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christinafrancisgilbert's review against another edition
A calm, almost hypnotic read with an eclectic mix of main characters. I found the merging points of view hard to follow in places since the narrative hops between characters as they experience the scenes together. Sometimes the chapter divisions matched the change in point of view. At times chapters opened without immediately making known whose perspective it was.
I enjoyed the description and insight into what an Indian hill station was like in different pre and post colonial circumstances.
In fact the ideas which are presented in fragmented opposition are presented in a provocative but sensitively engaging and informative manner.
I enjoyed the description and insight into what an Indian hill station was like in different pre and post colonial circumstances.
In fact the ideas which are presented in fragmented opposition are presented in a provocative but sensitively engaging and informative manner.
kab11's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rebuiltbybooks's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thepageladies's review against another edition
3.0
Fleeing his demons and the dark undercurrents of contemporary life in the UK, Hilary Byrd takes refuge in a former British hill station in South India. Charmed by the foreignness of his new surroundings and by the familiarity of everything the British have left behind, he finds solace in life’s simple pleasures, travelling by rickshaw around the small town with his driver Jamshed and staying in a mission house beside the local presbytery where the Padre and his adoptive daughter Priscilla have taken Hilary under their wing.
The Padre is concerned for Priscilla’s future, and as Hilary’s friendship with the young woman grows, he begins to wonder whether his purpose lies in this new relationship. But religious tensions are brewing and the mission house may not be the safe haven it seems.
Thank you, Goodreads and Scribner Books for the chance to read The Mission House!
“{The best sentences are the ones I begin without knowing how they will end.}”
This was a very stunning and gentle story. I have to say I don’t think I have ever read anything like it. It’s very unique to the author. At times it felt almost like I was reading poetry. It feels like there isn’t much happening, only hints of action to come. That may be why the book felt like it was slow going. The world building in this book makes you feel like you are actually there. That you can hear, see, and smell all the same things as Hillary. I’m not 100% sure what I think of this book. There were things I liked and things I didn’t. I know that doesn’t help much. But the only thing I can say that may help is you have to try it and you will either like it or you won’t. Happy reading everyone!
The Padre is concerned for Priscilla’s future, and as Hilary’s friendship with the young woman grows, he begins to wonder whether his purpose lies in this new relationship. But religious tensions are brewing and the mission house may not be the safe haven it seems.
Thank you, Goodreads and Scribner Books for the chance to read The Mission House!
“{The best sentences are the ones I begin without knowing how they will end.}”
This was a very stunning and gentle story. I have to say I don’t think I have ever read anything like it. It’s very unique to the author. At times it felt almost like I was reading poetry. It feels like there isn’t much happening, only hints of action to come. That may be why the book felt like it was slow going. The world building in this book makes you feel like you are actually there. That you can hear, see, and smell all the same things as Hillary. I’m not 100% sure what I think of this book. There were things I liked and things I didn’t. I know that doesn’t help much. But the only thing I can say that may help is you have to try it and you will either like it or you won’t. Happy reading everyone!
textpublishing's review against another edition
The following reviews have been shared by Text Publishing - publisher of The Mission House
‘A novel about the pitfalls of human connection in contemporary India…An interesting take on a familiar trope...The Mission House truthfully reveals that the new realities of India will increasingly have their revenge on these tired old romances.’ Guardian
‘[An] effortlessly readable novel about vulnerable private lives being tossed around by the wild currents of history.’ Age
‘Superb.’
The Times
‘A stunning, understated novel...Told from alternating perspectives, this captivating, nuanced tale balances a pervading sense of melancholy with pockets of wry humor. Davies’s masterly elegy is not to be missed.'
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘Carys Davies is unlike anyone else I have ever read. She can say in one sublime sentence what most of us struggle to come up with in a page. And The Mission House is another triumph.’
Rachel Joyce
‘Precise and wonderful…An entrancing read…The Mission House feels at once historic and contemporary, old and new, known and unknown, and in its unobtrusive way it invites its reader—as the very best writing always does—to ask questions about the world we live in and the part we play in it.’
Nation.Cymru
‘Beautifully done, with the same resonant concision of Carys Davies’s fine first novel, West, it’s a haunting picture of colonialism’s long legacy.’
The Sunday Times
‘Davies creates a world that is magical yet daubed with menace. Nuanced characters, lush descriptions of South India, and an incisive look at class and religion make for a rich and layered novel.’
Booklist (starred review)
‘Lightly yet deftly crafted, hovering in tone somewhere between comedy, tragedy and fable, Welsh author Davies’ understated second novel considers isolated characters and their yearnings against the historical long view and looming political violence.’
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
‘[A] skillful drama of well-meant misunderstandings and cultural divisions. The interactions are polite and repressed, but the story is galvanised by the “passion simmering under the surface of things. Always, every once in a while, the lid blowing off, and nothing, it seemed, that anyone could do to stop it happening.”’
Wall Street Journal
‘A whiff of E. M. Forster hangs over the luminous new novel from an O’Connor Prize winner. Hilary Byrd, a dissolute British man, escapes the coop of his native country on his own passage to India, where he basks in the rhythms and textures of his adventure, renting a guest house in a presbytery and forging bonds with his rickshaw driver and the Padre’s daughter. And yet religious tensions stalk his safehouse in an elegant tale that probes the jagged shadows of colonialism. Davies is a writer to watch—and to savour.’
O, The Oprah Magazine
‘[A] singular voice...Davies’ writing is sublime...saying something about life’s trajectory in a few lines...Prose to disappear into.'
