Wilting Flower, 26 Jan 2008
Having obtain some information about the lives of Byron, Shelley, Goether, and the like I lived happily convinced that the Romantic poets usually lived up to their name. Penelope Fitzgerald sadly proved me wrong. Their life was mundane, boring, without flair, and they were rather lucky to die young. Fortunately, she needs only mere two hundred pages to bring this truth home. She does so in a charming style and some of her descriptions and information is quite amusing (the washing - one per year) but otherwise the book is flimsy and fluffy. Don't expect to learn much or understand much. According to the blurps on the back cover "the unspoken speaks through this book" - I must be part deaf then.

She doesnýt hand this one to you, 28 Nov 2002
"I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"

The quote above appeared in a story about Penelope Fitzgerald written just after her death. The quote and the ideas it states appear to be very appropriate to "The Blue Flower". I have read two other works of hers "The Bookshop" and "The Golden Child". All three books share her wonderful style of writing, which she can modify to produce three very different books, all the while maintaining the quality of her writing, while demonstrating incredible range.

Of the three I have read this work is the one she makes you work the hardest for. The two previous books laid out their stories in comfortable, familiar settings, both in place and time. The books were constructed so the reader was able to follow a distinct story line. In the case of "The Blue Flower" the story and her method of telling it leaves the reader to fill in the details necessary to make the story flow in a more conventional manner, to read more easily, more comfortably. For those who want all the details, all the motivation of the characters detailed and laid out with a beginning, middle, and end, this work may not rate as one of their favorite works.

This book was comparatively lengthy set side by side with the other books I have mentioned. The briefer works are very straightforward, and I commented when I wrote about "The Bookshop" that I was curious with what she would do with the added length. True to her having been not only a brilliant and highly original Authoress, as the length of her work expanded, it became more complex, less apparent, but yet another phenomenal read.

A surprisingly enjoyable, thought-provoking read, 26 Jan 2001
Not the type of book I would normally read, I picked up Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower rather reluctantly, since it was recommended by my local book club. The cover blurb mentioned the book's central theme, the relationship between the late 18th century German poet and philosopher Hardenburg and 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn, his 'true philosophy' who captured his heart and became his fiancee. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. However, Fitzgerald's flowing prose and excellent portrayal of the mood and social mores of the times when the book is set soon had me entranced and involved in the story. I was fascinated by the way the suprememly intelligent but very naive Hardenburg falls completely under the spell of the adolescent and not-very-bright Sophie. But as the story unfolded and Sophie's illness touched other people, I too found myself falling under the spell of this young girl. This tale, of course, is based on real lives, and Fitzgerald's afterword rounds the book off nicely. Having read The Blue Flower, I am now keen to read more of Fitzgerald's work, as she has the knack of bringing history to life.

Wilting Flower, 26 Jan 2008
Having obtain some information about the lives of Byron, Shelley, Goether, and the like I lived happily convinced that the Romantic poets usually lived up to their name. Penelope Fitzgerald sadly proved me wrong. Their life was mundane, boring, without flair, and they were rather lucky to die young. Fortunately, she needs only mere two hundred pages to bring this truth home. She does so in a charming style and some of her descriptions and information is quite amusing (the washing - one per year) but otherwise the book is flimsy and fluffy. Don't expect to learn much or understand much. According to the blurps on the back cover "the unspoken speaks through this book" - I must be part deaf then.

She doesnýt hand this one to you, 28 Nov 2002
"I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"

The quote above appeared in a story about Penelope Fitzgerald written just after her death. The quote and the ideas it states appear to be very appropriate to "The Blue Flower". I have read two other works of hers "The Bookshop" and "The Golden Child". All three books share her wonderful style of writing, which she can modify to produce three very different books, all the while maintaining the quality of her writing, while demonstrating incredible range.

Of the three I have read this work is the one she makes you work the hardest for. The two previous books laid out their stories in comfortable, familiar settings, both in place and time. The books were constructed so the reader was able to follow a distinct story line. In the case of "The Blue Flower" the story and her method of telling it leaves the reader to fill in the details necessary to make the story flow in a more conventional manner, to read more easily, more comfortably. For those who want all the details, all the motivation of the characters detailed and laid out with a beginning, middle, and end, this work may not rate as one of their favorite works.

This book was comparatively lengthy set side by side with the other books I have mentioned. The briefer works are very straightforward, and I commented when I wrote about "The Bookshop" that I was curious with what she would do with the added length. True to her having been not only a brilliant and highly original Authoress, as the length of her work expanded, it became more complex, less apparent, but yet another phenomenal read.

A surprisingly enjoyable, thought-provoking read, 26 Jan 2001
Not the type of book I would normally read, I picked up Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower rather reluctantly, since it was recommended by my local book club. The cover blurb mentioned the book's central theme, the relationship between the late 18th century German poet and philosopher Hardenburg and 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn, his 'true philosophy' who captured his heart and became his fiancee. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. However, Fitzgerald's flowing prose and excellent portrayal of the mood and social mores of the times when the book is set soon had me entranced and involved in the story. I was fascinated by the way the suprememly intelligent but very naive Hardenburg falls completely under the spell of the adolescent and not-very-bright Sophie. But as the story unfolded and Sophie's illness touched other people, I too found myself falling under the spell of this young girl. This tale, of course, is based on real lives, and Fitzgerald's afterword rounds the book off nicely. Having read The Blue Flower, I am now keen to read more of Fitzgerald's work, as she has the knack of bringing history to life.

A question, 06 Dec 2002
Did your copy have 187 pages? If it had more, I would very much like to know how your version finishes. I and others have commented on how Ms. Fitzgerald leaves a certain ambiguity at the end of some of her works. She invites her readers to finish the story based on what she has shared, or the reader has understood. This time around, I first felt I was reading a work like Dickens' unfinished, "The Mystery of Edwin Droid". However this time it was a bit abrupt, a door opens, the reader pops their head in, and, she decapitates the reader with an efficiency that Dr. Guillotine would have admired.

This is the fifth of her nine novels I have read, and it will be difficult to top this work. Everything I have read has been excellent, so the pleasure of reading her work is just a matter of degree. The complaint as stated at the beginning is more frustration than anything else. So much appears to be shared with the reader that ultimately deception is far too mild a word, and then when you think the puzzle is complete; she adds another thousand potential pieces by bringing the story to an abrupt halt.

But the story really is quite complete. After you read what she has written a logical explanation follows. She sets the process in motion, steps back, and knows the reader will continue to follow her lead. She pulls the strings of a reader like twine on a top. Once pulled she can step back, the top continues to spin. She is as manipulative as any writer I have had the pleasure to read, she also respects her readers with the presumption they will read what she gives them, and though left wanting more, will be able to put their own finish to what she has written.

I cannot use any names, as it would ruin the piece. She produces one character that is such a brilliant fraud, that when his actions become known, his victims are left with mouths agape when they should be throttling him. As she has done in other works, she has children that are well beyond precocious and other players that the reader is routinely lead to underrate.

Ms. Penelope Fitzgerald was a great discovery for me, as I knew nothing of her or her work. She started writing late in life, and sadly died a few brief years ago. The collective work she has left behind is as good a written legacy as any writer could have left, for all who love to read.

