Friends and Relations by Elizabeth Bowen

The book is out of print and the chances of me getting to this one was remote. Fortunately Open Library had it and I was able to read it there. Highly recommended on several blogs including Book Snob and Fleur Fisher,  I was very glad I was able to find this one.

The story deals with relationships between four families - it begins at the wedding of a young couple where we are introduced to all the parties that form the story. The scandalous Lady Elfrida whose only scandal was that she is a divorcee seems to cause uneasiness wherever she goes. Hovering over it all are the Thirdmans just returned from Switzerland, seemingly lost with their precocious daughter Theodora who even as a teenager is out to create trouble wherever she goes.

Soon after one wedding, Janet announces her intention to marry Rodney the heir of Considine who was the lover of the scandalous lover.  Despite initial hesitation over the match because of the uneasy connection between the families permission is granted and things seem to settle down.

Fast forward ten years down the line and we see the two marriages. Steadfast true but rather dull going on in a very dull way. Theodora however is still very much there on the scene, still creating tiny little rifts without even seeming to do so. Over it all is Lady Elfrida and despite her relationship with Considine being very much in the past, and ancient history, it is still the elephant in the room.

I like the way the author describes in detail the history of this particular time, the formality of day to day life is handled well. I found also excess of passion on one side and the absolute lack of it in other relationships in this story also an interesting feature.

A Season for Martyrs by Bina Shah

The story is told in two parts. We have the life of Ali a journalist for Channel 24 and then we have the imminent return of Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan from her exile in Dubai.

Both come from the same family of feudal zamindars of the Sindh community. Benazir Bhutto's father took his political leanings far and established a party which was at odds with the feelings of his community. He was for the common man, he sought land distribution (which did not go down too well with the people who owned land), he also sought the upliftment of the common man. For this he paid the ultimate price. His daughter took up the political baton and was set to  make wide sweeping changes. That this could happen in an orthodox Muslim country was in itself a massive story. That it actually happened is the fact.

Ali's life is also complicated. Involved in a love affair with a Hindu girl which in itself was a no no from both sides he knows that the chances of this love affair reaching its goal is almost impossible. His story that his father is dead just to avoid scandal is also not helping him or his family. His father has taken a second wife and moved away - he not acknowledging his father's existence is causing him more heartbreak than he imagined. The relationship between father and children has been distant and Ali as a young man is now feeling its absence the most. Ali has also secretly applied for a visa to the US and when this gets known to his family he is treated with suspicion because he did not disclose this to them. Trying to reconcile his personal life with the professional is also hard for Ali. He supports Benazir Bhutto but at the same time is skeptical about her aims. The corruption charges against the Bhuttos has not gone away and he is aware as do most of Pakistan of their enormous wealth both in Pakistan and abroad and he wonders how this came about.

The story then shifts to Bhutto's planned arrival in Pakistan and the events that preceded it. The dismissal of the Chief Justice and the breakdown of law and order was huge at the time as other than bringing in the military hard, there was no way for Musharaff to stay in power. Like most autocratic regimes the army was brutal and the death toll and the missing toll was very heavy.

A story of personal lives and political turmoil combined, alongside a fascinating slice of history and the development of a country goes alongside each other in this book.

Loved it.

Sent to me by Netgalley courtesy of Open Road Integrated Media.

Mailbox Monday/It's Monday! What are you reading?

Doing this post way ahead of schedule as I am leaving for Vietnam on a ten day trip tonight! Looking forward to this ever so much. It is the first time I have joined a guided tour so I am hoping it will all work out.


My books are all from Open Library.


       




I read the first one and its already up for review in January. I found it a wonderful book about human relationships and the varieties of human nature that one comes up against in a single family. In this one every good and bad one is portrayed very well.  It is my first Margery Sharp read.


I do not know whether I will be able to get anything read on this trip though I am taking my Kindle with all its downloads. I hope I will be able to get some reading done.


