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Literary Review
`her new collection exemplifies Gardam's zest for human oddity, which she explores with characteristic empathy and humour.'
The Spectator
`Gardam's touch is deft and light...she's such a good writer...This is Jane Gardam's 16th book of fiction: may it not be her last'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a lovely collection of short stories---they will stay in your mind long after you've read them. Such elegant, finely honed prose, so much humanity and wit, is rare in a world where cynical, sharp-edged fiction dominates---to the detriment of literature. (Who wants to read Will Self---well, certainly not me!) Admirers of Jane Gardam's masterpiece , 'Old Filth', will be delighted by the return of Sir Edward Feathers (and his old adversaries!) in the first story in this collection, (the wonderful image of the three old judges under three contrasting umbrellas is a delight) but there are so many more brilliant short stories to enjoy here:--'Babette', with its chief protagonist, the bath, 'The Latter Days of Mr Jones' (a powerful indictment of the witch hunts and 'procedures' sadly prevalent in present day Britain,) 'Pangbourne' and 'Flight Path' amongst others. Jane Gardam is a genius---don't miss this!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Memories, and in many cases, the memories of the aged, infuse this collection of fourteen stories, filled with surprises. Author Jane Gardam, two-time winner of the Whitbread Prize, creates ironies and absurdities for her readers, at the same time that she creates poignant and often moving scenes. Filled with wry humor and clever turns of phrase, this collection, like Gardam's novels, asks questions about whether we are the people we think we are, whether we are the people other people think we are, and whether we are the people we want to be. The secret lives and not so secret lives, the realities and the fantasies, and the faces we keep firmly fixed for the outside world--all become fertile soil for Gardam's exploration of her characters.
In many cases, Gardam's characters are lonely souls, coping the best way they can. The unnamed narrator of "Pangbourne" married a bounder but then dedicates her life to visiting a gorilla in the local zoo. Mr. Jones, in "The Latter Day of Mr. Jones," is "the last of his tribe, last of his kind," an old man whose dogs have died and whose life revolves around sitting on a bench in the park and watching the local children play--until his motives raise suspicions. And in the title story, former judges Feathers and Veneering, whose story forms the basis of Gardam's novel, Old Filth, attend a party where the guest of honor never arrives, leaving the hostess distraught about her loss of face.
Other characters illustrate the accidents of survival and the inability of each of us to control our lives. In "Babette," the story of a writer, a bathtub stored in the attic runs amok and creates disaster. In "The Flight Path," which takes place in 1941, a young man makes a life or death choice, barely thinking about it at the time. "The Virgin of Bruges" is a nun who goes to church one night, only to discover that it is being used for a wild, drug-filled orgy. In "The Last Reunion" four elderly women, one of whom is senile, gather at the school they attended to talk, argue, and complain.
Gardam is a master at observing human nature, and as she incorporates her thoughtful observations into these clever and compulsively readable stories, the irreverent attitudes toward life, which many of her characters take too seriously, and the awareness of life's absurdities, which most of her characters do not notice at all, create a collection which is great fun to read. Her humor, dark as it is, keeps even the most poignant scenes from devolving into bathos, and her sense of play allows the reader to laugh along with her, even while identifying with many of her sad characters. A wonderful introduction to the wry delights of Gardam for anyone who has not already discovered her fascinating novels. Mary Whipple
In many cases, Gardam's characters are lonely souls, coping the best way they can. The unnamed narrator of "Pangbourne" married a bounder but then dedicates her life to visiting a gorilla in the local zoo. Mr. Jones, in "The Latter Day of Mr. Jones," is "the last of his tribe, last of his kind," an old man whose dogs have died and whose life revolves around sitting on a bench in the park and watching the local children play--until his motives raise suspicions. And in the title story, former judges Feathers and Veneering, whose story forms the basis of Gardam's novel, Old Filth, attend a party where the guest of honor never arrives, leaving the hostess distraught about her loss of face.
Other characters illustrate the accidents of survival and the inability of each of us to control our lives. In "Babette," the story of a writer, a bathtub stored in the attic runs amok and creates disaster. In "The Flight Path," which takes place in 1941, a young man makes a life or death choice, barely thinking about it at the time. "The Virgin of Bruges" is a nun who goes to church one night, only to discover that it is being used for a wild, drug-filled orgy. In "The Last Reunion" four elderly women, one of whom is senile, gather at the school they attended to talk, argue, and complain.
Gardam is a master at observing human nature, and as she incorporates her thoughtful observations into these clever and compulsively readable stories, the irreverent attitudes toward life, which many of her characters take too seriously, and the awareness of life's absurdities, which most of her characters do not notice at all, create a collection which is great fun to read. Her humor, dark as it is, keeps even the most poignant scenes from devolving into bathos, and her sense of play allows the reader to laugh along with her, even while identifying with many of her sad characters. A wonderful introduction to the wry delights of Gardam for anyone who has not already discovered her fascinating novels. Mary Whipple
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a collection of short stories - soem of which are very good, but others are near misses.
I particularly enjoyed the stories of poignant human interactions ie in the stories Milly Ming and Granny and Jake,but found others a little contrived ie Pangbourne and The Latter Days of Mr Jones.
However the mixture of subjects and characters is interesting, and overall it is a good read.
I particularly enjoyed the stories of poignant human interactions ie in the stories Milly Ming and Granny and Jake,but found others a little contrived ie Pangbourne and The Latter Days of Mr Jones.
However the mixture of subjects and characters is interesting, and overall it is a good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Those that are good are very, very good
Jane Gardam is an expert at describing the complicated tangle of love which binds families together. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Clive A. H. Still
Short stories
Following on from Old Filth I bought this but was disappointed to find it a book of short stories and only the first about the same characters and really repeating a lot of the... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2009 by Anne Bridget Bloomfield
Veneering on the honky tonk
In the opening short story of this small but weighty collection a party is being held by Dulcie to which, struggling through the rain, come three old lawyers - another outing for... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2009 by Eileen Shaw
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