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Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes
polly_h's review
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A series of vignettes of life during the Second World War in England. Witty observations, focused around domestic disruption where the war has caused a wrinkle breaking societal and relationships norms unveiling peoples small and large discomforts at being out of the normal pattern of things.
nadia_g's review
3.0
Bitter-sweet very much defines this collection of short stories written by Mollie PD during WWII and published in The New Yorker in real time between 1939 and 1944.
In each story, MPD's characters, whether young, old or pregnant, navigate between daily life, new obligations and the consequences of war.
It is this new 'normality' that MPD describes, laughs about or questions with her characters caught between food rationing, fuel shortages (petrol for cars and gas in the home for heating and cooking), air bombings, separation, and just getting on with life as best everybody could.
I did not know that when the war broke out, children in London were sent away to other counties in places that were turned into boarding schools so that as many kids as possible could be protected.
A situation often explored in these stories is the effect of bombings, but not from an obvious angle. Because of the air raids, many people started moving in with each other, with relatives but also often with acquaintances or perfect strangers who had bigger homes, or just houses that weren't wrecked. You can easily imagine the comic situations that can spring from this.
The sense of community deployed led to many comical and even farcical situations, but like most farces they reveal true drama, and traumatic experiences.
Mollie Panter-Downes was an intensely productive writer, sharp and insightful and much of her work remains uncollected, something that this beautiful Persephone collection corrects.
In each story, MPD's characters, whether young, old or pregnant, navigate between daily life, new obligations and the consequences of war.
It is this new 'normality' that MPD describes, laughs about or questions with her characters caught between food rationing, fuel shortages (petrol for cars and gas in the home for heating and cooking), air bombings, separation, and just getting on with life as best everybody could.
I did not know that when the war broke out, children in London were sent away to other counties in places that were turned into boarding schools so that as many kids as possible could be protected.
A situation often explored in these stories is the effect of bombings, but not from an obvious angle. Because of the air raids, many people started moving in with each other, with relatives but also often with acquaintances or perfect strangers who had bigger homes, or just houses that weren't wrecked. You can easily imagine the comic situations that can spring from this.
The sense of community deployed led to many comical and even farcical situations, but like most farces they reveal true drama, and traumatic experiences.
Mollie Panter-Downes was an intensely productive writer, sharp and insightful and much of her work remains uncollected, something that this beautiful Persephone collection corrects.
waddlealot's review
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
folklore_kit's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ilsevanoosten's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don’t particularly like war stories that deal with the fighting, but I do like war stories that deal with the (emotional) aftermath or impact of a war, which is what this collection does. Panter-Downes’ experience as a journalist gives her the perfect toolset to write about the effects of WWII on the women, and sometimes the men, from different social classes left at home while the war was going on. Her observant nature allows for a great insight into the different effects of the war; how it places everyday occurrences such as pregnancy in a different light, how it puts a strain on people’s relationships when they have to share a house after the bombings and consequent evacuations, or, on the other hand, how it brought people closer together in the air raid shelters. Most of the stories have an understated, quiet sense of humour, where what is left unsaid becomes apparent and gradually intrusive as you read the short stories. Sometimes not spelling something out makes it all the more important, or glaringly obvious. I really love this type of writing and think the stories together provide a great overview.
nadiasfiction's review
3.0
Bitter-sweet very much defines this collection of short stories written by Mollie PD during WWII and published in The New Yorker in real time between 1939 and 1944.
In each story, MPD's characters, whether young, old or pregnant, navigate between daily life, new obligations and the consequences of war.
It is this new 'normality' that MPD describes, laughs about or questions with her characters caught between food rationing, fuel shortages (petrol for cars and gas in the home for heating and cooking), air bombings, separation, and just getting on with life as best everybody could.
I did not know that when the war broke out, children in London were sent away to other counties in places that were turned into boarding schools so that as many kids as possible could be protected.
A situation often explored in these stories is the effect of bombings, but not from an obvious angle. Because of the air raids, many people started moving in with each other, with relatives but also often with acquaintances or perfect strangers who had bigger homes, or just houses that weren't wrecked. You can easily imagine the comic situations that can spring from this.
The sense of community deployed led to many comical and even farcical situations, but like most farces they reveal true drama, and traumatic experiences.
Mollie Panter-Downes was an intensely productive writer, sharp and insightful and much of her work remains uncollected, something that this beautiful Persephone collection corrects.
In each story, MPD's characters, whether young, old or pregnant, navigate between daily life, new obligations and the consequences of war.
It is this new 'normality' that MPD describes, laughs about or questions with her characters caught between food rationing, fuel shortages (petrol for cars and gas in the home for heating and cooking), air bombings, separation, and just getting on with life as best everybody could.
I did not know that when the war broke out, children in London were sent away to other counties in places that were turned into boarding schools so that as many kids as possible could be protected.