Having a long break in Singapore on the return trip. Looking forward to Christmas décor there. They always do a splendid show!

Difficult Husbands by Mary de Laszlo

Three friends all in the same age group of forties. Three husbands all twenty years their senior. Now after a decade or more of marriage, we find their lives disintegrating with husbands either looking elsewhere, drunk and disorderly or just disinterested in their wives and families. Trying to at least keep their children within the family unit is hard. Most of the children are grown up and finding it difficult/impossible to cope with such fathers. They prefer to stay away from the family home rather than seeing their fathers. How the three wives come up with a scheme to try to bring some sense to their wayward husbands as well as keep their families close to them is a heart breaking and funny story here.

Lorna is the only one who is actually divorced. Gloria seems not able to let go of her permanently drunk husband however much of a no gooder he is and Rosalind seems to always make some kind of excuse for her philandering husband.  Despite Lorna's husband being out of the scene and shacked up with a much younger woman, Lorna still yearns for the marriage that was and does not seem to be able to let go.

A surprise inheritance in the form of a country house and the arrival of Nathan on the scene seems to be the catalyst that sets inadvertently all three women free. The outcome of the inheritance and the role it plays is strange but it does seek some closure for all.

The setting of Ravenscourt in winter and the time being Christmas was good for me as well. My first sort of Christmassy read as well. I have read many books where a house becomes almost as big a character as the characters themselves and this was one of those books. Nice!

The book was sent to me by Netgalley via Bookouture. Thank you.

The Marriage Game by Alison Weir

This was a delightful novel. Very slow in some parts but at the same time, keeping the reader interested because though of course we do know the outcome we still want to know personal stories.

This is not just history, this is a personal love story of a queen who was tragically torn in two. Today she would have been diagnosed with the syndrome and treated accordingly. At that time she kept it a well hidden secret and took it with her to the grave.

Elizabeth I came to the English throne through very turbulent times. She was quite used to intrigue and murder though murder and death warrants would haunt her to the end of her days. Very early on she fell in love with Robin and this love affair would also last her to the end of her days. The tragedy that she would not allow herself to take this affair to its culmination in marriage was her personal tragedy. For Elizabeth England reigned supreme and was her Master. Everything she did including the protracted marriage negotiations (which she had no intention of fulfilling) were done for the benefit of the country.

The Queen enjoyed the flirtations, and the intrigues of court politics involved in the marriage negotiations. What this did to her relationship with Robin whom she supposedly loved was secondary. A woman who seemed very calculating of every move and who wanted the cake and the plate as it were.

The author spins the story of Elizabeth I masterfully. Flaws and all are mercilessly revealed but at the same time the character and strength of Elizabeth are also revealed and how she laid the foundation for good governance in England is apparent.

This book was sent to me by Edelweiss.

The Snail Man by Victoria Benchley

This was an unusual read in parts and just a basic read in some parts. The story was a bit off putting and creepy but at other times seemed very ordinary. I do not like to stop half way and sometimes wish I would! This was read to the end though.

Kathryn has been widowed for three years but she still seems to want to live in the past, which was a safe haven for her. Her job is a secure one but not exciting and she now feels that the time is correct to get back into the world of men and dating. Meeting two men - one rich and famous and flashy, the other homeless and almost  a stalker she has to choose between the two.

Kathryn herself comes across as being very shallow. I read a review saying she was naïve but I felt that she was much more calculating than that and for me not a very likable character.  The book was rather impersonal in the telling and I never got really taken in by any of the characters.

This was an Amazon download.

Mailbox Monday/It's Monday! What are you reading?

Mailbox Monday is today heralding in the month of December. A very happy season to all readers.







From Netgalley.




            


From Amazon







Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.


Right now in the middle of Escape the Night by Richard North Patterson


Also trying to finish some reviews so that it will not pile up this month. Also a trip to Vietnam in the offing - quite excited to go. First time I am doing an organized tour so looking forward to that.