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maudvandevenne4's review
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
misajane79's review
4.0
My first read of my Persephone splurge. It was a great book, all about the shifting that occurs after war when people start coming home. In this case, it's England after WWII. Great but quiet tale of a small town that will never be the same.
mcsangel2's review
3.0
Rated 3.5. I was hooked from the beginning, it *so* perfectly captured the time and place (VE Day 1945 in England), I just adore anything from that time period. The story became a bit of a downer for me by the end, when it seemed like there was some intimation that Roy and Margaret's relationship wasn't as solid as all that.
peterp3's review
5.0
Very well written novel observing the class distinctions of post-war England, where the gentry and the middle class and the tradespeople and the working class all view each other with subtle, unquestioned prejudices. And all this prejudice exists within a small village which is about to become subsumed into the expanding suburbia, and almost none of the characters (in any of the classes) realise it.
paula_s's review
5.0
“The night the war ended, both Mrs. Trevor and Mrs. Wilson went on duty at the Red Cross Post as usual”
Esa es el primer párrafo de “The Village” (El pueblo), de Marghanita Laski, párrafo en el que la autora ya nos está ubicando temporalmente (A partir del día después de la victoria en 1945) y nos está señalando quiénes van a ser los ejes principales de la trama. Es una novela coral en principio, ya que trata sobre un pueblo y todos sus habitantes. Pero no es un pueblo homogéneo y pronto veremos qué separa a los Trevor de los Wilson y cómo la separación da lugar al escándalo. Aunque este es un punto que no revelaré, por supuesto.
Dice Ralph Weatheral, uno de los personajes, a su mujer Martha, que el clasismo no está del todo erradicado en Inglaterra, que al contrario, las raíces en que se sustenta esta estratificación social son muy profundas. Y este es el tema principal de la novela. La superioridad moral de unos frente a otros les viene dada por su posición social, independientemente de que luego no tengan qué llevarse a la boca. Es algo que en “Saphira y la joven esclava” de Willa Cather se sustentaba en el color de la piel. Aquí lo que pone a unos por encima de los otros es el color de la sangre y es lo que separa a los Trevor de los Wilson, a pesar de que la guerra consiguió que se olvidara todo eso durante unos años. Acabada la guerra, todo vuelve a ser como antes.
Marghanita Laski arremete sin piedad contra la rígida mentalidad inglesa, especialmente en poblaciones pequeñas. Esta mentalidad, este orgullo de clase, la tenían tanto los privilegiados como la clase trabajadora y mercantil. Es una novela muy crítica con el snobismo de gente como la señora Trevor y su marido, quienes representan a la clase privilegiada, la gentry, dándose tantos aires y despreciando tanto a los “inferiores” a pesar de no poder dar una educación a más de una de sus dos hijas, dan bastante vergüenza ajena. Laski los ridiculiza, los señala con el dedo en un texto cargado de sarcasmo y sentido del humor.
“The Village” se apoya sobre todo en diálogos y pensamientos internos. Es así como muestra la hipocresía de sus personajes. Son ellos quienes nos dan toda la información que necesitamos para imaginarlos tanto a ellos, como las situaciones, como el entorno. E incluso puede que identifiquemos a alguno con personas que conocemos, ya que este clasismo también se da en España, aunque de una forma un poco más sutil. En definitiva, queda muy claro que a Laski le disgustaba la intolerancia y el desequilibrio social que observaba a su alrededor.
Pero también hay una subtrama amable que, hacia la mitad del libro, pasa a primera plana. Es la historia de la joven Margaret Trevor, de 19 años. Acabada su educación básica y teniendo una hermana más lista y ambiciosa que ella, sus padres deciden que no sirve para nada y que lo mejor es que se case. Margaret es tan dulce, tan inocente y tan ansiosa de agradar, que consiente los tejemanejes de una madre que la desprecia y un padre que la ignora. El problema viene cuando Margaret es una persona que entiende que las personas son personas, ella es diferente, tiene sus propios sueños y ahi es donde Laski mete a sus personajes en problemas.
También puede leerse el libro como una historia de mujeres aburridas que se dedican a mangonear en las vidas de los demás, como hacen la americana Martha Weatherall y la señora Trevor con Margaret desde distintas perspectivas, haciendo que la joven tenga que guardar sus secretos celosamente.
En definitiva, este es un retrato magistral de una era que languidece y que desaparecerá, aunque no se dé cuenta de ello. Imprescindible.
Esa es el primer párrafo de “The Village” (El pueblo), de Marghanita Laski, párrafo en el que la autora ya nos está ubicando temporalmente (A partir del día después de la victoria en 1945) y nos está señalando quiénes van a ser los ejes principales de la trama. Es una novela coral en principio, ya que trata sobre un pueblo y todos sus habitantes. Pero no es un pueblo homogéneo y pronto veremos qué separa a los Trevor de los Wilson y cómo la separación da lugar al escándalo. Aunque este es un punto que no revelaré, por supuesto.
