or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
70 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Two Lives: "Reading Turgenev" and "My House In Umbria"
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Two Lives: "Reading Turgenev" and "My House In Umbria" (Paperback)

by William Trevor (Author) "Mary Louise Dallon retained in her features the look of a child ..." (more)
2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.02 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
27 new from £3.80 43 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover Order it used
Paperback 3 used & new from £1.33
Unknown Binding Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

Two Lives: "Reading Turgenev" and "My House In Umbria" + Felicia's Journey + The Story of Lucy Gault
Price For All Three: £18.82

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Two Lives: "Reading Turgenev" and "My House In Umbria" by William Trevor

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Felicia's Journey by William Trevor

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Felicia's Journey

Felicia's Journey

by William Trevor
3.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.89
The Story of Lucy Gault

The Story of Lucy Gault

by William Trevor
4.2 out of 5 stars (22)  £5.96
A Bit on the Side

A Bit on the Side

by William Trevor
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £6.99
Cheating at Canasta

Cheating at Canasta

by William Trevor
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £4.99
After Rain

After Rain

by William Trevor
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.47
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (4 Nov 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140153721
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140153729
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 77,810 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #9 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > T > Trevor, William
    #89 in  Books > Fiction > World > Irish

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The two lives of the title are brilliantly illuminated in a pair of short novels, Reading Turgenev and My House in Umbria, that exemplify the biting, tragicomic work of this Anglo-Irish master. The first novel is a sorrowful love story, the second a sort of thriller. Each of Trevor's two heroines is trapped in her life, one in Ireland and the other in Italy, and each has some experience of the transformational power of literature, a subject the author knows at first hand. Nobody can break your heart with such laconic precision. To be read with handkerchief in hand.


Product Description

Two beautiful, memorable novels in one volume, both focussing on women who retreat into their imaginations until the boundaries between what is real and what is not become blurred. In ‘Reading Turgenev’, which was shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize, an Irish country girl is trapped in a loveless marriage with an older man. But she finds unusual solace – in secret meetings with a man who shares her passion for Russian novels … The second story, ‘My House in Umbria’ tells how romantic novelist Emily Delahunty helps the survivors of a bomb attack on a train and invents colourful pasts for her convalescent patients.
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Mary Louise Dallon retained in her features the look of a child. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
william trevor
novellas
irish authors

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Two Lives: "Reading Turgenev" and "My House In Umbria"
70% buy the item featured on this page:
Two Lives: "Reading Turgenev" and "My House In Umbria" 2.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£6.97
The Story of Lucy Gault
10% buy
The Story of Lucy Gault 4.2 out of 5 stars (22)
£5.96
After Rain
8% buy
After Rain 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.47
Felicia's Journey
7% buy
Felicia's Journey 3.8 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.89
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Short Story Master ill at ease with full length novel?, 22 April 2001
By malavery@talk21.com (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews
This is the third novel I've read By W T, and though I find his short stories breath-takingly good, I have to say that so far I don't think he can hack it over the longer distance.

Both works in this two-in-one deal with the very tragic lives of their female subjects, but while Trevors obvious literary gifts are clearly evident throughout, the subject matter lacks the kind of everyday credibility which makes many of the short stories so compelling.

This is demonstrated particularly well in My House in Umbria, where Trevor creates a menagerie of characters embroiled in an unlikely setting, and in the end seems not really to know what to do with it all - the result is a weak and rather inconclusive ending.

Having said this, I'm judging these efforts by Trevors own incredibly high standards, and I must say that if written by anyone else I'd probably have racked up the rating to at least 4 stars...

Its a great shame that this superb writer will probably never reach the wider audience he deserves, thanks to the relative niche market now addressed by his forte, the short story.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars Lacks credibility, 8 Nov 2009
By Mme C. Monks (France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is the first time I have read William Trevor, so I cannot give him the benefit of the doubt with regards to his skill as a short story writer as has the previous critic.
READING TURGENEV
For me, this story lacked credibility in as much that the plot was basic and the main character over-romanticised and able to evoke little sympathy - the exception being her treatment by her two sisters-in-law. How much more enjoyable the book would have been with some retribution for those two! That aside, Trevor's style of writing leaves you with the impression that the lives of all the characters are pointless and doomed. The book is not a page-turner and the ending arrives abruptly and without excitement. Contrast this book with Sabastian Barry's "Secret Scriptures" which has a sililar setting and plot (old lady in mental hospital in Ireland)and I feel Trevor missed an opportunity for intrigue, and padded the tale out with well written prose instead of including other characters' points of view to give the required depth.
MY HOUSE IN UMBRIA
The second novel in this book began with such a jumble of what appears to be whitterings from an old lady that, based on the disappointment of the first novel, I was unable to continue past chapter 4.
I have no idea why this author chose to write both books as a female, but, for me, neither Mary Louise nor Mrs Delahunty were at all credible.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.