My second Penelope Mortimer novel in a short time, and I think I enjoyed this more than The Pumpkin Eater. There are similar themes here, but this book is less dark.
In a nutshell this a story of a disintegrating relationship and marriage, and how the narrator copes with her new home, her (almost) adult children, her ex and current and potential lovers, and her husband. There’s a lot of characters that come and go, and you get a lot of insightful descriptions of them in a short period of time. It’s easy to enter the world of this novel and enjoy the journey.
I loved the descriptions of the two grandmothers and how the children interacted with them. It’s also an interesting depiction of an older version of London.
A great novel that looks at the social and psychological ramifications of divorce. The going gets a bit rough and dark at times, but there’s a lot of humour too. It’s a novel that’s all about the experience, not necessarily the destination.
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