The Hill Station
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
To the cool of the Simla hills comes a reluctant Dr McNab, with his wife and young niece. For Emily, romance is in the air. For the mysterious Mrs Forester, there is scandal brewing. And for the Bishop of Simla, rainclouds are not the only storms on the horizon... The Hill Station is the novel on which J.G. Farrell was working at the time of his tragically early accidental death. It demonstrates powerfully what a great loss to world literature this was.
About the Author
J.G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in 1935 and spent a good deal of life abroad, including periods in France and North America, and then settled in London where he wrote most of his novels. THE SIEGE OF KRISHNAPUR won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979 he went to live in County Cork where only four months later he was drowned in a fishing accident.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As Ibrahim Ali says, it is a great shame that this book was never finished. All of Farrell's mature novels - 'Troubles', 'The Singapore Grip', 'The Siege of Kirshnapur' (which won the Booker Prize in 1973) are distinctive, individual and very enjoyable to read (he had a wit in his writing, sometimes gentle, sometimes caustic, which is very pleasing). There's enough of a book here (151 pages) to make it clear that this was going to be remarkable, and what there is is well worth reading. It's set in the 'hill station' of Simla, about twenty years on from the Indian Rebellion (or Mutiny if you will). Dr. McNab, the wise and long-suffering Scottish doctor of 'Krishnapur', is there with his wife Miriam (also in the earlier book, but in mourning as a recent widow) and a niece, Emily, who is silly, naive or perhaps just as you'd expect a young girl of that class at that time to be. As in 'Krishnapur' there is a 'fallen woman', but in addition Farrell focuses on religious controversy in the Church of England in the person of the brave but physically fragile Rev. Kingston, whose high-church approach has alienated some of his congregation in Simla and made the Bishop uneasy. The book 'ends' with an intensely dramatic scene in his church as he tries to conduct a service against a background of abuse and cat-calling from outside.
There are essays by John Spurling, Margaret Drabble and Malcolm Dean in the book - all helpful - and Farrell's Indian Diary, written while he was in India conducting his researches for his novels, is also there. It casts considerable light on his experience of and attitude to the country, and is also a very good read.
Don't be put off by the fact that this is only half a book (if that). Every word of it is worth reading, and if you like Farrell's work, it's an essential read.
There are essays by John Spurling, Margaret Drabble and Malcolm Dean in the book - all helpful - and Farrell's Indian Diary, written while he was in India conducting his researches for his novels, is also there. It casts considerable light on his experience of and attitude to the country, and is also a very good read.
Don't be put off by the fact that this is only half a book (if that). Every word of it is worth reading, and if you like Farrell's work, it's an essential read.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If there's one thing Farrell cannot be forgiven for is dying before finishing this book. The book takes up with Dr McNab who is now passing into his twilight years with his wife Miriam, both characters appearing earlier in The Siege of Krishnapur. The book, or perhaps half a book (the novel ending abruptly midway), tells of their time in Simla with their niece Emily who is husband hunting. Within Simla a fierce battle rages, this time it is the forces of Popery and Anglicanism that clash. The good doctor is caught in the middle. Whilst we seem only to be getting into the story when it tragically is left unfinished the humour and the skill Farrell had with words is still visible.
The book also contains some essays on him by friends (where the plot of the book is given) and it also contains Farrell's diary of his time in India.
The book also contains some essays on him by friends (where the plot of the book is given) and it also contains Farrell's diary of his time in India.
Format:Paperback
The Hill Station was first published after Farrell's death at the age of 44, and this volume only serves to underline the loss to literature caused by his premature demise. This book pulls together an unfinished novel, essays by other writers about Farrell, and diary entries about his time in India. It is unclear how much artistic integrity was invested in the project at the outset, but the finished product is quite an effective collection.
The book is split into three sections. The unfinished novel that Farrell was working on at the time of his death is called The Hill Station, and features the return of Dr McNabb from The Siege of Krishnapur. The book details the escape to cooler climates of Victoria Indian society, against a backdrop of increased disenchantment with increasing ritualistic practices within one of the churches. Farrell succeeds in setting up a number of dilemmas that will reveal much more about their characters and it is a shame that we are not able to read what is a highly entertaining draft to its conclusion.
The second portion of the book is comprised of essays by John Spurling and Margaret Drabble. Spurling provides a chronological review of Farrell's career, firmly demonstrating the step change that Farrell achieved in his writing with The Troubles and includes notes for Farrell's intentions on how the Hill Station would end. Drabble provides a much more thematic review of his writing, and both are well written pieces. We are also treated to personal recollections of Farrell by the former Guardian editor Malcolm Dean, which teases out some of J.G.'s contradictions but also fleshes out a portrait of someone who appears to be a highly entertaining dinner host.
The final part of the book is Farrell's diaries from a rather restless trip to India when he was researching The Siege of Krishnapur. Entertaining, he has a keen eye for detail for what goes on around him and the people that he comes across. It nicely takes the volume round full circle and whilst this isn't the best introduction to his work, fans of Farrell will find it entertaining.
The book is split into three sections. The unfinished novel that Farrell was working on at the time of his death is called The Hill Station, and features the return of Dr McNabb from The Siege of Krishnapur. The book details the escape to cooler climates of Victoria Indian society, against a backdrop of increased disenchantment with increasing ritualistic practices within one of the churches. Farrell succeeds in setting up a number of dilemmas that will reveal much more about their characters and it is a shame that we are not able to read what is a highly entertaining draft to its conclusion.
The second portion of the book is comprised of essays by John Spurling and Margaret Drabble. Spurling provides a chronological review of Farrell's career, firmly demonstrating the step change that Farrell achieved in his writing with The Troubles and includes notes for Farrell's intentions on how the Hill Station would end. Drabble provides a much more thematic review of his writing, and both are well written pieces. We are also treated to personal recollections of Farrell by the former Guardian editor Malcolm Dean, which teases out some of J.G.'s contradictions but also fleshes out a portrait of someone who appears to be a highly entertaining dinner host.
The final part of the book is Farrell's diaries from a rather restless trip to India when he was researching The Siege of Krishnapur. Entertaining, he has a keen eye for detail for what goes on around him and the people that he comes across. It nicely takes the volume round full circle and whilst this isn't the best introduction to his work, fans of Farrell will find it entertaining.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
