Reviews

The Dreaming Suburb by R.F. Delderfield

phillysaurus's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective slow-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

3.75

I enjoyed this book. I loved the structure, with each chapter switching between residents of The Avenue as they recover from one war and are drawn into another. I wish there were fewer characters with 'E' names (I sometimes had to take a few seconds to remember which one Esme/Edgar/Esther/Elaine/Edith/Eunice/Eugene was) and struggled with some of the phonetically written accents, but overall I liked the characters and their various facets of 1930's Britishness - would have liked a flapper though! 

muggleborn's review

4.0

I liked this, but it was too long. 3 1/2

infosifter's review against another edition

4.0

It is both a joy and a sorrow to discover an author after he or she has died. On the one hand, their entire life's work opens up for your enjoyment, but on the other you can rarely look forward to new work being published. This book and its sequel are the last of Delderfield's major historical works that I hadn't read yet, so I started it with a sense of melancholy.

This book isn't so much a novel as a loosely connected series of vignettes exploring human nature, as well as the attitudes and ideas unique to English suburbs between the two world wars. I would almost call this a narrative anthropology, and would recommend it to anyone who likes examining people to see what makes them tick.

ladyr's review

4.0

Wonderful! I had forgotten how great an author Delderfield is. If you love a good saga about everyday people spanning several years and with great characters and plot lines then this is for you. This was so good I immediately went on and read its sequel - The Avenue Goes to War. Highly recommended.