Wilting Flower, 26 Jan 2008
Having obtain some information about the lives of Byron, Shelley, Goether, and the like I lived happily convinced that the Romantic poets usually lived up to their name. Penelope Fitzgerald sadly proved me wrong. Their life was mundane, boring, without flair, and they were rather lucky to die young. Fortunately, she needs only mere two hundred pages to bring this truth home. She does so in a charming style and some of her descriptions and information is quite amusing (the washing - one per year) but otherwise the book is flimsy and fluffy. Don't expect to learn much or understand much. According to the blurps on the back cover "the unspoken speaks through this book" - I must be part deaf then.

She doesnýt hand this one to you, 28 Nov 2002
"I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"

The quote above appeared in a story about Penelope Fitzgerald written just after her death. The quote and the ideas it states appear to be very appropriate to "The Blue Flower". I have read two other works of hers "The Bookshop" and "The Golden Child". All three books share her wonderful style of writing, which she can modify to produce three very different books, all the while maintaining the quality of her writing, while demonstrating incredible range.

Of the three I have read this work is the one she makes you work the hardest for. The two previous books laid out their stories in comfortable, familiar settings, both in place and time. The books were constructed so the reader was able to follow a distinct story line. In the case of "The Blue Flower" the story and her method of telling it leaves the reader to fill in the details necessary to make the story flow in a more conventional manner, to read more easily, more comfortably. For those who want all the details, all the motivation of the characters detailed and laid out with a beginning, middle, and end, this work may not rate as one of their favorite works.

This book was comparatively lengthy set side by side with the other books I have mentioned. The briefer works are very straightforward, and I commented when I wrote about "The Bookshop" that I was curious with what she would do with the added length. True to her having been not only a brilliant and highly original Authoress, as the length of her work expanded, it became more complex, less apparent, but yet another phenomenal read.

A surprisingly enjoyable, thought-provoking read, 26 Jan 2001
Not the type of book I would normally read, I picked up Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower rather reluctantly, since it was recommended by my local book club. The cover blurb mentioned the book's central theme, the relationship between the late 18th century German poet and philosopher Hardenburg and 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn, his 'true philosophy' who captured his heart and became his fiancee. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. However, Fitzgerald's flowing prose and excellent portrayal of the mood and social mores of the times when the book is set soon had me entranced and involved in the story. I was fascinated by the way the suprememly intelligent but very naive Hardenburg falls completely under the spell of the adolescent and not-very-bright Sophie. But as the story unfolded and Sophie's illness touched other people, I too found myself falling under the spell of this young girl. This tale, of course, is based on real lives, and Fitzgerald's afterword rounds the book off nicely. Having read The Blue Flower, I am now keen to read more of Fitzgerald's work, as she has the knack of bringing history to life.

A question, 06 Dec 2002
Did your copy have 187 pages? If it had more, I would very much like to know how your version finishes. I and others have commented on how Ms. Fitzgerald leaves a certain ambiguity at the end of some of her works. She invites her readers to finish the story based on what she has shared, or the reader has understood. This time around, I first felt I was reading a work like Dickens' unfinished, "The Mystery of Edwin Droid". However this time it was a bit abrupt, a door opens, the reader pops their head in, and, she decapitates the reader with an efficiency that Dr. Guillotine would have admired.

This is the fifth of her nine novels I have read, and it will be difficult to top this work. Everything I have read has been excellent, so the pleasure of reading her work is just a matter of degree. The complaint as stated at the beginning is more frustration than anything else. So much appears to be shared with the reader that ultimately deception is far too mild a word, and then when you think the puzzle is complete; she adds another thousand potential pieces by bringing the story to an abrupt halt.

But the story really is quite complete. After you read what she has written a logical explanation follows. She sets the process in motion, steps back, and knows the reader will continue to follow her lead. She pulls the strings of a reader like twine on a top. Once pulled she can step back, the top continues to spin. She is as manipulative as any writer I have had the pleasure to read, she also respects her readers with the presumption they will read what she gives them, and though left wanting more, will be able to put their own finish to what she has written.

I cannot use any names, as it would ruin the piece. She produces one character that is such a brilliant fraud, that when his actions become known, his victims are left with mouths agape when they should be throttling him. As she has done in other works, she has children that are well beyond precocious and other players that the reader is routinely lead to underrate.

Ms. Penelope Fitzgerald was a great discovery for me, as I knew nothing of her or her work. She started writing late in life, and sadly died a few brief years ago. The collective work she has left behind is as good a written legacy as any writer could have left, for all who love to read.

Exquisitely Crafted Novella, 05 Jul 2008
Sometimes it is good to revisit a favourite novel or to watch again a film that always brings you pleasure.

J. L. Carr's exquisitely written novella A Month in the Country was first brought to my attention in 1987 when I saw the film adaptation at the cinema in London. The film affected me so profoundly that I went out the following day to buy the book and what immediately struck me was the fact that there were only one hundred and five pages to it. The concise nature of this story does not reflect upon the depth of the prose and, in fact, the author imbues every line with description and dialogue so wonderfully rich that the length of the work is irrelevant.

The book is rich with characters and atmosphere. There is a gentle, bucolic peacefulness and a kind of restrained beauty as the idyllic summer unfolds. But it is the final scene (both in the film and the novel, although they are treated differently) that never fails to take my breath away.

Carr writes: `We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours forever - the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass. All this happened so long ago. And I never returned, never wrote, never met anyone who might have given me news of Oxgodby. So, in memory, it stays as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down pen. But this was something I knew nothing of as I lifted the loop and set off across the meadow.'

This passage never fails to tug at my heart; the acknowledgement that there are certain moments in time that have passed and will never again be recaptured. It is one of the very few pieces of fiction that never fails to blur my vision by the final line and, for one so cynical, that is no mean feat.

If you have never read this spellbinding analysis of love and art then I suggest you buy a copy immediately. This beautifully crafted and understated story of ordinary people, places and experiences is a treasure to be revisited time and time again.


Small, but perfectly formed, 31 May 2008
This book begins as it means to go on: within the first few pages the scene is set and the protagonist is not only visible in your mind's eye but talking right into your ear, softly and confidingly.

It is an absolutely beautiful book, compassionate and sad and perceptive. The church where Birkin, the shell-shocked narrator, is uncovering a wall painting can almost be felt and smelt around you as you read: its spaces, its noises, the whole essence of a quiet country church on a hot summer day.

I wished it was longer, even though I knew that it had done just what it had set out to do with admirable concision.

A book about friendship, love - and so much more......, 29 Mar 2008
Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other's company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell - and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.

At one level not very much happens - no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?

A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.



Great writing, 13 Mar 2008
This is a superb novel,which portrays an imagined world that is fully and truthfully realised. It amply repays re-reading. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Quite Incredible, 25 Aug 2007
Firstly, the writing style of this novel makes it easy to read.
Secondly, what immediately struck me was the size, only 85 pages, the other 20-odd pages being intro. This by any standard is short, but it doesn't seem so once you start reading it, as every page, every line is so rich in description and wonderful dialogue.
If you are looking for a nostalgic look at the english countryside, and yearn for the days when life was simpler, for steam trains, trips to the sea on a horse and cart and for English summers that were hot, then this is the book for you.
It's a story of life,death,love and friendship.
Highly Recommended
Warning-If you intend to read the introduction, then I would advise that you read it after reading the novel as it is basically a synopsis of the plot and will spoilt it.

