The Seven Sisters
Entertaining - I have not read Margaret Drabble s entire extensive list of novels, but I have always enjoyed them from as far back as I can recall. I think the first one I read was Jerusalem the Golden in 1967 and over forty years later she is still writing entertaining and literary novels. The humour and excellent characterisation is up to the author s normal high standards.`The Seven Sisters is not written in chapters but in four parts, which made it a little harder to know at what point to stop for sleep, although it is mostly divided into journal type entries. Part One `Her Diary consists of the journal entries of the protagonist Candida Wilton describing the changes in her lifestyle as a recently divorced woman who has moved from Suffolk to London. She describes her circumstances both past and present and introduces us through her diary to her friends old and new. An unexpected windfall leads her and a group of friends to plan a cultural trip to Tunisia and Italy. Part Two `An Italian Journey describes the journey of the seven sisters, Candida, Cynthia Barclay, Ida Jerrold, Sally Hepburn, Julia Jordan, Anais Al-Sayyab and Valeria. The latter is the guide for the trip, making the seventh and the rest are friends of Candida s old and new. We follow the ladies as friendships are strengthened on the journey that most of them have long dreamed of to Tunis, Naples and Pompeii in the footsteps of Virgil s Aeneid. Part Three titled `Ellen s Version was for me a complete and unexpected twist to the tale. As was the final twist and ending in Part Four `A Dying Fall to say more here will spoil it for other readers.This novel will probably appeal to women of a certain age, whether or not they are already fans of Margaret Drabble.
One for the Saga louts - Margaret Drabble writes in a conventional style just on the literary side of populist, much less dense than the quasi-academic novels of her sister, A. S. Byatt. Her characters are normally higher aspiring, lower middle-class English (`we always had to try to appear better off than we were - I don t know why ). The Seven Sisters is no exception. The overly long first part of the book is in the first person and loosely takes diary form. The narrator, divorced from her smug, self-satisfied ex-husband has decamped from rural Suffolk to seedy West London in the hope of kick-starting a new life, though without any real aim or direction. She appears to seek out, and be comfortable with, only those from her own social group (health clubs, Virgil classes). After an unexpected windfall she decides to follow up her classical interests with a trip to Tunisia and Italy with a group of like-minded women, both from her past and her small London circle. The second part of the book somewhat confusingly abandons the first person narrative and follows the spinsterly group on their Mediterranean sojourn becoming a pleasant take on elderly female bonding and friendship. There is an interesting twist in part 3 and the book fades rather than ends in part 4. Not a bad read but forgettable.In an attempt to atone for the prim, fifties style of writing the author - as in The Peppered Moth (a better book) - tries her hand at petty idiosyncrasies such as the irritating résumé inserts at the beginning of each section, and a few gratuitous indelicacies which are embarrassingly incongruous. Three stars for the competent writing and story, but it will appeal to an extremely narrow target group: spirited, middle-class English women of the Third Age. Oh, and I forgive her for referring to my manor, Seven Sisters, as a dismal dump.
Not one of her best - I usually devour Margaret Drabble s books in a couple of days but, weeks later, I am still struggling with this one. I agree with a previous poster who suggests that the author had no clear idea where she was going. I am over half way through but, having read that the ending is a disappointment, I feel like giving up now.
Pretty good - I really enjoy Margaret Drabble s books and this one is pretty good. However I do not rate it as highly as some of her others.
Well worth the flawed end - This is the first Drabble book I have read and I enjoyed the first three quarters (probably a little more) very much indeed. Undoubtedly women of a certain age and trauma (myself included) will have a lot in common with the storyline - but the humour and characters in the book stop this being typical. At a time when I was finding it hard to read, this book really did draw me into the narrative very quickly and I very much liked the motley collection of characters the book draws together. Whilst the end is not all it could be the majority of the book is well worth that disappointment (which you see coming anyway). This is one I shall be giving out as birthday presents this coming year with no problems whatsoever.