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theboundless_bookworm 's review for:
The Glittering Hour
by Iona Grey
“The Glittering Hour” by Iona Grey is a lush portrayal of the glamorous yet outrageous life of the “Bright Young Things” of the 1920s. Selina Lennox, along with her friends Flick and Theo, were the son and daughters of the high society, aristocrats, and middle-class people: a generation too young to be sent into the battle of the Great War. Hounded by the paparazzi who were every inch hungry to have a glimpse into the intriguing lives and imminent dissolution of these rebellious, promiscuous and carefree boys and girls, chased around London while notoriously reveling in extravagant parties and theatrics, enjoying treasure hunting in fast cars, and experimenting with drugs.
Selina’s carefree disposition, embroidered with a carpe diem attitude, had been her family’s cause of concern and disapproval. Adored and favored by her brother Howard from when she was little, Selina’s high spirits were a result of her brother’s favor that she should enjoy life’s pleasures and live for the moment. After Howard’s death, Selina cocooned her grief by throwing herself into lavish parties with her friends. But when her path unexpectedly crossed with Lawrence Weston, an impoverished artist who knew better than to mingle with someone of Selina’s stature, their lives were suddenly swept from a forbidden love affair to a tragedy that will make them choose between love and practicality.
This novel brought me to tears. Grey’s circuitous and poetic writing is impeccable as the way she has framed a time once loved and lost then brought back to life for her readers to acknowledge and understand. Selina’s narrative reminds me once again why historical novels have always captivated me: to fathom the extremes of human behavior set against the political, social, and cultural circumstances and struggles of a particular era.
Enthralling, heartbreaking, and hauntingly beautiful, “The Glittering Hour” is a celebration of a generation catapulted into an ironic twist of the remnants of the Great War and the boisterous parade of the plummeting wealth of the once rich and powerful scarred by death and financial duties. A moving tale of love and sacrifice and of life and of death, Grey’s masterpiece of a novel disarms the readers of prejudices, instead ignites a discussion on ethical dilemmas. The novel’s heartfelt finale proves that love will always find its way in the most glittering hour of our lives.
Selina’s carefree disposition, embroidered with a carpe diem attitude, had been her family’s cause of concern and disapproval. Adored and favored by her brother Howard from when she was little, Selina’s high spirits were a result of her brother’s favor that she should enjoy life’s pleasures and live for the moment. After Howard’s death, Selina cocooned her grief by throwing herself into lavish parties with her friends. But when her path unexpectedly crossed with Lawrence Weston, an impoverished artist who knew better than to mingle with someone of Selina’s stature, their lives were suddenly swept from a forbidden love affair to a tragedy that will make them choose between love and practicality.
This novel brought me to tears. Grey’s circuitous and poetic writing is impeccable as the way she has framed a time once loved and lost then brought back to life for her readers to acknowledge and understand. Selina’s narrative reminds me once again why historical novels have always captivated me: to fathom the extremes of human behavior set against the political, social, and cultural circumstances and struggles of a particular era.
Enthralling, heartbreaking, and hauntingly beautiful, “The Glittering Hour” is a celebration of a generation catapulted into an ironic twist of the remnants of the Great War and the boisterous parade of the plummeting wealth of the once rich and powerful scarred by death and financial duties. A moving tale of love and sacrifice and of life and of death, Grey’s masterpiece of a novel disarms the readers of prejudices, instead ignites a discussion on ethical dilemmas. The novel’s heartfelt finale proves that love will always find its way in the most glittering hour of our lives.