tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘Whatever gifts you have, came from here, and you owe the place something in return.’
Two adult brothers, Richard and William, live with their parents Herbie and Madeline in a large farmhouse in rural Somerset, England. The brothers are very different: Richard is a farmer who loves the land, while William is a talented artist with an unpredictable temperament. Herbie and Madeline have their own issues, each struggling to control the world around them (and each other). Richard and William each marry, but these first marriages are doomed. Neither brother is comfortable in his own skin, each can (generally) only see flaws in the other. Estranged from each other, and alienated from their parents, tragedy looms when both Richard and William fall in love with the same woman. It’s complicated.
This is the fourth of Neil Grimmett’s novels I have read, and yet again he has created a number of complex, flawed characters. There are no heroes in this novel, and no villains either. Just complex human beings displaying the best and worst of human behaviour. Richard and William struggle to understand each other. William’s art seems to be misunderstood and not appreciated while Richard’s work on the farm is taken for granted. William, bent on self-destruction, tries to distance himself from the land. Richard, obsessed with Selina, loses his sense of self away from the land. Is a happy ending to this story possible? Can the family reconcile?
For much of the novel, Richard’s jealousy and William’s self-absorption both irritated me. I wanted to shake each of them, and point out that all humans have flaws. I wondered, too, whether William would survive to have his artistic gifts recognised. While Neil Grimmett’s writing held my attention, his characters developed a life of their own. At the end of the novel I found myself wanting more, wondering about what might happen next.
Note: My thanks to Lisa Grimmett for providing me with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. Sadly, Neil Grimmett passed away on 28 November 2015.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Two adult brothers, Richard and William, live with their parents Herbie and Madeline in a large farmhouse in rural Somerset, England. The brothers are very different: Richard is a farmer who loves the land, while William is a talented artist with an unpredictable temperament. Herbie and Madeline have their own issues, each struggling to control the world around them (and each other). Richard and William each marry, but these first marriages are doomed. Neither brother is comfortable in his own skin, each can (generally) only see flaws in the other. Estranged from each other, and alienated from their parents, tragedy looms when both Richard and William fall in love with the same woman. It’s complicated.
This is the fourth of Neil Grimmett’s novels I have read, and yet again he has created a number of complex, flawed characters. There are no heroes in this novel, and no villains either. Just complex human beings displaying the best and worst of human behaviour. Richard and William struggle to understand each other. William’s art seems to be misunderstood and not appreciated while Richard’s work on the farm is taken for granted. William, bent on self-destruction, tries to distance himself from the land. Richard, obsessed with Selina, loses his sense of self away from the land. Is a happy ending to this story possible? Can the family reconcile?
For much of the novel, Richard’s jealousy and William’s self-absorption both irritated me. I wanted to shake each of them, and point out that all humans have flaws. I wondered, too, whether William would survive to have his artistic gifts recognised. While Neil Grimmett’s writing held my attention, his characters developed a life of their own. At the end of the novel I found myself wanting more, wondering about what might happen next.
Note: My thanks to Lisa Grimmett for providing me with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. Sadly, Neil Grimmett passed away on 28 November 2015.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
More...