The Long View

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Le era stato insegnato a suddividere l’esistenza in fasi … nella prima si reprimeva la giovinezza così da impiegarla nei vent’anni; poi si risparmiava, nella parte centrale della vita, così da vivere tranquilli in vecchiaia.” At the end of the book Toni meets Conrad, and we understand why she marries him—and we know what is to happen. There are only two kinds of people—those who live different lives with the same partners, and those who live the same life with different partners. Howard paints a portrait of life (and marriage) in mid-20th century London. Her depiction of the society in which the Flemings live and the incisive examination of their marriage can be amusing. As written by Howard, it seems to be a time when a man marries under the illusion that he can take the raw material that he perceives as his wife and shape her into something pleasing to him. Antonia’s willingness to accept this situation and her continual striving for Conrad’s love also seems to belong to another time. But the sadness of a world in which love seems impossible and marriage at best a waste of people’s lives and at worst the opportunity for people to destroy someone (or themselves), becomes increasingly painful. Cooper, Jonathan (23 April 1990). "Novelist Martin Amis Carries on a Family Tradition: Scathing Wit and Supreme Self-Confidence". People . Retrieved 15 June 2012.

The Chronicles were a family saga "about the ways in which English life changed during the war years, particularly for women." They follow three generations of a middle-class English family and draw strongly from Howard's own life and memories. [7] The first four volumes, The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, and Casting Off, were published from 1990 to 1995. Howard wrote the fifth, All Change (2013), in one year; it was her final novel. Millions of copies of the Cazalet Chronicles were sold worldwide. [1] Partecipazione, non immedesimazione. È sicuramente un romanzo imperfetto, ma mi ha coinvolto sia con la storia sia con la scrittura, davvero elegante, sottile, puntuale. Aveva sempre saputo che suo marito non le era fedele, credeva però che i suoi interessi fossero così superficiali da non costituire una seria minaccia alla loro vita insieme. E poi c’erano le reiterate sconfitte; giorno dopo giorno, quando lui entrava in camera, lei sapeva che la situazione era sempre la stessa e che perciò era, a dispetto di ogni logica, peggiore. A volte le sembrava di odiarlo: a volte le sembrava di amarlo tanto da poter avvizzire e morire sotto la sferza silenziosa della sua indifferenza. Si aggrappava sempre a lui o a se stessa, non ce la faceva ad affrontare la somma dei rispettivi sentimenti. Costruiva questi steccati per difendersi dalle umiliazioni.“ I’m going to attach my quotes at the end of this note, They are described by Hilary Mantel as “jaundiced observations – pithily expressed, painfully accurate.” I read the book because Mantel selected Howard as her favourite novelist, and I’ve attached below a long quote from her article and a link to it. I’d never read any Howard before, although I knew her as Kingsley Amis’s wife and Martin Amis’s stepmother. This is shameful but a reflection of how the world regards “women writers.” She is a better writer than either and certainly a better observer of human relationships. That said, there is much to applaud in this perceptive, sophisticated, sensitive but ultimately bleak work. Howard's astute turn of phrase works well in descriptive passages, such as this one:Howard published five additional novels before she embarked on her best known work, the five-volume Cazalet Chronicles. As Artemis Cooper describes it: “Jane had two ideas, and could not decide which to embark on; so she invited her stepson Martin [Amis] round for a drink to ask his advice. One idea was an updated version of Sense and Sensibility … the other was a three-volume family saga … Martin said immediately, “Do that one.” [6] Howard wrote the screenplay for the 1989 movie Getting It Right, directed by Randal Kleiser, based on her 1982 novel of the same name. [8] She also wrote TV scripts for the popular series Upstairs, Downstairs. [1] Self-centered men, everyone at their worst. There are amazing human interactions, but at times I got lost in the writing. I wanted more fire in Antonia, and had a hard time relating to her. If I didn't feel down about love before.... Perhaps it is just that by the second half of the book I could hardly bear to be around Conrad and the damage he wreaks but I found the story weaker and less compelling than the first half. However, Howard is a very strong writer and even at her weakest greatly interesting. I’m just glad to be away from this suffocating world in which relationships are something to be avoided (not that living alone looks good either). Antonia Fleming surely deserves better than what she got. There were only two kinds of people, those who live different lives with the same partner, and those who live the same life with different partners … ”

Three Miles Up and Other Strange Stories. 2003. ISBN 978-1-872621-75-3. (Contains the three stories included in We Are for the Dark, plus "Mr Wrong".) You should be more discriminating in the flattery you require. Or if that is beyond you, more selective as to time".Cooper, Artemis ‘’Elizabeth Jane Howard: A Dangerous Innocence’’, London: John Murray (2016), p.260. Elizabeth Jane Howard CBE FRSL (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist. She wrote 12 novels including the best-selling series The Cazalet Chronicles. [1] Early life [ edit ] I debated whether to give this 3 or 4 stars ⭐️ because as ever EJH’s writing is wonderful , but I decided on 3 because I just found it so depressing ! First published in 1956 it’s a story of a break down of a marriage on reverse , it wasn’t This I found depressing even though Conrad Fleming was a complete chauvinistic pig! It was the way older man so readily and easily prayed on young women and how young women weren’t taken seriously by either sexes of the older generation. Now after reading her memoir slipstream I think 🤔 mr & Mrs Fleming were based on her own parents, apart from Mrs Fleming being less Frigid as her real mother as the fling with Thompson in mariselle , France was some of the best writing. Ejh was abused by her own father and some of Conrad’s personality traits are copied from him (in my opinion) apart from ejhs own father loved women and was a serial charmer . Where as Conrad Fleming treats all women and Anthony Thwaite (9 November 2002). "When will Miss Howard take off all her clothes?". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 November 2010.