so I found it strange that I was hoping this (as it may devalue their friendship and make it just about sex), but it just somehow felt right.It is also probably worth my saying that I only got this book out of the library because I liked the cover. I didn't even read the blurb.
opal360's review against another edition
3.0
A sprawling and uneven novel that I wanted to like more than I actually did. Freya represents a new breed of modern woman, forging a career in the aftermath of World War II and fighting her colleagues' misogyny all the way. Some parts were fascinating - say, the section involving her friend the intelligence officer at risk of blackmail. Others left me cold - say, the endless socialising with seedy artistic types, all pretty much interchangeable. In particular, I did not enjoy the overly graphic gynecological episode towards the end of the book. I can cope fine with blood in my fiction but I think there are some things we just don't need to read about! Especially when the novel as a whole skims over so many other more interesting aspects of Freya's life and experience.
cloudfarmer's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
ljbentley27's review
5.0
ISA TALKS ABOUT...
Lisa Talks About…
LOST IN A BOOK SOMEWHERE. SEND TEA.
5TH AUGUST 2019
REVIEW: FREYA BY ANTHONY QUINN
Title:Freya
Author: Anthony Quinn
Pages: 464 Pages
Publisher: Random House UK
The Blurb
London, May 1945. Freya Wyley, twenty, meets Nancy Holdaway, eighteen, amid the wild celebrations of VE Day, the prelude to a devoted and competitive friendship that will endure on and off for the next two decades. Freya, wilful, ambitious, outspoken, pursues a career in newspapers which the chauvinism of Fleet Street and her own impatience conspire to thwart, while Nancy, gentler, less self-confident, struggles to get her first novel published. Both friends become entangled at university with Robert Cosway, a charismatic young man whose own ambition will have a momentous bearing on their lives.
Flitting from war-haunted Oxford to the bright new shallows of the 1960s, Freya plots the unpredictable course of a woman’s life and loves against a backdrop of Soho pornographers, theatrical peacocks, willowy models, priapic painters, homophobic blackmailers, political careerists.
Beneath the relentless thrum of changing times and a city being reshaped, we glimpse the eternal: the battles fought by women in pursuit of independence, the intimate mysteries of the human heart, and the search for love. Stretching from the Nuremberg war trials to the advent of the TV celebrity, from innocence abroad to bitter experience at home, Freya presents the portrait of an extraordinary woman taking arms against a sea of political and personal tumult.
The Review
I loved this book.
Freya is the brilliant story of the eponymous character in post-war Britain and her turbulent friendship with Nancy.
Freya is not the most likeable of characters and Quinn has made sure that the reader sees that her flaws are obvious but also that the things that she dislikes most about people, society, and social morals are the faux pas that she keeps producing.
Even though Freya can be very unlikable so can Nancy. You find yourself yelling at both of them as they both make mistakes time and time again. Quinn really shows the truth about friendship. The upsides and the downsides and just how difficult sustaining a friendship can be.
I really loved reading Freya. It is by no means a small book but I wanted more. The story did not need more and I was satisfied with the story as a whole but I just loved it so much. I was bereft when it was over.
Freya by Anthony Quinn is available now.
Lisa Talks About…
LOST IN A BOOK SOMEWHERE. SEND TEA.
5TH AUGUST 2019
REVIEW: FREYA BY ANTHONY QUINN
Title:Freya
Author: Anthony Quinn
Pages: 464 Pages
Publisher: Random House UK
The Blurb
London, May 1945. Freya Wyley, twenty, meets Nancy Holdaway, eighteen, amid the wild celebrations of VE Day, the prelude to a devoted and competitive friendship that will endure on and off for the next two decades. Freya, wilful, ambitious, outspoken, pursues a career in newspapers which the chauvinism of Fleet Street and her own impatience conspire to thwart, while Nancy, gentler, less self-confident, struggles to get her first novel published. Both friends become entangled at university with Robert Cosway, a charismatic young man whose own ambition will have a momentous bearing on their lives.
Flitting from war-haunted Oxford to the bright new shallows of the 1960s, Freya plots the unpredictable course of a woman’s life and loves against a backdrop of Soho pornographers, theatrical peacocks, willowy models, priapic painters, homophobic blackmailers, political careerists.
Beneath the relentless thrum of changing times and a city being reshaped, we glimpse the eternal: the battles fought by women in pursuit of independence, the intimate mysteries of the human heart, and the search for love. Stretching from the Nuremberg war trials to the advent of the TV celebrity, from innocence abroad to bitter experience at home, Freya presents the portrait of an extraordinary woman taking arms against a sea of political and personal tumult.
The Review
I loved this book.
Freya is the brilliant story of the eponymous character in post-war Britain and her turbulent friendship with Nancy.
Freya is not the most likeable of characters and Quinn has made sure that the reader sees that her flaws are obvious but also that the things that she dislikes most about people, society, and social morals are the faux pas that she keeps producing.
Even though Freya can be very unlikable so can Nancy. You find yourself yelling at both of them as they both make mistakes time and time again. Quinn really shows the truth about friendship. The upsides and the downsides and just how difficult sustaining a friendship can be.
