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The Silence in the Garden (King Penguin)
 
 
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The Silence in the Garden (King Penguin) [Paperback]

William Trevor
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New edition edition (31 May 1990)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140120653
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140120653
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 1.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 86,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Trevor
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Product Description

About the Author

William Trevor was born in County Cork in 1928 and spent his childhood in various provincial Irish towns. He went to Trinity College, Dublin and then to England in 1953. He now lives in Devon. In 1977 William Trevor received an honorary CBE in recognition of his services to literature, and in 1998 he was awarded the prestigious David Cohen British Literature Prize for a lifetime's achievement in writing.

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First Sentence
It is 1971, and the home that has been provided for Sarah Pollexfen for so long is still a provision that is necessary. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
From the synopsis that I read,I expected this story to focus on hidden mysteries within the garden.However I found it disappointing as it concentrated on Tom's illegitimacy rather than the garden,which was my intended purpose for exploring the text.
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Amazon.com:  4 reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
IN DEEP BEFORE YOU KNOW IT... 7 July 2001
By Larry L. Looney - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
...and therein lies only one facet of William Trevor's amazing gift. When I began this book, I thought I had stumbled upon a novel in a 'lighter' category by Trevor -- before I realized it, I was completely enmeshed in this story and its characters. Trevor's prose is incredibly crafted -- his attention to detail and his ability to develop his characters are almost without peer, but neither of these talents overshadows his story.

As in most of his marvelous writing, there are twists and turns awaiting the reader -- revelations completely unforseen and unimagined. As always, he brings the Irish character -- both individual and en masse -- to life completely and gently. Meticulous details are made known to us quietly, so that by midway through the this absorbing work, we almost feel that we are living among these people. He has the ability to allow us to know them without feeling we've been told about any of them -- more like we've gained the knowledge over time.

We see Sarah Polexfen come to the Irish island estate of Carriglas to serve as governess to the children of her relations, the Rollestons. Life there seems peaceful and detached -- but she senses there is something troubling under the surface, something of which she is not told and is unaware. Years later, when she returns to the island -- the children are grown, their father dead, the grandmother an aged matriarch -- events from the past begin to come clearer, verifying her earlier intuitions. The story is played out over a period from the early part of the 20th century, seeing the beginning of the 'troubles' in Ireland, to the early 1980s -- and the family looks much different in hindsight than when she first arrived.

There is a sweet sadness present in this story -- as in much of Trevor's writing -- but it never becomes maudlin. The events and dialogue are intelligent and, in their own way, endearing -- for we find ourselves growing to care about these characters, even the ones who are less than admirable. For in the end, they are only human, and humans have frailties and warts, and commit transgressions, no matter how admirable they may seem from a distance.

Every single work of William Trevor's fiction that I have read has been a great experience -- if you've never sipped from his cup, start here...start anywhere. His novels and short stories are equally amazing and well-written -- I cannot recommend his work as a whole highly enough.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Absoring, Moving Tale set on a Protestant Irish Estate 7 May 2003
By John Kwok - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
William Trevor has crafted yet another wee gem of a tale in "The Silence in the Garden", drawing upon class differences between the Protestant aristocracy and their Catholic neighbors and the bloody violence of the Irish civil war. Most of the tale is set in the 1930's, though events span decades from the early 1900's till the beginning of the 1970's. Sarah Pollexfen arrives on the estate during World War I as a governness to her affluent Rolleston cousins. Through her diaries we read of an unspeakable tragedy and quiet lives of desperation led by the Rolleston family.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
An Absorbing & Enchanting Tale 30 Mar 2000
By Tom O'Leary - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This lovely novel is sort of William Trevor's take on a Henry James ghost story. A governess arrives at an enormous estate and discovers there is more than meets the eye. As always with Trevor, the prose is luminous and the characters are complex, deft and compelling. I recommend this, just as I would anything Trevor has written. He is the greatest prose writer of our time.
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