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A review by sloatsj
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns
5.0
'Of what has been and might have been
And who was changed and who was dead' - Longfellow
I became a Comyns fan this year, this being my third book by her.
This weird pastoral, and its delightful opening paragraph, begins with a flood that heralds a rash of madness and suicide in the small riverside town. The story centers on the eccentric Willoweed family, three motherless children and their unemployed father Ebin, and his erratic and tyrannical mother, plus the townsfolk and servants. It is funny and weird and also sad and tender. I love how Comyns just lets things happen, and the book is less driven by plot or character than simply a series of events: people die, spouses cheat, and dead peacocks float by on the river.
And who was changed and who was dead' - Longfellow
I became a Comyns fan this year, this being my third book by her.
This weird pastoral, and its delightful opening paragraph, begins with a flood that heralds a rash of madness and suicide in the small riverside town. The story centers on the eccentric Willoweed family, three motherless children and their unemployed father Ebin, and his erratic and tyrannical mother, plus the townsfolk and servants. It is funny and weird and also sad and tender. I love how Comyns just lets things happen, and the book is less driven by plot or character than simply a series of events: people die, spouses cheat, and dead peacocks float by on the river.