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A review by andrew61
The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann
4.0
In the opening chapter of this book we meet Dinah who is visiting her sister madeleine after a long apparent estrangement, as they wander out with madeleines dog in the English country village there is a scene in which a rat is attacked by the dig and how each woman reacts suggests that these are very different individuals.
The book then is divided into separate parts of a day but each section reveals their past and how dinah had a passionate affair with madeleines husband and the subsequent effect this had on both their lives.
The book covers the years both pre and immediately after ww2 and is a remarkable depiction of infidelity, jealousy, family, and obsession. While at times the prose and dialogue became very intense to the point that I struggled to maintain full attention in parts overall I was very glad to read this dramatic story which reminded me a lot both in style and subject of the end of the affair.
The introduction also by Jonathan coe, gave a very good explanation of some of the themes I had missed on first read and subsequent reading of the authors biography on line suggests autobiographical elements to the tale and an incredible life story about the authors own affair with Cecil day Lewis.
The book then is divided into separate parts of a day but each section reveals their past and how dinah had a passionate affair with madeleines husband and the subsequent effect this had on both their lives.
The book covers the years both pre and immediately after ww2 and is a remarkable depiction of infidelity, jealousy, family, and obsession. While at times the prose and dialogue became very intense to the point that I struggled to maintain full attention in parts overall I was very glad to read this dramatic story which reminded me a lot both in style and subject of the end of the affair.
The introduction also by Jonathan coe, gave a very good explanation of some of the themes I had missed on first read and subsequent reading of the authors biography on line suggests autobiographical elements to the tale and an incredible life story about the authors own affair with Cecil day Lewis.