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pllylzbth's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, and Antisemitism
aimeesue's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, really. At Mrs. Lippincote's was Taylor's first published novel, in 1945. It follows the lives of Roddy and Julia Davenent and their son Oliver after their move to a rented home near Roddy's assigned RAF base. Roddy's older cousin, Eleanor, also lives with them, given the war and her need to recover from a nervous breakdown. Gosh if THAT doesn't sound like communal living bliss.
Taylor's writing is lovely as usual, but the characters here are stilted and prickly. Maybe that was the point, but it doesn't make any of them terribly likeable. Oliver is not quite believable as a seven year old either. That said, I did enjoy the book. The literary references alone made it worth the read. Villette: name checked!
Taylor's writing is lovely as usual, but the characters here are stilted and prickly. Maybe that was the point, but it doesn't make any of them terribly likeable. Oliver is not quite believable as a seven year old either. That said, I did enjoy the book. The literary references alone made it worth the read. Villette: name checked!
fhammond_36's review against another edition
3.0
Feels really contemporary in the writing and characters so must have been controversial in its day. Lovely read
siria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A bleakly humorous novel about conformity and displacement, set during the last year of WW2. The Davenants spend a year living in a rented house—the Mrs Lippincote's of the title—and through Elizabeth Taylor's eyes we observe how they interact with one another and with the world around them. Taylor's approach to her main characters is deft and emotionally intelligent—they are sometimes awful but mostly just recognisably muddling through life; sometimes sympathetic but rarely likeable.
The secondary characters, particularly the group of working-class (gasp) Communists with whom one of the Davenants falls in with, convince less. There are some moments of observation here that are truly pleasurable to read, but there was something about Taylor's prose that I struggled to get on with: something disjointed, opaque. There was also a brief, jarring bout of antisemitism in one chapter.
A solid book, but I can't say it's one that has me dying to rush out and read more of Taylor's work.
The secondary characters, particularly the group of working-class (gasp) Communists with whom one of the Davenants falls in with, convince less. There are some moments of observation here that are truly pleasurable to read, but there was something about Taylor's prose that I struggled to get on with: something disjointed, opaque. There was also a brief, jarring bout of antisemitism in one chapter.
A solid book, but I can't say it's one that has me dying to rush out and read more of Taylor's work.
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism
laila4343's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this, I loved this, I loved this. I'm glad I didn't wait any longer to get this author into my life. Also, one of my favorite mother-son relationships in a book ever.
taylorelm's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
poachedeggs's review against another edition
3.0
It's kind of cool that I read this after one of Kingsley Amis's books, as the foreword to this opens with a reference to Amis having admired Taylor's writing.
Strangely, there was also the mention of 'greengages' here - something I'd never heard of before, but which also popped up in Amis (and which appears in the title of a Rumer Godden novel I have on my to-read list for this season).
Strangely, there was also the mention of 'greengages' here - something I'd never heard of before, but which also popped up in Amis (and which appears in the title of a Rumer Godden novel I have on my to-read list for this season).