Toronto Star
‘A novel about the pitfalls of human connection in contemporary India…An interesting take on a familiar trope...The Mission House truthfully reveals that the new realities of India will increasingly have their revenge on these tired old romances.’ Guardian
‘[An] effortlessly readable novel about vulnerable private lives being tossed around by the wild currents of history.’ Age
‘Superb.’
The Times
‘A stunning, understated novel...Told from alternating perspectives, this captivating, nuanced tale balances a pervading sense of melancholy with pockets of wry humor. Davies’s masterly elegy is not to be missed.'
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘Carys Davies is unlike anyone else I have ever read. She can say in one sublime sentence what most of us struggle to come up with in a page. And The Mission House is another triumph.’
Rachel Joyce
‘Precise and wonderful…An entrancing read…The Mission House feels at once historic and contemporary, old and new, known and unknown, and in its unobtrusive way it invites its reader—as the very best writing always does—to ask questions about the world we live in and the part we play in it.’
Nation.Cymru
‘Beautifully done, with the same resonant concision of Carys Davies’s fine first novel, West, it’s a haunting picture of colonialism’s long legacy.’
The Sunday Times
‘Davies creates a world that is magical yet daubed with menace. Nuanced characters, lush descriptions of South India, and an incisive look at class and religion make for a rich and layered novel.’
Booklist (starred review)
‘Lightly yet deftly crafted, hovering in tone somewhere between comedy, tragedy and fable, Welsh author Davies’ understated second novel considers isolated characters and their yearnings against the historical long view and looming political violence.’
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
‘[A] skillful drama of well-meant misunderstandings and cultural divisions. The interactions are polite and repressed, but the story is galvanised by the “passion simmering under the surface of things. Always, every once in a while, the lid blowing off, and nothing, it seemed, that anyone could do to stop it happening.”’
Wall Street Journal
‘A whiff of E. M. Forster hangs over the luminous new novel from an O’Connor Prize winner. Hilary Byrd, a dissolute British man, escapes the coop of his native country on his own passage to India, where he basks in the rhythms and textures of his adventure, renting a guest house in a presbytery and forging bonds with his rickshaw driver and the Padre’s daughter. And yet religious tensions stalk his safehouse in an elegant tale that probes the jagged shadows of colonialism. Davies is a writer to watch—and to savour.’
O, The Oprah Magazine
‘[A] singular voice...Davies’ writing is sublime...saying something about life’s trajectory in a few lines...Prose to disappear into.'
Toronto Star
tommooney's review against another edition
2.0
Carys Davies has a brilliant book in her. You can feel it. But this, her second novel, is another disappointment.
The writing is beautiful, just as it was in West. But the story doesn't hold the attention at all. In fact, I've just finished and still can't really say what it was about or what the point of it was.
It opens with intrigue, as an Englishman arrives in the Indian Hill town of Ooty, a heavenly place steeped in British colonial history. He stays at the Christian mission house on the hill, with the old padre and his crippled adopted daughter. He mills about town, guided by an old rickshaw driver.
But the novel just meanders along, much like our protagonist, never achieving anything, never stepping out of its comfort zone.
This was a disappointing read but I will stick with Davies because she's going to produce something great one day.
The writing is beautiful, just as it was in West. But the story doesn't hold the attention at all. In fact, I've just finished and still can't really say what it was about or what the point of it was.
It opens with intrigue, as an Englishman arrives in the Indian Hill town of Ooty, a heavenly place steeped in British colonial history. He stays at the Christian mission house on the hill, with the old padre and his crippled adopted daughter. He mills about town, guided by an old rickshaw driver.
But the novel just meanders along, much like our protagonist, never achieving anything, never stepping out of its comfort zone.
This was a disappointing read but I will stick with Davies because she's going to produce something great one day.
totallytales's review against another edition
3.0
There is a line from the novel: "So much passion simmering under the surface of things'' It is one that perfectly captures how I felt about it. It is a very reflective read with a lot of the depth coming from all the things left unsaid.
I loved being transported to India the sense of place drawn is so vivid and colourful, you can easily imagine you are there alongside Byrd and Jamshed. Ooty is given enough depth is it certainly a character in its own right by the end of the novel.
I felt disappointed by the ending, it felt flat and rushed to me in comparison to the rest of the story.
I read this as part of the Tandem readalong and it went down like marmite some loved it some not so much but it provided great topics of conversation so would make a brilliant book club pick.
A huge thanks to Tandem Collective & Granta Books for gifting me a copy in return for an open & honest review.
⭐⭐⭐
I loved being transported to India the sense of place drawn is so vivid and colourful, you can easily imagine you are there alongside Byrd and Jamshed. Ooty is given enough depth is it certainly a character in its own right by the end of the novel.
I felt disappointed by the ending, it felt flat and rushed to me in comparison to the rest of the story.
I read this as part of the Tandem readalong and it went down like marmite some loved it some not so much but it provided great topics of conversation so would make a brilliant book club pick.
A huge thanks to Tandem Collective & Granta Books for gifting me a copy in return for an open & honest review.
⭐⭐⭐
bfields352's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book based on the summary. But I struggled with this book. The writing style was very easy. What I struggled with was it took way too long to build up to the problems and way too long to reach the climax in my opinion. It didn’t draw me in where I couldn’t put it down like other books do. That’s why it took me longer to read. I would set it down and forget about it.
kimswhims's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating read. A thoroughly original story with so much to it. The Indian highland setting, the middle aged British man trying to find himself and the host of other interesting characters. It didn't blow me away as much as her novel "West" but it's a thoroughly good story that is well written and I'll read anything that this author writes.
tierneyspence's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5