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sweet_ness's review
dark
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
verityw's review
5.0
I loved this so much. So much.
Deborah, our protagonist, is dreadful. She's a terrible, terrible person but you just can't stop reading about her. At the start of the book, she and her husband Graham are in bed together ahead of his departure to Cairo to do war work. On the very first page Graham says he can't promise to be physically faithful, but promises not to fall in love and not to sleep with anyone who might fill her place in his life. He asks her to promise the same. But Deborah doesn't take him up on this offer - instead she swears that she will be faithful to him and to not act on any attraction she feels to another man. Deborah does not keep her promise...
In fact Deborah is a mistress of self-justification and can pretty much turn any situation around so that in her head she can justify what it is that she wants to do as being right. Soon after Graham's departure she's bored in the countryside and decides that the best thing for her would be to move to London and get a war job, leaving behind her son with the housekeeper come nanny - because this would make him happier because although he'll see less of her, he'll only see the best of his mother. Thus the tone of Deborah's self-delusion is set.
I think Deborah is pretty much impossible to like, but instead you're fascinated by her progress as she slowly abandons all her standards and rules and manages to rationalism absolutely anything if it means she can do exactly as she wants and to try and get the glamorous life that she thinks she deserves.
Deborah is all the worst traits of Calypso from the Camomile Lawn and Louise and Zoe from the Cazalet Chronicles and it makes her adventures compulsively readable.
Deborah, our protagonist, is dreadful. She's a terrible, terrible person but you just can't stop reading about her. At the start of the book, she and her husband Graham are in bed together ahead of his departure to Cairo to do war work. On the very first page Graham says he can't promise to be physically faithful, but promises not to fall in love and not to sleep with anyone who might fill her place in his life. He asks her to promise the same. But Deborah doesn't take him up on this offer - instead she swears that she will be faithful to him and to not act on any attraction she feels to another man. Deborah does not keep her promise...
In fact Deborah is a mistress of self-justification and can pretty much turn any situation around so that in her head she can justify what it is that she wants to do as being right. Soon after Graham's departure she's bored in the countryside and decides that the best thing for her would be to move to London and get a war job, leaving behind her son with the housekeeper come nanny - because this would make him happier because although he'll see less of her, he'll only see the best of his mother. Thus the tone of Deborah's self-delusion is set.
I think Deborah is pretty much impossible to like, but instead you're fascinated by her progress as she slowly abandons all her standards and rules and manages to rationalism absolutely anything if it means she can do exactly as she wants and to try and get the glamorous life that she thinks she deserves.
Deborah is all the worst traits of Calypso from the Camomile Lawn and Louise and Zoe from the Cazalet Chronicles and it makes her adventures compulsively readable.
funaek's review
3.0
Easy to get sucked into this one but it was kind of hard being in this toxic person's head for so long. Made me feel extra anxious.
jemimahorne's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
5.0
biscuithead's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
maccymacd's review
5.0
Oh I just LOVE Persephone books. Out of the handful I have read, only a couple have been less than 5 star reads. This was no exception. There is something so "readable" about these books and they are such a comfort. Escaping into their worlds is one of my favourite things.
Deborah lives a comfortable life in Winchester with her son. Her husband, Graham has to go off to war and makes a promise that he will not be unfaithful to her in any way that means anything. Deborah tells him she will stay faithful regardless.
But life in the country tending to a young child isn't quite as fantastic as Deborah had hoped. More than anything, she feels bored and unfulfilled, and matters are made worse when her infuriating mother hints on a trip to visit that maybe she's not the "mother" type and that it might be best of Deborah lets her look after the child instead. (It's hard not to be offended in the current age by these antiquated statements, but it just goes with the time period so suspending your disbelief is for the best..)
Deborah decides pretty quickly afterwards that she is going to get a job in London to help with the war effort. She will live in London during the week and return to her cottage in country at the weekend. She finds work easily, and stays with her flamboyant and diva-like friend Madeleine. Initially she is dedicated to simply working and going home and doesn't even entertain the thought of stepping out with another man. But before long, she meets a charming man who she thinks she can make an exception for, then another and then another. Being faithful to Graham is no longer an option. I just loved this book for its honest and refreshing descriptions of sex and fidelity during wartime; it's reassuring whilst also surprising to see how similar women's actions then are to the current time.
Deborah lives a comfortable life in Winchester with her son. Her husband, Graham has to go off to war and makes a promise that he will not be unfaithful to her in any way that means anything. Deborah tells him she will stay faithful regardless.
But life in the country tending to a young child isn't quite as fantastic as Deborah had hoped. More than anything, she feels bored and unfulfilled, and matters are made worse when her infuriating mother hints on a trip to visit that maybe she's not the "mother" type and that it might be best of Deborah lets her look after the child instead. (It's hard not to be offended in the current age by these antiquated statements, but it just goes with the time period so suspending your disbelief is for the best..)
Deborah decides pretty quickly afterwards that she is going to get a job in London to help with the war effort. She will live in London during the week and return to her cottage in country at the weekend. She finds work easily, and stays with her flamboyant and diva-like friend Madeleine. Initially she is dedicated to simply working and going home and doesn't even entertain the thought of stepping out with another man. But before long, she meets a charming man who she thinks she can make an exception for, then another and then another. Being faithful to Graham is no longer an option. I just loved this book for its honest and refreshing descriptions of sex and fidelity during wartime; it's reassuring whilst also surprising to see how similar women's actions then are to the current time.
laurasaurus's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lilbuff20's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nim_light's review
5.0
Utterly refreshing!
A book about sex in war time and the things we'll tell ourselves in order to justify the more morally dubious things we want.
Engaging and cleanly written, the relationships were all so interesting and I'm so glad I picked this up - it's so unlike anything I've ever read about wartime!
A book about sex in war time and the things we'll tell ourselves in order to justify the more morally dubious things we want.
Engaging and cleanly written, the relationships were all so interesting and I'm so glad I picked this up - it's so unlike anything I've ever read about wartime!