A situation often explored in these stories is the effect of bombings, but not from an obvious angle. Because of the air raids, many people started moving in with each other, with relatives but also often with acquaintances or perfect strangers who had bigger homes, or just houses that weren't wrecked. You can easily imagine the comic situations that can spring from this.
The sense of community deployed led to many comical and even farcical situations, but like most farces they reveal true drama, and traumatic experiences.
Mollie Panter-Downes was an intensely productive writer, sharp and insightful and much of her work remains uncollected, something that this beautiful Persephone collection corrects.
jessreadthis's review
5.0
This was my first experience reading Mollie Panter-Downes writing. She blew me away. She reads journalistically though layers it with perfect subtle details that nudges it into fiction. If that makes sense? She gives subtle descriptions of her characters' emotions which conveys so much left unsaid but is still being said. It is wartime after all and everyone is carrying on. Carrying on while clinging to various rituals that keep them from falling apart. Whether it be that familiar dining in a restaurant where years long trysts have occurred, a maid despairing at her mistress's abandonment of dressing for dinner and taking it in the kitchen, a gentleman taking his dinner at the club so as not to go home and be reminded he isn't in the active military, a retired military man past the age of service still having his guns ready for unsuspecting paratroopers... and I could go on and on. Each story in this book is full of characters living their lives in an extraordinary time.
I'm not normally a short story person. In fact, I was reminded of why when I was enjoying Panter-Downes' stories so much I ended up disappointed at the end because I wasn't ready for some to end! However, her lovely and impactful writing kept me reading and readily forgiving when each story came to a close. She has a way of capturing the snippets of life which would normally pass by and pushes pause on that scene in order to show its' depth. Just incredibly well done.
I'm not normally a short story person. In fact, I was reminded of why when I was enjoying Panter-Downes' stories so much I ended up disappointed at the end because I wasn't ready for some to end! However, her lovely and impactful writing kept me reading and readily forgiving when each story came to a close. She has a way of capturing the snippets of life which would normally pass by and pushes pause on that scene in order to show its' depth. Just incredibly well done.
pixieauthoress's review
4.0
I didn't completely finish this collection as someone else at the library requested it, but from what I read I've give it 3.5*.
1. Date with Romance - This was a rather anti-climatic start to the collection, I can't say it particularly interested me. It seems rather different in tone from any of the other stories I've read so far. 6/10
2. Meeting at the Pringles' - All the politeness and organisation that you'd expect from a story about women working together for the war effort. What makes this story stand out so much is the line towards the end of the story in which the author describes the characters as being "happier, as a matter of fact, than they had been for twenty-one years". It links in very well with Elizabeth Berridge's 'Subject for a Sermon', in which the protagonist's son accuses women of not wanting to stop a war, but be organising it. 7/10
3. Mrs Ramsay's War - I found this story particularly interesting, showing the tension between families as they shared homes together in the country to avoid the blitz in London. The focus on the trivial issues the upper classes suffered from in these stories comes across as light-hearted, but I imagine a lot of people were in for a shock at the start of WWII. Mrs Ramsay's annoyances over noisy children, spoiled dogs and chatty nannies provides an amusing but thoughtful read. 9/10
4. In Clover - A bizarre little story showing the stereotypical presentation of a privileged, upper class woman taking in a family of dirty, scruffy, messy evacuees who ruin her house, refuse to participate in polite conversation and generally don't live up to her expectations, eventually returning to London because the expectant mother can't bear to be separated from her husband despite the air raids. Probably very accurate of some situations, but it really does buy into stereotypes. Both my grandmothers were evacuated as children and I'm fairly certain their mothers washed them on a regular basis! 7/10
5. It's the Real Thing This Time - A slightly disturbing story about a retired Major who lives with his spinster sister and is desperate to be involved in the war effort in some way, and keen for the "real war" to get started. Reflects the ideals of an older generation who are nostalgic for war, rather than those who have become disillusioned after WWI. A bit too short to really have much impact, but makes you think about this generation of people. 6/10
6. This Flower, Safety - An elderly woman relocates to the seaside from London, along with her ageing companion. Once the coast is attacked, she moves to the country to be with her nephew, only to find that the Germans can still reach them there. I expected this story to go on in a similar manner with the main character moving from place to place with some humour in the situation, but after the second move she realises it's impossible to truly be safe anymore and the story rather abruptly ends. I wished there had been more to this. 7/10
7. As the Fruitful Vine - A young woman marries hastily because her husband has been conscripted and discovers she's pregnant soon after he's left to go overseas with the navy. Despite what we may today believe from films and books about war wives being overjoyed at having war babies, Lucy's family is less than pleased with the situation. They spend all their time worrying about keeping her safe and away from news of the war and the navy, wishing that she'd waited until later to start a family. But when Lucy realises that her perfect older sister had always wanted a child but couldn't have one, she finally starts seeing things through her family's eyes and seems to take more care in looking after herself and her baby. Maybe it's just me who got this message, but I felt like Lucy realised the important job of bringing a new life into the world, particularly in war time, at the end of this story. 8/10
