Scan barcode
A review by documentno_is
Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was an interesting one!
I would start with the positive, this novel has an incredible sense of voice. The author really writes our protagonist as the funniest person in the room and that comes across both in the other character's reactions to her but in the word choices as well. Filling her prose with idiom and humor, Mittford has an incredible sense of what people at the time found funny.
The characters are a bit of a mixed bag, some are written complexly and with detail and some just exist to keep the story moving. There is a good deal of social satire in the novel so many of the characters are stand ins for what english people in their 60's thought about one another. Mittford clearly has a good sense of British society and likely took on much of what she knew people found funny.
On the negative side, as with much of British literature this novel is abhorrently racist in ways that are difficult for a modern audience to stomach. They show the state of Britain of the time but unfortunately illuminate much of what is still plaguing society today. I don't necessarily feel Mitford was trying to present this racism as a negative or positive commentary and that's where my problems with it were.
Lastly, it really did sort of fall apart in the middle for a second. Too many characters introduced without enough characterization leaves the audience feeling floundered. Her initially charismatic voice was starting to get lost in the grating minutia of Fanny's french life. Mitford's novel wasn't necessarily a complete disappointment but I'm unsure if the impact of the positives outweighed the heavy pull of the negatives.
I would start with the positive, this novel has an incredible sense of voice. The author really writes our protagonist as the funniest person in the room and that comes across both in the other character's reactions to her but in the word choices as well. Filling her prose with idiom and humor, Mittford has an incredible sense of what people at the time found funny.
The characters are a bit of a mixed bag, some are written complexly and with detail and some just exist to keep the story moving. There is a good deal of social satire in the novel so many of the characters are stand ins for what english people in their 60's thought about one another. Mittford clearly has a good sense of British society and likely took on much of what she knew people found funny.
On the negative side, as with much of British literature this novel is abhorrently racist in ways that are difficult for a modern audience to stomach. They show the state of Britain of the time but unfortunately illuminate much of what is still plaguing society today. I don't necessarily feel Mitford was trying to present this racism as a negative or positive commentary and that's where my problems with it were.
Lastly, it really did sort of fall apart in the middle for a second. Too many characters introduced without enough characterization leaves the audience feeling floundered. Her initially charismatic voice was starting to get lost in the grating minutia of Fanny's french life. Mitford's novel wasn't necessarily a complete disappointment but I'm unsure if the impact of the positives outweighed the heavy pull of the negatives.