Offshore possesses perfect, very odd pitch. In just over 130 pages of the wittiest and most melancholy prose, Penelope Fitzgerald illuminates the lives of "creatures neither of firm land nor water"--a group of barge-dwellers in London's Battersea Reach, circa 1961. One man, a marine artist whose commissions have dropped off since the war, is attempting to sell his decrepit craft before it sinks. Another, a dutiful businessman with a bored, mutinous wife, knows he should be landlocked but remains drawn to the muddy Thames. A third, Maurice, a male prostitute, doesn't even protest when a criminal acquaintance begins to use his barge as a depot for stolen goods: "The dangerous and the ridiculous were necessary to his life, otherwise tenderness would overwhelm him."

At the centre of the novel--winner of the 1979 Booker Prize--are Nenna and her truant six- and 11-year-old daughters. The younger sibling "cared nothing for the future, and had, as a result, a great capacity for happiness." But the older girl is considerably less blithe. "Small and thin, with dark eyes which already showed an acceptance of the world's shortcomings," Fitzgerald writes, she "was not like her mother and even less like her father. The crucial moment when children realise that their parents are younger than they are had long since been passed by Martha."

Their father is farther afield. Unable to bear the prospect of living on the Grace, he's staying in Stoke Newington, part of London but a lost world to his wife and daughters. Meanwhile, Nenna spends her time going over incidents that seem to have led to her current situation, and the matter of some missing squash racquets becomes of increasing import. Though she is peaceful by nature, experience and poverty are wearing Nenna down. Her confidante Maurice, after a momentary spell of optimism, also returns to his life of little expectation and quiet acceptance: "Tenderly responsive to the self-deceptions of others, he was unfortunately too well able to understand his own."

Penelope Fitzgerald views her creations with deep but wry compassion. Having lived on a barge herself, she offers her expert spin on the dangers, graces and whimsies of river life. Nenna, too, has become a savant, instantly recognizing on one occasion that the mud encasing the family cat is not from the Reach. This "sagacious brute" is almost as complex as his human counterparts, constantly forced to adjust her notions of vermin and authority. Though Stripey is capable of catching and killing very young rats, the older ones chase her. "The resulting uncertainty as to whether she was coming or going had made her, to some extent, mentally unstable."

As always, Fitzgerald is a master of the initially bizarre juxtaposition. Adjacent sentences often seem like delightful non sequiturs--until they flash together in an effortless evocation of character, era and human absurdity. Nenna recalls, for instance, how the buds had dropped off the plant her husband rushed to the hospital when Martha was born. She "had never criticized the bloomless azalea. It was the other young mothers in the beds each side of her who had laughed at it. That had been 1951. Two of the new babies in the ward had been christened Festival." Tiny comical epiphanies such as these have caused the author to be dubbed a "British miniaturist". Yet the phrase utterly misses the risks Fitzgerald's novellas take, the discoveries they make and the endless pleasures they provide.

Wilting Flower, 26 Jan 2008
Having obtain some information about the lives of Byron, Shelley, Goether, and the like I lived happily convinced that the Romantic poets usually lived up to their name. Penelope Fitzgerald sadly proved me wrong. Their life was mundane, boring, without flair, and they were rather lucky to die young. Fortunately, she needs only mere two hundred pages to bring this truth home. She does so in a charming style and some of her descriptions and information is quite amusing (the washing - one per year) but otherwise the book is flimsy and fluffy. Don't expect to learn much or understand much. According to the blurps on the back cover "the unspoken speaks through this book" - I must be part deaf then.

She doesnýt hand this one to you, 28 Nov 2002
"I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"

The quote above appeared in a story about Penelope Fitzgerald written just after her death. The quote and the ideas it states appear to be very appropriate to "The Blue Flower". I have read two other works of hers "The Bookshop" and "The Golden Child". All three books share her wonderful style of writing, which she can modify to produce three very different books, all the while maintaining the quality of her writing, while demonstrating incredible range.

Of the three I have read this work is the one she makes you work the hardest for. The two previous books laid out their stories in comfortable, familiar settings, both in place and time. The books were constructed so the reader was able to follow a distinct story line. In the case of "The Blue Flower" the story and her method of telling it leaves the reader to fill in the details necessary to make the story flow in a more conventional manner, to read more easily, more comfortably. For those who want all the details, all the motivation of the characters detailed and laid out with a beginning, middle, and end, this work may not rate as one of their favorite works.

This book was comparatively lengthy set side by side with the other books I have mentioned. The briefer works are very straightforward, and I commented when I wrote about "The Bookshop" that I was curious with what she would do with the added length. True to her having been not only a brilliant and highly original Authoress, as the length of her work expanded, it became more complex, less apparent, but yet another phenomenal read.

A surprisingly enjoyable, thought-provoking read, 26 Jan 2001
Not the type of book I would normally read, I picked up Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower rather reluctantly, since it was recommended by my local book club. The cover blurb mentioned the book's central theme, the relationship between the late 18th century German poet and philosopher Hardenburg and 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn, his 'true philosophy' who captured his heart and became his fiancee. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. However, Fitzgerald's flowing prose and excellent portrayal of the mood and social mores of the times when the book is set soon had me entranced and involved in the story. I was fascinated by the way the suprememly intelligent but very naive Hardenburg falls completely under the spell of the adolescent and not-very-bright Sophie. But as the story unfolded and Sophie's illness touched other people, I too found myself falling under the spell of this young girl. This tale, of course, is based on real lives, and Fitzgerald's afterword rounds the book off nicely. Having read The Blue Flower, I am now keen to read more of Fitzgerald's work, as she has the knack of bringing history to life.

A question, 06 Dec 2002
Did your copy have 187 pages? If it had more, I would very much like to know how your version finishes. I and others have commented on how Ms. Fitzgerald leaves a certain ambiguity at the end of some of her works. She invites her readers to finish the story based on what she has shared, or the reader has understood. This time around, I first felt I was reading a work like Dickens' unfinished, "The Mystery of Edwin Droid". However this time it was a bit abrupt, a door opens, the reader pops their head in, and, she decapitates the reader with an efficiency that Dr. Guillotine would have admired.

This is the fifth of her nine novels I have read, and it will be difficult to top this work. Everything I have read has been excellent, so the pleasure of reading her work is just a matter of degree. The complaint as stated at the beginning is more frustration than anything else. So much appears to be shared with the reader that ultimately deception is far too mild a word, and then when you think the puzzle is complete; she adds another thousand potential pieces by bringing the story to an abrupt halt.

But the story really is quite complete. After you read what she has written a logical explanation follows. She sets the process in motion, steps back, and knows the reader will continue to follow her lead. She pulls the strings of a reader like twine on a top. Once pulled she can step back, the top continues to spin. She is as manipulative as any writer I have had the pleasure to read, she also respects her readers with the presumption they will read what she gives them, and though left wanting more, will be able to put their own finish to what she has written.

I cannot use any names, as it would ruin the piece. She produces one character that is such a brilliant fraud, that when his actions become known, his victims are left with mouths agape when they should be throttling him. As she has done in other works, she has children that are well beyond precocious and other players that the reader is routinely lead to underrate.

Ms. Penelope Fitzgerald was a great discovery for me, as I knew nothing of her or her work. She started writing late in life, and sadly died a few brief years ago. The collective work she has left behind is as good a written legacy as any writer could have left, for all who love to read.

Exquisitely Crafted Novella, 05 Jul 2008
Sometimes it is good to revisit a favourite novel or to watch again a film that always brings you pleasure.

