Well, I seem to have got through the reading block - thanks to Elizabeth Jane Howard. She's long been a favourite of mine and I must have read the Cazalet series at least three times. I find her straightforward narrative style very comforting. I read her autobiography, 'Slipstream' last year and was surprised to find how much of her own life she put, only thinly disguised, into the Cazalets. Today's reading has been 'The Beautiful Visit', one of her earliest, published 60 years ago in 1950. Once I found my way in (bearing in mind yesterday's reading block) I was away and am now two thirds of the way through.
I found some memorable descriptions in the early chapters, for example 'a magnificent cedar tree like a butler, old, indispensable and gloomy'; 'curls of smoke the colour of distance'; 'the river gleamed like a wide snake asleep'. As the story progresses I'm warming more and more to the main character (no doubt EJH herself) who is struggling in the years of the First World War to establish her independence both as a person and as a woman.
And in the garden I've planted four more box plants, bought from the market on Saturday morning.
I'm glad the reading block is over. Often an old favourite is the way to get back into reading. EJH is one of my favourites too. I loved the Cazalets & also Falling was very good. It was also inspired by an incident in her own life.
ReplyDeleteHello Lyn! How did you find me? I was keeping this a bit quiet until it gets more established, because I've made a couple of false starts before and am in awe of the regular bloggers, both Doves and non-Doves. Lovely to get a comment so quickly though.
ReplyDeleteYou left a comment on my blog, didn't you? I wondered if it was Dove Carol but now I know! I always like to follow the links of anyone new who leaves a comment on the blog & see if they're kindred spirits. Enjoy blogging!
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