[b:The Past|27133296|The Past|Tessa Hadley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445792481s/27133296.jpg|43272159] was good but not as great as I anticipated. I thought the writing was masterful but the story and characters started to plod for me about two-thirds along and it was due at the library so I skimmed. It is reminiscent of [a:Jane Gardam|20838|Jane Gardam|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1264017642p2/20838.jpg] (who does a better story), [a:Anne Enright|52832|Anne Enright|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1426012522p2/52832.jpg] and [a:Barbara Trapido|167308|Barbara Trapido|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1289581519p2/167308.jpg], all of whom write good family stories of fraught adult relationships. [a:Anne Tyler|457|Anne Tyler|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1332881249p2/457.jpg]is superb at this kind of family tale and funnier. Probably unfairly, I was listening to a book steeped in black humor called [b:A Reunion of Ghosts|22638315|A Reunion of Ghosts|Judith Claire Mitchell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412608463s/22638315.jpg|42138438] about three sisters plotting their suicides. So the siblings in [b:The Past|25816831|The Past|Tessa Hadley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441801025s/25816831.jpg|43272159] paled for me as they rehashed their old woes and loyalties interrupted by the brother's handsome, tempestuous third wife, an Argentinian. The old house achieved status as a character itself. The young kids were well drawn, maddening, willful and true. The middle segment of the mother's life was the most interesting, but I put the book away without a truly satisfied sigh. ( )

109000

Lu Juin 2023 ( )

I really liked this book. I love stories about family dynamics and this doesn't disappoint. ( )

I am consciously trying to read more contemporary authors and it feels refreshing - but I have to say, reading references to modern day norms and objects such as iPhones, is still disconcerting for me. I am, pardon the pun, stuck in the past. And it is where I feel most comfortable. Through no fault of the author, mentions of present day lifestyles so casually weaved through the writing still makes me flinch. I am trying to bypass it, but I think I will always feel more comfortable getting lost in a world that revolves around people minus their annoying 21st century habits.
Having said all this, this book was still enjoyable and each character is distinctly memorable; their differences and character traits so clearly presented that I felt I knew exactly who they were and exactly what the author was getting at. She seems to take characters from a certain circle of life and subtly amplify them for the reader to go 'Ohhh, he/she is THAT kind of person'. This circle is pretty limited though considering the story follows the lives of members from one particular family - and that family is extremely middle-class. Similarly, as in Hadley's other work 'Late In The Day', it is all very much sophisticated foods, political and cultural discussions, luxurious materials in clothing - an all in all London meets continental ambiance. I did enjoy recognising these connotations and experiencing them through the writing, but a whole bookful of it can get a bit annoying.... ( )