I really loved reading Freya. It is by no means a small book but I wanted more. The story did not need more and I was satisfied with the story as a whole but I just loved it so much. I was bereft when it was over.
Freya by Anthony Quinn is available now.
elliethebookreader's review
4.0
Many thanks go to @Christina who lent me this book.
An intoxicating and fascinating (to the point of me not being able to put it down, despite needing to prepare for an exam) tale of a unique strong-minded self-confident stubborn girl. The story follows her from being a twenty-year, newly dispatched from WRENS, celebrating Victory day and trying to find her place in the world, only on the brink of recovery from the shock of Second World War and full of people of "Lost Generation". The second part of the book shows her in her late twenties, living the life of a succesful journalist, fiercely defending her principles and yet struggling with a diffucult task of making sense of personal relationships. Freya is neither bad, nor good. She is simply one of the many people, who is trying to live this life, how they want to. Her abrasive language, brisk manner, lack of desire to conform to other people's expectations get her quite a few enemies, especially in the dominantly male world of uptight self-righteous journalists. However, this does not deter her in the slightest and she is contempt enough with those who matter most, her closest friends, her family.
The final part shows the main heroine in her mid-thirties, returning to London after 7 years of absence, because of the quarrel she had with her best friend, Nancy, who did not believe in the betrayal of their mutual friend and the latter's beloved. Quite a heart-breaking scene, their argument. And I loved how real and life-like it was. Although, I must say, 7 years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge. Even for such a stubborn girl as Freya.
The book did remind me a lot of The Little Life, although somehow it did not touch me as deeply, it still is one of the best books (excellent writing and a gripping story-line) that I read in a while.
The hope I have for my future is to be at least somewhat as bald as Freya.
"What is the most valuable luxury? Time. It is ineffable and ungraspable, and yet most mysterious of all, it is free. And those who spend it properly are the richest people of all."
An intoxicating and fascinating (to the point of me not being able to put it down, despite needing to prepare for an exam) tale of a unique strong-minded self-confident stubborn girl. The story follows her from being a twenty-year, newly dispatched from WRENS, celebrating Victory day and trying to find her place in the world, only on the brink of recovery from the shock of Second World War and full of people of "Lost Generation". The second part of the book shows her in her late twenties, living the life of a succesful journalist, fiercely defending her principles and yet struggling with a diffucult task of making sense of personal relationships. Freya is neither bad, nor good. She is simply one of the many people, who is trying to live this life, how they want to. Her abrasive language, brisk manner, lack of desire to conform to other people's expectations get her quite a few enemies, especially in the dominantly male world of uptight self-righteous journalists. However, this does not deter her in the slightest and she is contempt enough with those who matter most, her closest friends, her family.
The final part shows the main heroine in her mid-thirties, returning to London after 7 years of absence, because of the quarrel she had with her best friend, Nancy, who did not believe in the betrayal of their mutual friend and the latter's beloved. Quite a heart-breaking scene, their argument. And I loved how real and life-like it was. Although, I must say, 7 years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge. Even for such a stubborn girl as Freya.
The book did remind me a lot of The Little Life, although somehow it did not touch me as deeply, it still is one of the best books (excellent writing and a gripping story-line) that I read in a while.
The hope I have for my future is to be at least somewhat as bald as Freya.
"What is the most valuable luxury? Time. It is ineffable and ungraspable, and yet most mysterious of all, it is free. And those who spend it properly are the richest people of all."
oboreads's review
5.0
Finally a piece of fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed! Freya is a quick-to speak, audacious and driven woman living in a male-driven world that steps in her way many times. But what gets her through is her close bond with Nancy with whom she grows as the years go by. It was refreshing to read a novel with two strong friends written about in a realistic way that felt close to life and portrayed the emotions one shares with another in a platonic relationship. The novel was structured in a similar fashion to A Little Life in the sense that it trailed the characters throughout their life time, described them evolve, fail, love and experience the overwhelming feeling of being a tiny blip in history. I want more books like this in 2018!!!!! ON THE HUNT FOR MORE
A quote I loved :
"What is the most valuable luxury? Time. It is ineffable and ungraspable, and yet most mysterious of all, it is free. And those who spend it properly are the richest people of all."
"We're all sorts of leading characters to ourselves, whereas other people comprehensively haven't heard of us."
"It's funny how some characters, mere figments on the page, never really die in our heads, or hearts. We think about them even after we've clapped shut the book."
A quote I loved :
"What is the most valuable luxury? Time. It is ineffable and ungraspable, and yet most mysterious of all, it is free. And those who spend it properly are the richest people of all."
"We're all sorts of leading characters to ourselves, whereas other people comprehensively haven't heard of us."
"It's funny how some characters, mere figments on the page, never really die in our heads, or hearts. We think about them even after we've clapped shut the book."
eweidl's review against another edition
5.0
Could not put this down. First book I've read in a while that I felt this way about. I loved Freya as a character - even though she was flawed, you couldn't help but root for her. There were a few characters I could have down without, but other than that I can find little fault.