J. L. Carr's exquisitely written novella A Month in the Country was first brought to my attention in 1987 when I saw the film adaptation at the cinema in London. The film affected me so profoundly that I went out the following day to buy the book and what immediately struck me was the fact that there were only one hundred and five pages to it. The concise nature of this story does not reflect upon the depth of the prose and, in fact, the author imbues every line with description and dialogue so wonderfully rich that the length of the work is irrelevant.

The book is rich with characters and atmosphere. There is a gentle, bucolic peacefulness and a kind of restrained beauty as the idyllic summer unfolds. But it is the final scene (both in the film and the novel, although they are treated differently) that never fails to take my breath away.

Carr writes: `We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours forever - the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass. All this happened so long ago. And I never returned, never wrote, never met anyone who might have given me news of Oxgodby. So, in memory, it stays as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down pen. But this was something I knew nothing of as I lifted the loop and set off across the meadow.'

This passage never fails to tug at my heart; the acknowledgement that there are certain moments in time that have passed and will never again be recaptured. It is one of the very few pieces of fiction that never fails to blur my vision by the final line and, for one so cynical, that is no mean feat.

If you have never read this spellbinding analysis of love and art then I suggest you buy a copy immediately. This beautifully crafted and understated story of ordinary people, places and experiences is a treasure to be revisited time and time again.


Small, but perfectly formed, 31 May 2008
This book begins as it means to go on: within the first few pages the scene is set and the protagonist is not only visible in your mind's eye but talking right into your ear, softly and confidingly.

It is an absolutely beautiful book, compassionate and sad and perceptive. The church where Birkin, the shell-shocked narrator, is uncovering a wall painting can almost be felt and smelt around you as you read: its spaces, its noises, the whole essence of a quiet country church on a hot summer day.

I wished it was longer, even though I knew that it had done just what it had set out to do with admirable concision.

A book about friendship, love - and so much more......, 29 Mar 2008
Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other's company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell - and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.

At one level not very much happens - no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?

A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.



Great writing, 13 Mar 2008
This is a superb novel,which portrays an imagined world that is fully and truthfully realised. It amply repays re-reading. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Quite Incredible, 25 Aug 2007
Firstly, the writing style of this novel makes it easy to read.
Secondly, what immediately struck me was the size, only 85 pages, the other 20-odd pages being intro. This by any standard is short, but it doesn't seem so once you start reading it, as every page, every line is so rich in description and wonderful dialogue.
If you are looking for a nostalgic look at the english countryside, and yearn for the days when life was simpler, for steam trains, trips to the sea on a horse and cart and for English summers that were hot, then this is the book for you.
It's a story of life,death,love and friendship.
Highly Recommended
Warning-If you intend to read the introduction, then I would advise that you read it after reading the novel as it is basically a synopsis of the plot and will spoilt it.

Ashendon Book Group says..., 08 Feb 2008
This book follows the lives of a group of people living on house boats (redundant Dutch Barges) on the Thames at Battersea Reach. There is no real plot - it is more of a snapshot of a point in time of the characters' lives ("Chekovian" says Sue Roberts). Penelope Fitzgerald uses her words VERY carefully and with great economy and with great success. This is a book to read a second time in order to appreciate the subtlety and depth within it. The more we discussed the book the more we found to talk about and just couldn't stop ourselves digging out quotes and lines. Somehow in such a short book there is so much detail - though no colour. The book is a testament to the 1960's - women who can't fold maps, order a drink in a pub, draw corks, fold the times, hammer nails in or strike matches toward themselves. And single parent families are not the norm - they are socially shocking. Would we recommend it? It's not a happy book, it's quite depressing, it's grey, the humour is deepest dark, it's left to you to decide about the people; it's interesting, it's crammed full of great reading. YES almost without exception we agreed that of course we would recommend it.

Taut novella of a microcosm of society, 05 Feb 2003
Fitzgerald's talent lies in the way she can make her characters interact and "live". Although less than two hundred pages Offshore captures the spirit of a whole host of people all very different and unique. From the poverty stricken Nenna and family to the affluent Richard and Laura via the shady nature of Maurice's occupation- Fitzgerald runs the gauntlet of different problems and outlooks. Fitzgerald never directly mentions the meaning, behind these characters' lives, but we understand more, through her writing, about love, loss and social difference.
The cold, mist and mud can all be felt through Fitzgerald's descriptions of the Thames along with the warmth the humanity of the barges' inhabitants. Within the day-to-day workings of the barge dwellers is a story of jealousy and doom which surfaces slowly during the novel and emerges at the climax in an unforgettable end that is truly chilling.
What makes Offshore imperfect is its limited length. Although a novella often has the tautness and direction longer novels lack it can often be at the sacrifice of material that would draw the reader closer into the fictional world. This is the case in Offshore- although all the characters are precisely defined and the story line never deviates away from the path, it seems that we never get close enough to Nenna and co to really feel for them. In a way it seems such vivid and finely crafted characters are wasted.
Nevertheless, Fitzgerald has written an encompassing and bittersweet tale of people living in unordinary circumstances.

This should have been one Booker Award amongst many, 30 Nov 2002
The novels have all been read, but the stories continue. This was the last of Ms. Fitzgerald's novels that I had yet to read, and was also the only work of hers than won the prestigious Booker Award. Her other works that were short listed for the award were "The Bookshop", "The Gate Of Angels", and "The Beginning Of Spring". In a writing career that produced 9 works of fiction, to have placed 4 of the 9 as finalists, and to win once is extraordinary. These novels, 3 works of non-fiction, and a collection of short stories, were all published in a period of time of just 15 years in length. It is certainly selfish, but I wish she began sharing her work before she was 69, in the end it does not matter, as the body of work she did produce will keep her in print for many lifetimes to come.

Ms. Fitzgerald wrote short novels; in, "Offshore", she has compressed the story into a space that is at once confining and as colorful as her books. The majority of the book takes place on boats, boats that never move. Boats that would normally form their own tiny area of culture, but this is Ms. Fitzgerald, so as is normally the case conventional measurement has nothing to do with the scope of the story. This time out she seems to test just how far she can compress the space, the number of people and their stories.

This sometimes-floating living location is a raving contradiction in space. Boats and barges meant to be mobile are not, nature can use the tide of the Thames to raise and then settle them down once again, but any motion more abrupt, and the small fragile world is put in peril. A motionless boat is a contradiction in terms. A boat is inanimate, but "it" knows that being chained in place is unnatural, or perhaps all the life that clings to the sides of these vessels are nature's disaffected elements, determined to find a way to undo what should not have been done.

"I never do anything deliberately", is spoken by one character, but is appropriate for several. This group of eclectic eccentrics may possibly be the greatest menagerie the writer ever conjured for one tale.

I cannot begin to pick a favorite from her novels; she is as excellent as she is consistent. I do know this, that unlike her characters, Ms. Fitzgerald chose every word deliberately, built every sentence with exactitude, and delivered works that are absolutely complete.

The Booker Judges deemed this work "flawless", they were correct.

Beautiful, sad, troubling, and subtle., 18 Apr 2001
This book is a tiny little jewel, so tiny, in fact, that some of its facets are obscure.

I truly enjoyed the book, but felt that it was either the last half of a very sad story, or the middle third of a happy one. We are thrust in almost expected to know the characters already. As though Ms. Fitzgerald decided to write a book so short there was no time to develope them. The result is not bad characters, but enigmatic ones.

Additionally, I was disturbed by how sentient Tilda, a six year old, was. She had the childlike attitude appropriate to her age, but prescience of an elderly woman.

