Miss Garnet's Angel
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Amazon.co.uk Review
There is something very old-fashioned and reassuring about Sally Vickers' novel Miss Garnet's Angel. The themes, self-discovery and redemption have the air of a bygone age, despite the novel being set in contemporary Venice in a world of holiday apartment lets and Pizza Express-funded restoration works. Julia Garnet is a middle-aged woman who has been practising economies of the spirit for years. Hers is a closed-in world, dusty with Marx's theories and when her friend and flatmate of 30 years dies Julia decides to spend the six winter months in Venice to recuperate from her loss. Miss Garnet is a dignified, brusque heroine and Sally Vickers' prose is likewise unruffled and controlled. Miss Garnet's epiphanies are as quiet and subtle as the "oro pallido" (pale gold) light in early Italian Art because, of course, art plays a part in this Venetian tale of emotional reawakening. Julia is moved by the depiction of Raphael in Guardis Tobias and the Angel: "something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet as she stood absorbing the vivid dewy painting and the unmistakable compassion in the angel's bright glance." She falls in love with Carlo, an art historian with crinkly eyes, white hair and a moustache. There are trials and tribulations to be undergone, Julia must unlearn all her old regimented ways of life, and this brings about heart ache and hurt. However, Vickers handles this with delicate sympathy, giving Julia Garnet a new sensitive view of the world, and the reader a resonant story of transformation. --Eithne Farry
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Subtle, unexpected and haunting.' Penelope Fitzgerald 'Very kind, very funny.' John Bayley 'Writes like a haunted angel.' The Times 'Rich, complex and haunting!she makes the ancient story as riveting as Miss Garnet's own adventures.' Sunday Times 'The sort of novel I really enjoy.' John Bayley Reveals itself as a surprising exploration of the mysteries of imagination and faith.' Joanna Trollope, Daily Telegraph, Book of the Year 'A refreshing, gentle story.' Anita Brookner, Spectator, Book of the Year 'A subtle, witty tale.' John de Falbe, Spectator 'Delightfully affecting.' Julia Neuberger, Independent, Book of the Year 'Destined for a long life.' David Sexton, Evening Standard, Book of the Year 'If you like Penelope Fitzgerald or Barbara Pym, try Salley Vickers.' Sunday Telegraph 'Original and delightful.' Woman's Journal
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel.,
By
This review is from: The Perennial Collection - Miss Garnet's Angel (Paperback)
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.
Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation. Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest. The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them. Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a new take on death in Venice,
By
This review is from: Miss Garnet's Angel (Paperback)
Following the unexpected death of her friend, Miss Garnett starts a new life in Venice - at an age when most would be settled and unchangable. She is transformed by the beauty of her new surroundings, and sheds the inhibiting skin of her old life. It is wonderful to read a story centred around someone over retirement age, that is not bleak, but life affirming. The story has a number of unexpected turns, with several finely drawn characters, and a depth of history founded on the Book of Tobit. Only one character - Toby - diappoints, with unconvincing description and dialogue. This book is worth reading more than once, and would be a wonderful choice for taking on holiday to Venice.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written,
By A Customer
This review is from: Miss Garnets Angel (Thorndike General) (Paperback)
I didn't know what to expect from Miss Garnets Angel, I half anticipated an antiquated read, fairly stereotypical but potentially heart-warming. An old lady, art and Venice suggested to me a sedate book, good to read but nothing new. The reality was very different.The subtlety and delicacy of the writing, the way the story is so well crafted, the strands of the older Tobias story woven in seamlessly stunned me. Salley Vickers does indeed eulogise over art and architecture but she's also not afraid to add a harsher realism to the story. Miss Garnet is not some ephemeral creature steeped in a life of sorrow she's a real, solid character. This was a book I read slowly so as to not miss anything, I set aside time in the day to read it and made sure everything was quiet. Usually I snatch at books and gulp them down, taking every opportunity to read but I found I didn't want to with this book. The quiet sadness of Miss Garnet, the lyrical descriptions of the paintings and Venice and the poignant and well-crafted ending make this a gem of a book.
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