A loving wife, three beautiful children, a perfect marriage and a nice house in a fashionable Yorkshire village - what more could a man ask for? But middle-aged Clive Lendrick feels that something is missing, and what begins as a harmless flirtation could lead to more than he bargained for in a tale of a charmed life radically distorted by temptation. "REVIEW: 'A powerful, sexy book' (Sunday Mirror) "REVIEW: 'His best work since Room at the Top...dealing with the swerves and switches of lust, with sexual chicanery, and its devious relationship with affection' (Observer) "REVIEW: 'A novel of quiet but formidable strength and impeccable craftsmanship' (Sunday Telegraph) AUTHBIO: Bradford-born John Braine ranks alongside Kingsley Amis, John Osborne and Allan Sillitoe as one of the so-called Angry Young Men of the 1950s, whose literature was a protest against class distinctions and middle-class manners. His first novel, Room at the Top, was an overnight success and has been made into a highly successful film, which won two Oscars.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By M. Shankland
Format:Paperback
Perhaps the best of John Braine's suburban bed hopping novels. A world where large properties, expenses accounts, tax dodges, children in public schools, women in trouser suits, chain smoking, drinking and driving, are the norm. The standard device John Braine used to introduce more artistic characters in a provincial Northern town, the local amateur players, is less in evidence here.
The novel concerns two lead characters: Clive a successful businessman about to celebrate his 47th birthday, seemingly has everything but deep down knows that his life is unfulfilled. His wife Robin , three years younger, can not get rid herself of an attraction towards an old flame, even though she has to maintain the pretence of being a happy Middle Class housewife with teenage children. A race begins who is going to be the first to have an affair simply in a bid to make their empty lives seem more fulfilled.
One drawback of the novel is that usually John Braine specialises in having a lead male character, essentially masculine but incredibly complex with unexpected depths. At time this novel's main `point of view' shifts between that of Clive and Robin which does not always work so well. And the reader cares less about the characters as a result. The only solution they have to their lack of purpose in their lives is hitting the bottle and illicit affairs. I mean this is 1970, why don't any of them put on a kaftan and take up TM or reading Gurdjieff? The only vaguely appealing character is the local bookshop manager, who seems to be less self obsessed and have wider reference points. Predictably everything goes wrong for Clive and Robin and their respective lovers. But I am not sure if the reader is meant to be bothered or not.
Overall a well written portrayal of suburban bleakness and unhappiness at the start of the 1970's. But its pessimism is enough to drive the reader to drink.
The novel concerns two lead characters: Clive a successful businessman about to celebrate his 47th birthday, seemingly has everything but deep down knows that his life is unfulfilled. His wife Robin , three years younger, can not get rid herself of an attraction towards an old flame, even though she has to maintain the pretence of being a happy Middle Class housewife with teenage children. A race begins who is going to be the first to have an affair simply in a bid to make their empty lives seem more fulfilled.
One drawback of the novel is that usually John Braine specialises in having a lead male character, essentially masculine but incredibly complex with unexpected depths. At time this novel's main `point of view' shifts between that of Clive and Robin which does not always work so well. And the reader cares less about the characters as a result. The only solution they have to their lack of purpose in their lives is hitting the bottle and illicit affairs. I mean this is 1970, why don't any of them put on a kaftan and take up TM or reading Gurdjieff? The only vaguely appealing character is the local bookshop manager, who seems to be less self obsessed and have wider reference points. Predictably everything goes wrong for Clive and Robin and their respective lovers. But I am not sure if the reader is meant to be bothered or not.
Overall a well written portrayal of suburban bleakness and unhappiness at the start of the 1970's. But its pessimism is enough to drive the reader to drink.
By Mary_10
Format:Paperback
Clive and Robin seem to have a perfect marriage. A nice house in a fashionable Yorkshire village, three reasonably pleasant children, a successful career and the settled contentment of middle age, what more could any couple want?
But the calm surface of their married life begins to crack when Robin meets up with a former boyfriend and Clive drifts into an affair. Both seem to be seeking excitement and escape from the hundrun of everyday life.....
But the calm surface of their married life begins to crack when Robin meets up with a former boyfriend and Clive drifts into an affair. Both seem to be seeking excitement and escape from the hundrun of everyday life.....
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