Finally, there are passages and implications that are so subtle that the reader is left wondering what actually happened. The back jacket calls a character a male prostitute. The only evidence in the book of this is another character telling Tilda "I could tell you what he does for a living...it's awful." or something similar. I don't necessarily get prostitute from that.

So I feel like I missed the first half of the book, when all this was explained. No regret that I read it though, and I'll read more fitzgerald.

A good read, 08 Jan 2001
This short novel (which won the Booker Prize in 1979) tells the story of several characters living on barges on the Thames in the 60s. While diverting enough, and a good read, I found it lacked any real depth. None of the characters or events were particularly outstanding. It is short though, and doesn't outstay its welcome. Give it a go.

Penelope Fitzgerald's books are small, perfect devastations of human hope and inhuman (ie, all-too-human) behaviour. The Bookshop unfolds in a tiny Sussex seaside town, which by 1959 is virtually cut off from the outside English world. Post-war peace and plenty having passed it by, Hardborough is defined chiefly by what it doesn't have. It does have, however, plenty of observant inhabitants, most of whom are keen to see Florence Green's new bookshop fail.

But rising damp will not stop Florence, nor will the resident, malevolent poltergeist (or "rapper", in the local patois). Nor will she be thwarted by Violet Gamart, who has designs on Florence's building for her own arts series and will go to any lengths to get it. One of Florence's few allies (who is, unfortunately, a hermit) warns her: "She wants an Arts Centre. How can the arts have a centre? But she thinks they have, and she wishes to dislodge you."

Once the Old House Bookshop is up and running, Florence is subjected to the hilarious perils of running a subscription library, training a 10-year-old assistant and obtaining the right merchandise for her customers. Men favour works "by former SAS men, who had been parachuted into Europe and greatly influenced the course of the war; they also placed orders for books by Allied commanders who poured scorn on the SAS men, and questioned their credentials." Women fight over a biography of Queen Mary. "This was in spite of the fact that most of them seemed to possess inner knowledge of the court--more, indeed, than the biographer." But it is only when the slippery Milo North suggests Florence sell the Olympia Press edition of "Lolita" that Florence comes under legal and political fire.

Fitzgerald's heroine divides people into "exterminators and exterminatees", a vision she clearly shares with her creator--but the author balances disillusion with grace, wit and weirdness, favouring the open ending over the moral absolute. Penelope Fitzgerald's internecine if gentle world-view even extends to literature--books are living, jostling things. Florence finds that paperbacks, crowding "the shelves in well-disciplined ranks", vie with Everyman editions, which "in their shabby dignity, seemed to confront them with a look of reproach."

Wilting Flower, 26 Jan 2008
Having obtain some information about the lives of Byron, Shelley, Goether, and the like I lived happily convinced that the Romantic poets usually lived up to their name. Penelope Fitzgerald sadly proved me wrong. Their life was mundane, boring, without flair, and they were rather lucky to die young. Fortunately, she needs only mere two hundred pages to bring this truth home. She does so in a charming style and some of her descriptions and information is quite amusing (the washing - one per year) but otherwise the book is flimsy and fluffy. Don't expect to learn much or understand much. According to the blurps on the back cover "the unspoken speaks through this book" - I must be part deaf then.

She doesnýt hand this one to you, 28 Nov 2002
"I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"

The quote above appeared in a story about Penelope Fitzgerald written just after her death. The quote and the ideas it states appear to be very appropriate to "The Blue Flower". I have read two other works of hers "The Bookshop" and "The Golden Child". All three books share her wonderful style of writing, which she can modify to produce three very different books, all the while maintaining the quality of her writing, while demonstrating incredible range.

Of the three I have read this work is the one she makes you work the hardest for. The two previous books laid out their stories in comfortable, familiar settings, both in place and time. The books were constructed so the reader was able to follow a distinct story line. In the case of "The Blue Flower" the story and her method of telling it leaves the reader to fill in the details necessary to make the story flow in a more conventional manner, to read more easily, more comfortably. For those who want all the details, all the motivation of the characters detailed and laid out with a beginning, middle, and end, this work may not rate as one of their favorite works.

This book was comparatively lengthy set side by side with the other books I have mentioned. The briefer works are very straightforward, and I commented when I wrote about "The Bookshop" that I was curious with what she would do with the added length. True to her having been not only a brilliant and highly original Authoress, as the length of her work expanded, it became more complex, less apparent, but yet another phenomenal read.

A surprisingly enjoyable, thought-provoking read, 26 Jan 2001
Not the type of book I would normally read, I picked up Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower rather reluctantly, since it was recommended by my local book club. The cover blurb mentioned the book's central theme, the relationship between the late 18th century German poet and philosopher Hardenburg and 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn, his 'true philosophy' who captured his heart and became his fiancee. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. However, Fitzgerald's flowing prose and excellent portrayal of the mood and social mores of the times when the book is set soon had me entranced and involved in the story. I was fascinated by the way the suprememly intelligent but very naive Hardenburg falls completely under the spell of the adolescent and not-very-bright Sophie. But as the story unfolded and Sophie's illness touched other people, I too found myself falling under the spell of this young girl. This tale, of course, is based on real lives, and Fitzgerald's afterword rounds the book off nicely. Having read The Blue Flower, I am now keen to read more of Fitzgerald's work, as she has the knack of bringing history to life.

A question, 06 Dec 2002
Did your copy have 187 pages? If it had more, I would very much like to know how your version finishes. I and others have commented on how Ms. Fitzgerald leaves a certain ambiguity at the end of some of her works. She invites her readers to finish the story based on what she has shared, or the reader has understood. This time around, I first felt I was reading a work like Dickens' unfinished, "The Mystery of Edwin Droid". However this time it was a bit abrupt, a door opens, the reader pops their head in, and, she decapitates the reader with an efficiency that Dr. Guillotine would have admired.

This is the fifth of her nine novels I have read, and it will be difficult to top this work. Everything I have read has been excellent, so the pleasure of reading her work is just a matter of degree. The complaint as stated at the beginning is more frustration than anything else. So much appears to be shared with the reader that ultimately deception is far too mild a word, and then when you think the puzzle is complete; she adds another thousand potential pieces by bringing the story to an abrupt halt.

But the story really is quite complete. After you read what she has written a logical explanation follows. She sets the process in motion, steps back, and knows the reader will continue to follow her lead. She pulls the strings of a reader like twine on a top. Once pulled she can step back, the top continues to spin. She is as manipulative as any writer I have had the pleasure to read, she also respects her readers with the presumption they will read what she gives them, and though left wanting more, will be able to put their own finish to what she has written.

I cannot use any names, as it would ruin the piece. She produces one character that is such a brilliant fraud, that when his actions become known, his victims are left with mouths agape when they should be throttling him. As she has done in other works, she has children that are well beyond precocious and other players that the reader is routinely lead to underrate.

Ms. Penelope Fitzgerald was a great discovery for me, as I knew nothing of her or her work. She started writing late in life, and sadly died a few brief years ago. The collective work she has left behind is as good a written legacy as any writer could have left, for all who love to read.

Exquisitely Crafted Novella, 05 Jul 2008
Sometimes it is good to revisit a favourite novel or to watch again a film that always brings you pleasure.

J. L. Carr's exquisitely written novella A Month in the Country was first brought to my attention in 1987 when I saw the film adaptation at the cinema in London. The film affected me so profoundly that I went out the following day to buy the book and what immediately struck me was the fact that there were only one hundred and five pages to it. The concise nature of this story does not reflect upon the depth of the prose and, in fact, the author imbues every line with description and dialogue so wonderfully rich that the length of the work is irrelevant.