Dice Ralph Weatheral, uno de los personajes, a su mujer Martha, que el clasismo no está del todo erradicado en Inglaterra, que al contrario, las raíces en que se sustenta esta estratificación social son muy profundas. Y este es el tema principal de la novela. La superioridad moral de unos frente a otros les viene dada por su posición social, independientemente de que luego no tengan qué llevarse a la boca. Es algo que en “Saphira y la joven esclava” de Willa Cather se sustentaba en el color de la piel. Aquí lo que pone a unos por encima de los otros es el color de la sangre y es lo que separa a los Trevor de los Wilson, a pesar de que la guerra consiguió que se olvidara todo eso durante unos años. Acabada la guerra, todo vuelve a ser como antes.
Marghanita Laski arremete sin piedad contra la rígida mentalidad inglesa, especialmente en poblaciones pequeñas. Esta mentalidad, este orgullo de clase, la tenían tanto los privilegiados como la clase trabajadora y mercantil. Es una novela muy crítica con el snobismo de gente como la señora Trevor y su marido, quienes representan a la clase privilegiada, la gentry, dándose tantos aires y despreciando tanto a los “inferiores” a pesar de no poder dar una educación a más de una de sus dos hijas, dan bastante vergüenza ajena. Laski los ridiculiza, los señala con el dedo en un texto cargado de sarcasmo y sentido del humor.
“The Village” se apoya sobre todo en diálogos y pensamientos internos. Es así como muestra la hipocresía de sus personajes. Son ellos quienes nos dan toda la información que necesitamos para imaginarlos tanto a ellos, como las situaciones, como el entorno. E incluso puede que identifiquemos a alguno con personas que conocemos, ya que este clasismo también se da en España, aunque de una forma un poco más sutil. En definitiva, queda muy claro que a Laski le disgustaba la intolerancia y el desequilibrio social que observaba a su alrededor.
Pero también hay una subtrama amable que, hacia la mitad del libro, pasa a primera plana. Es la historia de la joven Margaret Trevor, de 19 años. Acabada su educación básica y teniendo una hermana más lista y ambiciosa que ella, sus padres deciden que no sirve para nada y que lo mejor es que se case. Margaret es tan dulce, tan inocente y tan ansiosa de agradar, que consiente los tejemanejes de una madre que la desprecia y un padre que la ignora. El problema viene cuando Margaret es una persona que entiende que las personas son personas, ella es diferente, tiene sus propios sueños y ahi es donde Laski mete a sus personajes en problemas.
También puede leerse el libro como una historia de mujeres aburridas que se dedican a mangonear en las vidas de los demás, como hacen la americana Martha Weatherall y la señora Trevor con Margaret desde distintas perspectivas, haciendo que la joven tenga que guardar sus secretos celosamente.
En definitiva, este es un retrato magistral de una era que languidece y que desaparecerá, aunque no se dé cuenta de ello. Imprescindible.
lucyandherbooks's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
booking_along's review
5.0
Quiet but impactful.
This book is one of those books that not everyone can and will love because it actually doesn't tell a whole lot, nothing really happens.
We just follow different people that live in the same village, some from the "upper class" some from the "working class" and two younger people that fall in love despite those classifications.
In many ways this book is about a lot of different things, some of them are:
- family expectations in general, from feeling that you belong to a specific group even if you no longer fit into that group for what ever reason, wanting to do right by your family but also wanting to do what is right for you, and trying to figure out if one person in a family can do what they want even if it might go against the family's believes if it makes them happy.
- its also about changes in society, class systems and overall changes cased simply by time passing and changing. It talks about how the war changes priorities, how it changes the world and what it needs and with that changes how it works and what is expected of people.
- society in general
what is expected of specific members, from general specifications such as working class and higher standings, but also what is expected of newly married, single women or men, children and parents, pastors and even what is expected of an American woman that married an Englishman.
- mostly utterly realistic characters!
Most of the people in this book are actually that nice. But at the same time... can any of us really say that no matter what comes we are always nice and never look down at anyone? I certainly can't do that for myself. I try to always see the other side of things, but there are days that i honestly just don't care! Where i just want something done or over with and i am not fair to the other person i am dealing with. But thats life. And thats just reality. There is not one person on earth that can always be nice and friendly and helpful! And who would want that?
So it was so nice to read about utterly real characters, that while they might try and help others they also clearly think about what it would bring themselves if they do something for another person. And i think that is just such an honest portray of people in general that it was a delight to read about!
I don't mean that any of the characters where mean or bad.
They weren't!
But a mother cared about what her daughter would do, because she wanted the best for her.
Another person cared about what people would think about him/her if they went out the house looking a specific way.
Or what would happen if they went or didn't go someplace.
Or how can you expect of a mother to love her children equally if one fills her expectations but the other doesn't?
So it was nice to see that in a book and i really enjoyed that aspect.
Its also clearly something in the book that i can see other readers not enjoying at all.
overall this book to me was a fantastic view into daily life during the time right after the second world war ended in a way i haven't experience before.
