Reviews

3 1/2. I liked this much better at the end, then when I was actually reading it. I found it to be very slow, but I also think maybe it's me and the current headspace I'm in and not the book.

kylie_the_second's review against another edition

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funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

siguirimama's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

an_enthusiastic_reader's review against another edition

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5.0

This is the first book I've read by E. Taylor and wow. I thought it was going to be some kind of funny wry marriage comedy like "Barefoot in the Park" or the like, but it turns out to be a deft and precise study of a melancholy and restless woman named Julia, who has an extremely precocious son (I read adult books early, but not "Jane Eyre" at age seven!). They live with Roddy, her husband and the father of Oliver, and Roddy's cousin, Eleanor, in the home of Mrs. Lippincote, a widow who has been pushed out to a hotel so they can rent her home, all of this during the second world war. There are other strong portraits of characters here, too, in particular Eleanor, the poisonous cousin who despises Julia, and a band of communists, a besotted commander, and a derelict restaurant owner. Chapter thirteen brings the particular delight and sadness of a child experiencing the pleasure of a lazy afternoon.

I want to read more of this novelist's work.

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