The book is rich with characters and atmosphere. There is a gentle, bucolic peacefulness and a kind of restrained beauty as the idyllic summer unfolds. But it is the final scene (both in the film and the novel, although they are treated differently) that never fails to take my breath away.

Carr writes: `We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours forever - the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass. All this happened so long ago. And I never returned, never wrote, never met anyone who might have given me news of Oxgodby. So, in memory, it stays as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down pen. But this was something I knew nothing of as I lifted the loop and set off across the meadow.'

This passage never fails to tug at my heart; the acknowledgement that there are certain moments in time that have passed and will never again be recaptured. It is one of the very few pieces of fiction that never fails to blur my vision by the final line and, for one so cynical, that is no mean feat.

If you have never read this spellbinding analysis of love and art then I suggest you buy a copy immediately. This beautifully crafted and understated story of ordinary people, places and experiences is a treasure to be revisited time and time again.


Small, but perfectly formed, 31 May 2008
This book begins as it means to go on: within the first few pages the scene is set and the protagonist is not only visible in your mind's eye but talking right into your ear, softly and confidingly.

It is an absolutely beautiful book, compassionate and sad and perceptive. The church where Birkin, the shell-shocked narrator, is uncovering a wall painting can almost be felt and smelt around you as you read: its spaces, its noises, the whole essence of a quiet country church on a hot summer day.

I wished it was longer, even though I knew that it had done just what it had set out to do with admirable concision.

A book about friendship, love - and so much more......, 29 Mar 2008
Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other's company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell - and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.

At one level not very much happens - no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?

A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.



Great writing, 13 Mar 2008
This is a superb novel,which portrays an imagined world that is fully and truthfully realised. It amply repays re-reading. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Quite Incredible, 25 Aug 2007
Firstly, the writing style of this novel makes it easy to read.
Secondly, what immediately struck me was the size, only 85 pages, the other 20-odd pages being intro. This by any standard is short, but it doesn't seem so once you start reading it, as every page, every line is so rich in description and wonderful dialogue.
If you are looking for a nostalgic look at the english countryside, and yearn for the days when life was simpler, for steam trains, trips to the sea on a horse and cart and for English summers that were hot, then this is the book for you.
It's a story of life,death,love and friendship.
Highly Recommended
Warning-If you intend to read the introduction, then I would advise that you read it after reading the novel as it is basically a synopsis of the plot and will spoilt it.

Ashendon Book Group says..., 08 Feb 2008
This book follows the lives of a group of people living on house boats (redundant Dutch Barges) on the Thames at Battersea Reach. There is no real plot - it is more of a snapshot of a point in time of the characters' lives ("Chekovian" says Sue Roberts). Penelope Fitzgerald uses her words VERY carefully and with great economy and with great success. This is a book to read a second time in order to appreciate the subtlety and depth within it. The more we discussed the book the more we found to talk about and just couldn't stop ourselves digging out quotes and lines. Somehow in such a short book there is so much detail - though no colour. The book is a testament to the 1960's - women who can't fold maps, order a drink in a pub, draw corks, fold the times, hammer nails in or strike matches toward themselves. And single parent families are not the norm - they are socially shocking. Would we recommend it? It's not a happy book, it's quite depressing, it's grey, the humour is deepest dark, it's left to you to decide about the people; it's interesting, it's crammed full of great reading. YES almost without exception we agreed that of course we would recommend it.

Taut novella of a microcosm of society, 05 Feb 2003
Fitzgerald's talent lies in the way she can make her characters interact and "live". Although less than two hundred pages Offshore captures the spirit of a whole host of people all very different and unique. From the poverty stricken Nenna and family to the affluent Richard and Laura via the shady nature of Maurice's occupation- Fitzgerald runs the gauntlet of different problems and outlooks. Fitzgerald never directly mentions the meaning, behind these characters' lives, but we understand more, through her writing, about love, loss and social difference.
The cold, mist and mud can all be felt through Fitzgerald's descriptions of the Thames along with the warmth the humanity of the barges' inhabitants. Within the day-to-day workings of the barge dwellers is a story of jealousy and doom which surfaces slowly during the novel and emerges at the climax in an unforgettable end that is truly chilling.
What makes Offshore imperfect is its limited length. Although a novella often has the tautness and direction longer novels lack it can often be at the sacrifice of material that would draw the reader closer into the fictional world. This is the case in Offshore- although all the characters are precisely defined and the story line never deviates away from the path, it seems that we never get close enough to Nenna and co to really feel for them. In a way it seems such vivid and finely crafted characters are wasted.
Nevertheless, Fitzgerald has written an encompassing and bittersweet tale of people living in unordinary circumstances.

This should have been one Booker Award amongst many, 30 Nov 2002
The novels have all been read, but the stories continue. This was the last of Ms. Fitzgerald's novels that I had yet to read, and was also the only work of hers than won the prestigious Booker Award. Her other works that were short listed for the award were "The Bookshop", "The Gate Of Angels", and "The Beginning Of Spring". In a writing career that produced 9 works of fiction, to have placed 4 of the 9 as finalists, and to win once is extraordinary. These novels, 3 works of non-fiction, and a collection of short stories, were all published in a period of time of just 15 years in length. It is certainly selfish, but I wish she began sharing her work before she was 69, in the end it does not matter, as the body of work she did produce will keep her in print for many lifetimes to come.

Ms. Fitzgerald wrote short novels; in, "Offshore", she has compressed the story into a space that is at once confining and as colorful as her books. The majority of the book takes place on boats, boats that never move. Boats that would normally form their own tiny area of culture, but this is Ms. Fitzgerald, so as is normally the case conventional measurement has nothing to do with the scope of the story. This time out she seems to test just how far she can compress the space, the number of people and their stories.

This sometimes-floating living location is a raving contradiction in space. Boats and barges meant to be mobile are not, nature can use the tide of the Thames to raise and then settle them down once again, but any motion more abrupt, and the small fragile world is put in peril. A motionless boat is a contradiction in terms. A boat is inanimate, but "it" knows that being chained in place is unnatural, or perhaps all the life that clings to the sides of these vessels are nature's disaffected elements, determined to find a way to undo what should not have been done.

"I never do anything deliberately", is spoken by one character, but is appropriate for several. This group of eclectic eccentrics may possibly be the greatest menagerie the writer ever conjured for one tale.

I cannot begin to pick a favorite from her novels; she is as excellent as she is consistent. I do know this, that unlike her characters, Ms. Fitzgerald chose every word deliberately, built every sentence with exactitude, and delivered works that are absolutely complete.

The Booker Judges deemed this work "flawless", they were correct.

Beautiful, sad, troubling, and subtle., 18 Apr 2001
This book is a tiny little jewel, so tiny, in fact, that some of its facets are obscure.

I truly enjoyed the book, but felt that it was either the last half of a very sad story, or the middle third of a happy one. We are thrust in almost expected to know the characters already. As though Ms. Fitzgerald decided to write a book so short there was no time to develope them. The result is not bad characters, but enigmatic ones.

Additionally, I was disturbed by how sentient Tilda, a six year old, was. She had the childlike attitude appropriate to her age, but prescience of an elderly woman.

