I grabbed this book off the return shelves at the library. I was drawn to the cover and I am glad because I really enjoyed it and I have gone on to buy Brother of the more Famous Jack.
Here is the blurb …
Christina and Pam are sisters less than a year apart in age. Pam is tall and black-haired, while Christina is small and fair. Brought up in New York, they are sent to an English boarding school where they meet two boys, Peter and Jago. As the years pass, the four meet and part.
This novel is full of clever witty people – it reminded me a bit of A S Byatt’s series (although not as dense and literary). It also seemed to me to be very 60s, 70s second wave feminist in style although it wasn’t published until 1994 – it’s got that clever women in control of their destiny feel to it. Trapido had a light touch on some harrowing events, which could have bogged down a lesser writer. The novel is about relationships; all sorts of relationships – parents and children, siblings and lovers and how things change over time. Trapido has great sympathy for her characters – we like them and we want them to be happy, despite their foibles and contradictions. If anything this novel is about finding your own path and trusting that everything will eventually be OK.
I shall be recommending this book to all my friends…
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