Its quiet, its slow.
Nothing really happens, as already mentioned.
But I was transported back to the time around 1949, standing in a corner and simply observing the characters of the book as they live their lives.
And that was utterly fascinating for me.
If you love historical aspects, or want to experience a little window into the past, i highly recommend this book!
If you need actual plot, fast paced writing and action, this book will be disappointing to you!
This book is one of those books that not everyone can and will love because it actually doesn't tell a whole lot, nothing really happens.
We just follow different people that live in the same village, some from the "upper class" some from the "working class" and two younger people that fall in love despite those classifications.
In many ways this book is about a lot of different things, some of them are:
- family expectations in general, from feeling that you belong to a specific group even if you no longer fit into that group for what ever reason, wanting to do right by your family but also wanting to do what is right for you, and trying to figure out if one person in a family can do what they want even if it might go against the family's believes if it makes them happy.
- its also about changes in society, class systems and overall changes cased simply by time passing and changing. It talks about how the war changes priorities, how it changes the world and what it needs and with that changes how it works and what is expected of people.
- society in general
what is expected of specific members, from general specifications such as working class and higher standings, but also what is expected of newly married, single women or men, children and parents, pastors and even what is expected of an American woman that married an Englishman.
- mostly utterly realistic characters!
Most of the people in this book are actually that nice. But at the same time... can any of us really say that no matter what comes we are always nice and never look down at anyone? I certainly can't do that for myself. I try to always see the other side of things, but there are days that i honestly just don't care! Where i just want something done or over with and i am not fair to the other person i am dealing with. But thats life. And thats just reality. There is not one person on earth that can always be nice and friendly and helpful! And who would want that?
So it was so nice to read about utterly real characters, that while they might try and help others they also clearly think about what it would bring themselves if they do something for another person. And i think that is just such an honest portray of people in general that it was a delight to read about!
I don't mean that any of the characters where mean or bad.
They weren't!
But a mother cared about what her daughter would do, because she wanted the best for her.
Another person cared about what people would think about him/her if they went out the house looking a specific way.
Or what would happen if they went or didn't go someplace.
Or how can you expect of a mother to love her children equally if one fills her expectations but the other doesn't?
So it was nice to see that in a book and i really enjoyed that aspect.
Its also clearly something in the book that i can see other readers not enjoying at all.
overall this book to me was a fantastic view into daily life during the time right after the second world war ended in a way i haven't experience before.
Its quiet, its slow.
Nothing really happens, as already mentioned.
But I was transported back to the time around 1949, standing in a corner and simply observing the characters of the book as they live their lives.
And that was utterly fascinating for me.
If you love historical aspects, or want to experience a little window into the past, i highly recommend this book!
If you need actual plot, fast paced writing and action, this book will be disappointing to you!
iamnobird's review
4.0
The Village offers an insightful look at life immediately following the end of WWII. It is both delightful and sobering; humorous and thought-provoking. Laski’s straightforward prose is engaging, and I was hooked from the beginning. I expected the novel to be well-written and entertaining, but I was surprised at how relevant and politically charged it was. It is much more than a cozy novel about life in a charming village.
The entire cast of characters – which happens to take up a full four pages at the beginning of the novel – is well-developed and realistic. Laski has a talent for describing individuals and their quirks, traits, and of course their flaws. She manages to imbue each with personality and psychological depth. I felt as if I had known these people for a significant period of time; as if I too, were a member of the village community.
The Village is a fascinating account of a period of great change and transition, that cleverly tackles themes of class, community, and modernity. It is also a sweet love story and an astute character study.
The plot itself may not be flashy or fast-paced, but the characters and quietly powerful social commentary kept me happily turning the pages. I was sad to come to the end, and will be thinking about The Village for some time to come. Having read and loved both this and Little Boy Lost, I am incredibly excited to explore Marghanita Laski’s remaining works. I’m sure I’ll be equally entertained, challenged, and moved by them all.
Full review here: https://dwellinpossibilityblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/04/persephone-book-review-the-village-by-marghanita-laski/
The entire cast of characters – which happens to take up a full four pages at the beginning of the novel – is well-developed and realistic. Laski has a talent for describing individuals and their quirks, traits, and of course their flaws. She manages to imbue each with personality and psychological depth. I felt as if I had known these people for a significant period of time; as if I too, were a member of the village community.
The Village is a fascinating account of a period of great change and transition, that cleverly tackles themes of class, community, and modernity. It is also a sweet love story and an astute character study.
The plot itself may not be flashy or fast-paced, but the characters and quietly powerful social commentary kept me happily turning the pages. I was sad to come to the end, and will be thinking about The Village for some time to come. Having read and loved both this and Little Boy Lost, I am incredibly excited to explore Marghanita Laski’s remaining works. I’m sure I’ll be equally entertained, challenged, and moved by them all.
Full review here: https://dwellinpossibilityblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/04/persephone-book-review-the-village-by-marghanita-laski/
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