Finally, there are passages and implications that are so subtle that the reader is left wondering what actually happened. The back jacket calls a character a male prostitute. The only evidence in the book of this is another character telling Tilda "I could tell you what he does for a living...it's awful." or something similar. I don't necessarily get prostitute from that.

So I feel like I missed the first half of the book, when all this was explained. No regret that I read it though, and I'll read more fitzgerald.

A good read, 08 Jan 2001
This short novel (which won the Booker Prize in 1979) tells the story of several characters living on barges on the Thames in the 60s. While diverting enough, and a good read, I found it lacked any real depth. None of the characters or events were particularly outstanding. It is short though, and doesn't outstay its welcome. Give it a go.

Penelope Fitzgerald - The Bookshop, 26 Sep 2008
A lovely little book, where a late 50's coastal town is turned into a subtle, underhand battleground for and against a bookshop. Characters are developed admirably in little space indeed, a sinister atmosphere created seemingly out of nowhere, and a book about a bookshop says much more about people than you would imagine it could. The writing is clear and bristles with every word's intention, and there are moments of great warm humour amid the rather sorrow-making bitterness directed to the shop. Great stuff, and a really recommended read.

True to day to day life, 30 Nov 2002
Many have commented on how brief this work is. There is no arguing the point, as "The Bookshop" is brief as defined by the pages it occupies. Ms. Fitzgerald also writes concisely, however she conveys as much or more than many who would take two or three times the length of her work, to tell the same story. The result would be no better; nothing more would have been related and the reader would have just consumed more time.

The events in the story come to the reader as they affect the central character. We are not privy to every conversation between other characters, nor do we witness their every thought, their every action. Just as we do day to day, we receive and react to information and events, as we are made aware of them. We share the fears, the suspicions, and the insight Florence has, but that is where it ends. We are not taken away from her to hear the plans set in motion by others; we have little advantage over her in terms of information that we alone possess.

I think the book is brilliant because it tells a story the way any of us would have experienced the events if they had happened to us. Ms. Fitzgerald cuts away anything that is remotely extraneous, but what she leaves is beautifully compact and true to life.

I have just started her work "The Blue Flower" which is massive in comparison, should be interesting.

Sparse, elegant writing makes Fitzgerald always a joy., 28 Apr 2002
As with many of her books, you feel as if you have stepped into other people's lives, just like in a dream when you arrive in a situation and watch it unfold. The action is based around the attempt of a middle aged, quiet, village-living woman to open a bookshop.
This so gentle aspiration unleashes genteele vicious activity eminating from the local lady of the manor.
You know the slim volume means the book will not last long, and you want it to go on, but when you ahve finished it you know that she was right in making you step back out of their lives and into your own at just that point.
Fitzgerald's characters are always in some kind of private turmoil, whilst carrying on with day to day living, keeping up appearances. It make syou think long and hard about the life lived behind all our ordinary facades.

Penelope Fitzgerald wanted to call her 1990 novel "Mistakes Made by Scientists". On the other hand, she laughingly likened it to a Harlequin doctor-nurse romance. The truth about The Gate of Angels is somewhere in between. The doctor, Fred Fairly, is indeed a young Cambridge scientist, and the nurse, Daisy Saunders, has been ejected from a London hospital. If Fred is to win her love, he must make an appropriately melodramatic sacrifice--leaving the academic sanctum of St Angelicus, a college where all females, even pussycats, are banished ("though the starlings couldn't altogether be regulated").

Daisy, however, suffers from a very non-Harlequin malady, the sort found only in Fitzgerald: "All her life she had been at a great disadvantage in finding it so much more easy to give than to take. Hating to see anyone in want, she would part without a thought with money or possessions, but she could accept only with the caution of a half-tamed animal." Self- protection is certainly not this young woman's strong suit, but we admire her endurance. At one moment, Fred points out that "women like to live on their imagination". Daisy's response? "It's all they can afford, most of them."

Set in Cambridge and London in 1912, The Gate of Angels is a love story and a novel of ideas. Fred, a rector's son, has abandoned religion for observable truths, whereas the undereducated Daisy is a Christian for whom the truth is entirely relative. The novel's strengths lie in what we have come to expect from Fitzgerald: a blend of the hilarious, the out-of-kilter, and the intellectually and emotionally provocative. She confronts her characters with chaos (theoretical and magical), women's suffrage and seemingly impossible choices, and we can by no means be assured of a happy outcome. "They looked at each other in despair, and now there seemed to be another law or regulation by which they were obliged to say to each other what they did not mean and to attack what they wished to defend."

Fitzgerald's novel also records the onslaught of the modern on traditions and beliefs it will fail to obliterate entirely: women as second-class citizens and a class-ridden society in which the poor suffer deep financial and moral humiliation. The author sees the present pleasures--Cambridge jousts in which debaters must argue not what they believe but its exact opposite--and is often charmed by them. But under the light surface, she proffers an elegant meditation on body and soul, science and imagination, choice and chance. Her characters, as ever, are originals, and even the minor players are memorable: one of Fred's fellows, the deeply incompetent Skippey, is "loved for his anxiety", because he makes others feel comparatively calm.

Fitzgerald fills all of her period novels with odd, charming, and disturbing facts and descriptions. Some, like the catalogue of killing medicines Daisy administers, are strictly researched and wittily conveyed: "Over-prescriptions brought drama to the patients' tedious day. Too much antimony made them faint, too much quinine caused buzzing in the ears, too much salicylic acid brought on delirium…" Others are the product of microscopic observation, that is, imagination. Fred's family home is in hyperfertile Blow Halt, a place where no one thinks to buy vegetables, so free are they for the taking. But within this paradise, his mother and sisters are sewing banners for women's suffrage, and nature launches a quiet threat: "Twigs snapped and dropped from above, sticky threads drifted across from nowhere, there seemed to be something like an assassination, on a small scale, taking place in the tranquil heart of summer."

Wilting Flower, 26 Jan 2008
Having obtain some information about the lives of Byron, Shelley, Goether, and the like I lived happily convinced that the Romantic poets usually lived up to their name. Penelope Fitzgerald sadly proved me wrong. Their life was mundane, boring, without flair, and they were rather lucky to die young. Fortunately, she needs only mere two hundred pages to bring this truth home. She does so in a charming style and some of her descriptions and information is quite amusing (the washing - one per year) but otherwise the book is flimsy and fluffy. Don't expect to learn much or understand much. According to the blurps on the back cover "the unspoken speaks through this book" - I must be part deaf then.

She doesnýt hand this one to you, 28 Nov 2002
"I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"

The quote above appeared in a story about Penelope Fitzgerald written just after her death. The quote and the ideas it states appear to be very appropriate to "The Blue Flower". I have read two other works of hers "The Bookshop" and "The Golden Child". All three books share her wonderful style of writing, which she can modify to produce three very different books, all the while maintaining the quality of her writing, while demonstrating incredible range.

Of the three I have read this work is the one she makes you work the hardest for. The two previous books laid out their stories in comfortable, familiar settings, both in place and time. The books were constructed so the reader was able to follow a distinct story line. In the case of "The Blue Flower" the story and her method of telling it leaves the reader to fill in the details necessary to make the story flow in a more conventional manner, to read more easily, more comfortably. For those who want all the details, all the motivation of the characters detailed and laid out with a beginning, middle, and end, this work may not rate as one of their favorite works.

This book was comparatively lengthy set side by side with the other books I have mentioned. The briefer works are very straightforward, and I commented when I wrote about "The Bookshop" that I was curious with what she would do with the added length. True to her having been not only a brilliant and highly original Authoress, as the length of her work expanded, it became more complex, less apparent, but yet another phenomenal read.

