You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This started off so slowly that I almost gave up, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Side-characters, Jamshed and Priscilla, the Padre’s adopted daughter, were the real highlights for me, bringing warmth to the story. By the end, I was completely drawn in. A quiet, powerful novel that lingers long after the last page.
It’s hard to write a review while awash in the potent tragedy of this book. My second from this author, after West, has much the same style in terms of slow build to a stunning ending. I will likely stay stunned and continue to find layers for a good while.
So, depression, religious violence, faith, hope, and charity, love.
This book has a few important commonalities with Megha Majumdar’s book A Burning, though the angle of approach is far different.
So, depression, religious violence, faith, hope, and charity, love.
This book has a few important commonalities with Megha Majumdar’s book A Burning, though the angle of approach is far different.
Fleeing his demons and the dark undercurrents of contemporary life in the UK, Hilary Byrd takes refuge in a former British hill station in South India. Charmed by the foreignness of his new surroundings and by the familiarity of everything the British have left behind, he finds solace in life’s simple pleasures, travelling by rickshaw around the small town with his driver Jamshed and staying in a mission house beside the local presbytery where the Padre and his adoptive daughter Priscilla have taken Hilary under their wing.
The Padre is concerned for Priscilla’s future, and as Hilary’s friendship with the young woman grows, he begins to wonder whether his purpose lies in this new relationship. But religious tensions are brewing and the mission house may not be the safe haven it seems.
Thank you, Goodreads and Scribner Books for the chance to read The Mission House!
“{The best sentences are the ones I begin without knowing how they will end.}”
This was a very stunning and gentle story. I have to say I don’t think I have ever read anything like it. It’s very unique to the author. At times it felt almost like I was reading poetry. It feels like there isn’t much happening, only hints of action to come. That may be why the book felt like it was slow going. The world building in this book makes you feel like you are actually there. That you can hear, see, and smell all the same things as Hillary. I’m not 100% sure what I think of this book. There were things I liked and things I didn’t. I know that doesn’t help much. But the only thing I can say that may help is you have to try it and you will either like it or you won’t. Happy reading everyone!
The Padre is concerned for Priscilla’s future, and as Hilary’s friendship with the young woman grows, he begins to wonder whether his purpose lies in this new relationship. But religious tensions are brewing and the mission house may not be the safe haven it seems.
Thank you, Goodreads and Scribner Books for the chance to read The Mission House!
“{The best sentences are the ones I begin without knowing how they will end.}”
This was a very stunning and gentle story. I have to say I don’t think I have ever read anything like it. It’s very unique to the author. At times it felt almost like I was reading poetry. It feels like there isn’t much happening, only hints of action to come. That may be why the book felt like it was slow going. The world building in this book makes you feel like you are actually there. That you can hear, see, and smell all the same things as Hillary. I’m not 100% sure what I think of this book. There were things I liked and things I didn’t. I know that doesn’t help much. But the only thing I can say that may help is you have to try it and you will either like it or you won’t. Happy reading everyone!
Carys Davies writes odd and lonely men so well! After a breakdown, librarian Hilary Byrd flees to India where a padre offers him use of the mission house up in the hills. Byrd settles in meeting various characters including the padre's adopted daughter, and after a fall, the taxi driver Jamshed. Davies lets us into the heads of other people, such as Ravi, who hoping to become a country and western singer buys a horse. It all leads to two complicated misunderstandings which are resolved at the end of the book perhaps a little too quickly. It's not my favourite Carys Davies book - read West or Clear or The Redemption of Gallen Pike if you're looking for that. But her writing and characterisation, as ever, is superb.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another exquisite short novel from Carys Davies. I will have to read everything she writes! Another reviewer mentioned this quote on the back cover of their copy from Bernard MacLaverty-
"Wonderfully written -- with the simplicity of a fairy tale, the heft of fable, and all the human sadness and joy of misfits." Exactly! Davies is a master of writing about misfits! Loved this quiet book.
"Wonderfully written -- with the simplicity of a fairy tale, the heft of fable, and all the human sadness and joy of misfits." Exactly! Davies is a master of writing about misfits! Loved this quiet book.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes