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A review by elliethebookreader
Freya by Françoise Hardy, Anthony Quinn
4.0
Many thanks go to @Christina who lent me this book.
An intoxicating and fascinating (to the point of me not being able to put it down, despite needing to prepare for an exam) tale of a unique strong-minded self-confident stubborn girl. The story follows her from being a twenty-year, newly dispatched from WRENS, celebrating Victory day and trying to find her place in the world, only on the brink of recovery from the shock of Second World War and full of people of "Lost Generation". The second part of the book shows her in her late twenties, living the life of a succesful journalist, fiercely defending her principles and yet struggling with a diffucult task of making sense of personal relationships. Freya is neither bad, nor good. She is simply one of the many people, who is trying to live this life, how they want to. Her abrasive language, brisk manner, lack of desire to conform to other people's expectations get her quite a few enemies, especially in the dominantly male world of uptight self-righteous journalists. However, this does not deter her in the slightest and she is contempt enough with those who matter most, her closest friends, her family.
The final part shows the main heroine in her mid-thirties, returning to London after 7 years of absence, because of the quarrel she had with her best friend, Nancy, who did not believe in the betrayal of their mutual friend and the latter's beloved. Quite a heart-breaking scene, their argument. And I loved how real and life-like it was. Although, I must say, 7 years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge. Even for such a stubborn girl as Freya.
The book did remind me a lot of The Little Life, although somehow it did not touch me as deeply, it still is one of the best books (excellent writing and a gripping story-line) that I read in a while.
The hope I have for my future is to be at least somewhat as bald as Freya.
"What is the most valuable luxury? Time. It is ineffable and ungraspable, and yet most mysterious of all, it is free. And those who spend it properly are the richest people of all."
An intoxicating and fascinating (to the point of me not being able to put it down, despite needing to prepare for an exam) tale of a unique strong-minded self-confident stubborn girl. The story follows her from being a twenty-year, newly dispatched from WRENS, celebrating Victory day and trying to find her place in the world, only on the brink of recovery from the shock of Second World War and full of people of "Lost Generation". The second part of the book shows her in her late twenties, living the life of a succesful journalist, fiercely defending her principles and yet struggling with a diffucult task of making sense of personal relationships. Freya is neither bad, nor good. She is simply one of the many people, who is trying to live this life, how they want to. Her abrasive language, brisk manner, lack of desire to conform to other people's expectations get her quite a few enemies, especially in the dominantly male world of uptight self-righteous journalists. However, this does not deter her in the slightest and she is contempt enough with those who matter most, her closest friends, her family.
The final part shows the main heroine in her mid-thirties, returning to London after 7 years of absence, because of the quarrel she had with her best friend, Nancy, who did not believe in the betrayal of their mutual friend and the latter's beloved. Quite a heart-breaking scene, their argument. And I loved how real and life-like it was. Although, I must say, 7 years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge. Even for such a stubborn girl as Freya.
The book did remind me a lot of The Little Life, although somehow it did not touch me as deeply, it still is one of the best books (excellent writing and a gripping story-line) that I read in a while.
The hope I have for my future is to be at least somewhat as bald as Freya.
"What is the most valuable luxury? Time. It is ineffable and ungraspable, and yet most mysterious of all, it is free. And those who spend it properly are the richest people of all."