The Master Bedroom

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OneMansView, May 30, 2011 (view all comments by OneMansView)
Gloomy Wales permeates story (3.25*s)

This gloomy novel set in rainy, cold Wales is a scarcely satisfactory attempt to shed light on the major change that Russian literature professor Kate Flynn is making in her life by abandoning a successful London university career and returning to her large, crumbling childhood estate in Cardiff, Wales to, in theory, care for her 80-something mother Billie, suffering from dementia.

Despite a certain awkwardness in style ��" for example, using dashes in lieu of quotations - requiring constant rereading, the author is highly observant concerning the surroundings and people, in general. But, her characters are puzzling.

The discontents of the unmarried diminutive, attractive Kate are never made clear, but she has always had a healthy interest in the opposite sex. She begins a uncertain relationship with David Roberts, a childhood friend and public health physician, who is having marital woes ��" his wife Suzie is spending a great deal of time with a counter-culture group. Most surprising is her willingness to become involved, after a chance encounter in a local café, with David’s eldest son from a previous marriage, 17-year-old Jamie ��" a relationship that is secretive, tentative, and sexual.

Despite the proximity of these individuals there are few interactions and consequently there are no conflict-fueled resolutions and only minimal clarifications ensue. The teenage Jamie takes far more initiative than the other two, who are strangely hesitant, indecisive, at every turn. The gloom of the Wales setting: the rain, the darkness, the mud, the furnaces not working, etc, seems to have a dulling impact on the entire book. The initial possibilities for this book are just not satisfactorily realized.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780312427979

Author:

Hadley, Tessa

Publisher:

Picador USA

Subject:

Literary

Subject:

General Fiction

Subject:

Literature-A to Z

Edition Description:

Trade Paper

Publication Date:

20080431

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Pages:

352

Dimensions:

7.83 x 5.84 x 0.985 in