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book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
From the book jacket: It is the summer of 1946. A time of clothing coupons and food rations, of postwar deprivations and social readjustment. In this precarious new era, three young women prepare themselves to head off to university and explore the world beyond Yorkshire, England.
My reactions:
I’ve read three of Gardam’s novels before this one, and I rated them all 4****. I made a note to myself immediately on finishing this one with my 4-star rating, but now, a week later, as I sit to write my review I think I may have been over-enthusiastic. I’ll leave my rating at 4 since that was my initial reaction, but perhaps it should really be 3.5***.
What I love about Gardam’s writing is the way she paints her characters and shows us who they are. Hetty (Hester or “Hes-tah”) Fallowes is somewhat bookish and saddled with an overbearing mother. She sympathizes with but doesn’t really understand her father, who suffers from the traumas he witnessed in the trenches during WWI (what we would today recognize as PTSD). Her best friend (since age five) is Una Vane. She had a somewhat privileged upbringing, until her doctor father walked out one morning, and his body was discovered days later at the base of a cliff. He, too, had suffered from his experiences in WW1. The third girl is a recent member of their tight circle of friendship.
Leiselotte Klein, is a Jewish refugee who was taken in by a Quaker family. While Hetty and Una are thin, even skinny, Leiselotte is chubby. She slouches and is always knitting. She knows nothing of what has happened to her family, and while the Quaker couple who have taken her in have provided all they can for her, they have not been warm and loving. Her “foreignness” in this small Yorkshire community sets her apart and she’s remained rather solitary. At least until the three are joined together by the news of their scholarships.
The book opens with the three girls “picnicking” and talking about their recent acceptance at university. All will be setting off for London: Hetty to London to read Literature; Una to Cambridge to study physics; and Leiselotte to Cambridge where she’ll study Modern Languages. But before they go, they’ll have the summer months to grow up a bit.
Gardam changes point of view from chapter to chapter to give each girl a chance in the spotlight. Hetty heads for the Lake District on her own, an attempt to get away from her mother and try to get a head start on the basic reading she is certain her fellow university students have already studied. Una takes a bicycle trip around the countryside in the company of a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Leiselotte’s journey is the most wide-ranging and full of surprises. I’m not sure I ever really got to know her in this novel and felt that her story was somewhat tacked onto that of the other girls.
My reactions:
I’ve read three of Gardam’s novels before this one, and I rated them all 4****. I made a note to myself immediately on finishing this one with my 4-star rating, but now, a week later, as I sit to write my review I think I may have been over-enthusiastic. I’ll leave my rating at 4 since that was my initial reaction, but perhaps it should really be 3.5***.
What I love about Gardam’s writing is the way she paints her characters and shows us who they are. Hetty (Hester or “Hes-tah”) Fallowes is somewhat bookish and saddled with an overbearing mother. She sympathizes with but doesn’t really understand her father, who suffers from the traumas he witnessed in the trenches during WWI (what we would today recognize as PTSD). Her best friend (since age five) is Una Vane. She had a somewhat privileged upbringing, until her doctor father walked out one morning, and his body was discovered days later at the base of a cliff. He, too, had suffered from his experiences in WW1. The third girl is a recent member of their tight circle of friendship.
Leiselotte Klein, is a Jewish refugee who was taken in by a Quaker family. While Hetty and Una are thin, even skinny, Leiselotte is chubby. She slouches and is always knitting. She knows nothing of what has happened to her family, and while the Quaker couple who have taken her in have provided all they can for her, they have not been warm and loving. Her “foreignness” in this small Yorkshire community sets her apart and she’s remained rather solitary. At least until the three are joined together by the news of their scholarships.
The book opens with the three girls “picnicking” and talking about their recent acceptance at university. All will be setting off for London: Hetty to London to read Literature; Una to Cambridge to study physics; and Leiselotte to Cambridge where she’ll study Modern Languages. But before they go, they’ll have the summer months to grow up a bit.
Gardam changes point of view from chapter to chapter to give each girl a chance in the spotlight. Hetty heads for the Lake District on her own, an attempt to get away from her mother and try to get a head start on the basic reading she is certain her fellow university students have already studied. Una takes a bicycle trip around the countryside in the company of a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Leiselotte’s journey is the most wide-ranging and full of surprises. I’m not sure I ever really got to know her in this novel and felt that her story was somewhat tacked onto that of the other girls.
bookpossum's review against another edition
4.0
In the English summer of 1946, three young women in Yorkshire are experiencing their last months before going to University. This is the story of what they do in those months and the decisions they make. If this sounds mundane, it is anything but that, although Jane Gardam writes so beautifully that she could make a telephone directory interesting.
The shadows of both the World Wars still fall on their young lives; two whose fathers survived the Great War but continued to live with its horrors, and one who is German Jewish. Her life was saved by the Kindertransport, but she has to learn to deal with the fate of her family back in Hamburg.
Jane Gardam herself would have had some of these experiences and known of others. Everything she writes rings true.
Highly recommended.
The shadows of both the World Wars still fall on their young lives; two whose fathers survived the Great War but continued to live with its horrors, and one who is German Jewish. Her life was saved by the Kindertransport, but she has to learn to deal with the fate of her family back in Hamburg.
Jane Gardam herself would have had some of these experiences and known of others. Everything she writes rings true.
Highly recommended.
marla0505's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed the author's style and all the characters in this book, although it took a little bit of a weird ramble towards the end. Good read!
eliz_s's review against another edition
3.0
more like 3.5 stars. I chuckled often as read this book, but the numerous side characters made it rather confusing at times.
oboreads's review against another edition
1.0
This book me far too long to read because I kept forcing myself to finish such a stretcher out story. The narrative had great potential, but the author did not let the reader connect to the characters in any way and most of their life events seemed so unbelievable. From other reviews people are saying that this is the worst piece by the author and she has some good work so maybe I'll check it out later but for now I have other books to move on to.
dynamo170's review against another edition
3.0
I love Jane Gardam's writing but have passed over this book a couple of times previously as it didn't look too interesting. However I have now read it and whilst probably my least favourite of her books I have read the characters and settings and the quality of the writing still make it an enjoyable read.