8. Lunch with Mr. Biddle - A humorous yet rather sad tale about an old bachelor who tries to keep up his vibrant life as an entertainer during the war, planning events at his country home with a bizarre mixture of dinner guests. He believes he's still an expert at picking the right guests, but the war has changed everyone - the smouldering writer is forceful with her opinions and the attractive beauty has become jaded after losing a brother in Dunkirk. But even as he's forced to leave the unsuccessful party due to an air raid, Mr Biddle still fails to see how war has changed people and hopes the two women will learn to get along. 8/10
1. Date with Romance - This was a rather anti-climatic start to the collection, I can't say it particularly interested me. It seems rather different in tone from any of the other stories I've read so far. 6/10
2. Meeting at the Pringles' - All the politeness and organisation that you'd expect from a story about women working together for the war effort. What makes this story stand out so much is the line towards the end of the story in which the author describes the characters as being "happier, as a matter of fact, than they had been for twenty-one years". It links in very well with Elizabeth Berridge's 'Subject for a Sermon', in which the protagonist's son accuses women of not wanting to stop a war, but be organising it. 7/10
3. Mrs Ramsay's War - I found this story particularly interesting, showing the tension between families as they shared homes together in the country to avoid the blitz in London. The focus on the trivial issues the upper classes suffered from in these stories comes across as light-hearted, but I imagine a lot of people were in for a shock at the start of WWII. Mrs Ramsay's annoyances over noisy children, spoiled dogs and chatty nannies provides an amusing but thoughtful read. 9/10
4. In Clover - A bizarre little story showing the stereotypical presentation of a privileged, upper class woman taking in a family of dirty, scruffy, messy evacuees who ruin her house, refuse to participate in polite conversation and generally don't live up to her expectations, eventually returning to London because the expectant mother can't bear to be separated from her husband despite the air raids. Probably very accurate of some situations, but it really does buy into stereotypes. Both my grandmothers were evacuated as children and I'm fairly certain their mothers washed them on a regular basis! 7/10
5. It's the Real Thing This Time - A slightly disturbing story about a retired Major who lives with his spinster sister and is desperate to be involved in the war effort in some way, and keen for the "real war" to get started. Reflects the ideals of an older generation who are nostalgic for war, rather than those who have become disillusioned after WWI. A bit too short to really have much impact, but makes you think about this generation of people. 6/10
6. This Flower, Safety - An elderly woman relocates to the seaside from London, along with her ageing companion. Once the coast is attacked, she moves to the country to be with her nephew, only to find that the Germans can still reach them there. I expected this story to go on in a similar manner with the main character moving from place to place with some humour in the situation, but after the second move she realises it's impossible to truly be safe anymore and the story rather abruptly ends. I wished there had been more to this. 7/10
7. As the Fruitful Vine - A young woman marries hastily because her husband has been conscripted and discovers she's pregnant soon after he's left to go overseas with the navy. Despite what we may today believe from films and books about war wives being overjoyed at having war babies, Lucy's family is less than pleased with the situation. They spend all their time worrying about keeping her safe and away from news of the war and the navy, wishing that she'd waited until later to start a family. But when Lucy realises that her perfect older sister had always wanted a child but couldn't have one, she finally starts seeing things through her family's eyes and seems to take more care in looking after herself and her baby. Maybe it's just me who got this message, but I felt like Lucy realised the important job of bringing a new life into the world, particularly in war time, at the end of this story. 8/10
8. Lunch with Mr. Biddle - A humorous yet rather sad tale about an old bachelor who tries to keep up his vibrant life as an entertainer during the war, planning events at his country home with a bizarre mixture of dinner guests. He believes he's still an expert at picking the right guests, but the war has changed everyone - the smouldering writer is forceful with her opinions and the attractive beauty has become jaded after losing a brother in Dunkirk. But even as he's forced to leave the unsuccessful party due to an air raid, Mr Biddle still fails to see how war has changed people and hopes the two women will learn to get along. 8/10
maccymacd's review
5.0
I literally devoured this book. It was wonderful. Mollie Panter-Downes has never been a name that registered with me, but after reading this heartwarming, funny, and romantic collection of wartime stories I am all set to search out her other writing. This is the second time recently that I have fallen in love with an author (the first being Jean Rhys) and it surprises me that Mollie P-D isn't more widely acknowledged. Her work shows every possible emotion that a woman during wartime could feel, along with every possible way a woman tried to cope. Although it's fiction it feels real, and is sure the author drew on her own experiences for much of the book. She has a wonderfully witty and gentle way of writing that makes everything still seem so relevant today.