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andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
In the opening chapter of this book we meet Dinah who is visiting her sister madeleine after a long apparent estrangement, as they wander out with madeleines dog in the English country village there is a scene in which a rat is attacked by the dig and how each woman reacts suggests that these are very different individuals.
The book then is divided into separate parts of a day but each section reveals their past and how dinah had a passionate affair with madeleines husband and the subsequent effect this had on both their lives.
The book covers the years both pre and immediately after ww2 and is a remarkable depiction of infidelity, jealousy, family, and obsession. While at times the prose and dialogue became very intense to the point that I struggled to maintain full attention in parts overall I was very glad to read this dramatic story which reminded me a lot both in style and subject of the end of the affair.
The introduction also by Jonathan coe, gave a very good explanation of some of the themes I had missed on first read and subsequent reading of the authors biography on line suggests autobiographical elements to the tale and an incredible life story about the authors own affair with Cecil day Lewis.
The book then is divided into separate parts of a day but each section reveals their past and how dinah had a passionate affair with madeleines husband and the subsequent effect this had on both their lives.
The book covers the years both pre and immediately after ww2 and is a remarkable depiction of infidelity, jealousy, family, and obsession. While at times the prose and dialogue became very intense to the point that I struggled to maintain full attention in parts overall I was very glad to read this dramatic story which reminded me a lot both in style and subject of the end of the affair.
The introduction also by Jonathan coe, gave a very good explanation of some of the themes I had missed on first read and subsequent reading of the authors biography on line suggests autobiographical elements to the tale and an incredible life story about the authors own affair with Cecil day Lewis.
lectrice's review against another edition
4.0
3.5? A challenging read stylistically (flashbacks within flashbacks and episodes revisited through different points of view) and narrowly focused thematically on upper-middle class types prone to adultery and self-absorption, but also intriguing as a historical snapshot of the years around WW II and its impact on private lives. Distant cousin to Bowen’s The Heat of the Day.
scarpuccia's review against another edition
5.0
Two sisters fight for the love of the same man. Madeleine is the conventional sister, committed to the social etiquette of conventional society. She is married to Rickie and the mother of his children. Dinah is the younger rebellious sister, frequenting bohemian circles. She and Rickie begin a clandestine love affair.
This beautifully poetic novel is set in the 1930s and runs through to the London Blitz when the bomb-damaged landscape poignantly reflects the fragmented, morally clouded nature of domestic life.
The novel begins towards the end of the story when Madeleine and Dinah are reunited after years of not talking. Chronology jumps back and forwards echoing the attempts of the characters to get their moral bearings and piece back together the broken and charred shards of their lives. Lehmann, deftly eschewing any moral judgements, takes us inside the heads of all three characters and gives each a fair and tremendously eloquent hearing. At the end of the day Lehmann investigates not so much the progress of love as the damage it can do. Sometimes, the poetic prose is a little overdone but on the whole a brilliant and beautiful book.
This beautifully poetic novel is set in the 1930s and runs through to the London Blitz when the bomb-damaged landscape poignantly reflects the fragmented, morally clouded nature of domestic life.
The novel begins towards the end of the story when Madeleine and Dinah are reunited after years of not talking. Chronology jumps back and forwards echoing the attempts of the characters to get their moral bearings and piece back together the broken and charred shards of their lives. Lehmann, deftly eschewing any moral judgements, takes us inside the heads of all three characters and gives each a fair and tremendously eloquent hearing. At the end of the day Lehmann investigates not so much the progress of love as the damage it can do. Sometimes, the poetic prose is a little overdone but on the whole a brilliant and beautiful book.
teresareads's review
2.0
Started out well but got extremely tedious toward the end. So much introspection.
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