A surprisingly enjoyable, thought-provoking read, 26 Jan 2001
Not the type of book I would normally read, I picked up Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower rather reluctantly, since it was recommended by my local book club. The cover blurb mentioned the book's central theme, the relationship between the late 18th century German poet and philosopher Hardenburg and 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn, his 'true philosophy' who captured his heart and became his fiancee. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. However, Fitzgerald's flowing prose and excellent portrayal of the mood and social mores of the times when the book is set soon had me entranced and involved in the story. I was fascinated by the way the suprememly intelligent but very naive Hardenburg falls completely under the spell of the adolescent and not-very-bright Sophie. But as the story unfolded and Sophie's illness touched other people, I too found myself falling under the spell of this young girl. This tale, of course, is based on real lives, and Fitzgerald's afterword rounds the book off nicely. Having read The Blue Flower, I am now keen to read more of Fitzgerald's work, as she has the knack of bringing history to life.

A question, 06 Dec 2002
Did your copy have 187 pages? If it had more, I would very much like to know how your version finishes. I and others have commented on how Ms. Fitzgerald leaves a certain ambiguity at the end of some of her works. She invites her readers to finish the story based on what she has shared, or the reader has understood. This time around, I first felt I was reading a work like Dickens' unfinished, "The Mystery of Edwin Droid". However this time it was a bit abrupt, a door opens, the reader pops their head in, and, she decapitates the reader with an efficiency that Dr. Guillotine would have admired.

This is the fifth of her nine novels I have read, and it will be difficult to top this work. Everything I have read has been excellent, so the pleasure of reading her work is just a matter of degree. The complaint as stated at the beginning is more frustration than anything else. So much appears to be shared with the reader that ultimately deception is far too mild a word, and then when you think the puzzle is complete; she adds another thousand potential pieces by bringing the story to an abrupt halt.

But the story really is quite complete. After you read what she has written a logical explanation follows. She sets the process in motion, steps back, and knows the reader will continue to follow her lead. She pulls the strings of a reader like twine on a top. Once pulled she can step back, the top continues to spin. She is as manipulative as any writer I have had the pleasure to read, she also respects her readers with the presumption they will read what she gives them, and though left wanting more, will be able to put their own finish to what she has written.

I cannot use any names, as it would ruin the piece. She produces one character that is such a brilliant fraud, that when his actions become known, his victims are left with mouths agape when they should be throttling him. As she has done in other works, she has children that are well beyond precocious and other players that the reader is routinely lead to underrate.

Ms. Penelope Fitzgerald was a great discovery for me, as I knew nothing of her or her work. She started writing late in life, and sadly died a few brief years ago. The collective work she has left behind is as good a written legacy as any writer could have left, for all who love to read.

Exquisitely Crafted Novella, 05 Jul 2008
Sometimes it is good to revisit a favourite novel or to watch again a film that always brings you pleasure.

J. L. Carr's exquisitely written novella A Month in the Country was first brought to my attention in 1987 when I saw the film adaptation at the cinema in London. The film affected me so profoundly that I went out the following day to buy the book and what immediately struck me was the fact that there were only one hundred and five pages to it. The concise nature of this story does not reflect upon the depth of the prose and, in fact, the author imbues every line with description and dialogue so wonderfully rich that the length of the work is irrelevant.

The book is rich with characters and atmosphere. There is a gentle, bucolic peacefulness and a kind of restrained beauty as the idyllic summer unfolds. But it is the final scene (both in the film and the novel, although they are treated differently) that never fails to take my breath away.

Carr writes: `We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours forever - the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass. All this happened so long ago. And I never returned, never wrote, never met anyone who might have given me news of Oxgodby. So, in memory, it stays as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down pen. But this was something I knew nothing of as I lifted the loop and set off across the meadow.'

This passage never fails to tug at my heart; the acknowledgement that there are certain moments in time that have passed and will never again be recaptured. It is one of the very few pieces of fiction that never fails to blur my vision by the final line and, for one so cynical, that is no mean feat.

If you have never read this spellbinding analysis of love and art then I suggest you buy a copy immediately. This beautifully crafted and understated story of ordinary people, places and experiences is a treasure to be revisited time and time again.


Small, but perfectly formed, 31 May 2008
This book begins as it means to go on: within the first few pages the scene is set and the protagonist is not only visible in your mind's eye but talking right into your ear, softly and confidingly.

It is an absolutely beautiful book, compassionate and sad and perceptive. The church where Birkin, the shell-shocked narrator, is uncovering a wall painting can almost be felt and smelt around you as you read: its spaces, its noises, the whole essence of a quiet country church on a hot summer day.

I wished it was longer, even though I knew that it had done just what it had set out to do with admirable concision.

A book about friendship, love - and so much more......, 29 Mar 2008
Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other's company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell - and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.

At one level not very much happens - no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?

A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.



Great writing, 13 Mar 2008
This is a superb novel,which portrays an imagined world that is fully and truthfully realised. It amply repays re-reading. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Quite Incredible, 25 Aug 2007
Firstly, the writing style of this novel makes it easy to read.
Secondly, what immediately struck me was the size, only 85 pages, the other 20-odd pages being intro. This by any standard is short, but it doesn't seem so once you start reading it, as every page, every line is so rich in description and wonderful dialogue.
If you are looking for a nostalgic look at the english countryside, and yearn for the days when life was simpler, for steam trains, trips to the sea on a horse and cart and for English summers that were hot, then this is the book for you.
It's a story of life,death,love and friendship.
Highly Recommended
Warning-If you intend to read the introduction, then I would advise that you read it after reading the novel as it is basically a synopsis of the plot and will spoilt it.

Ashendon Book Group says..., 08 Feb 2008
This book follows the lives of a group of people living on house boats (redundant Dutch Barges) on the Thames at Battersea Reach. There is no real plot - it is more of a snapshot of a point in time of the characters' lives ("Chekovian" says Sue Roberts). Penelope Fitzgerald uses her words VERY carefully and with great economy and with great success. This is a book to read a second time in order to appreciate the subtlety and depth within it. The more we discussed the book the more we found to talk about and just couldn't stop ourselves digging out quotes and lines. Somehow in such a short book there is so much detail - though no colour. The book is a testament to the 1960's - women who can't fold maps, order a drink in a pub, draw corks, fold the times, hammer nails in or strike matches toward themselves. And single parent families are not the norm - they are socially shocking. Would we recommend it? It's not a happy book, it's quite depressing, it's grey, the humour is deepest dark, it's left to you to decide about the people; it's interesting, it's crammed full of great reading. YES almost without exception we agreed that of course we would recommend it.

Taut novella of a microcosm of society, 05 Feb 2003
Fitzgerald's talent lies in the way she can make her characters interact and "live". Although less than two hundred pages Offshore captures the spirit of a whole host of people all very different and unique. From the poverty stricken Nenna and family to the affluent Richard and Laura via the shady nature of Maurice's occupation- Fitzgerald runs the gauntlet of different problems and outlooks. Fitzgerald never directly mentions the meaning, behind these characters' lives, but we understand more, through her writing, about love, loss and social difference.
The cold, mist and mud can all be felt through Fitzgerald's descriptions of the Thames along with the warmth the humanity of the barges' inhabitants. Within the day-to-day workings of the barge dwellers is a story of jealousy and doom which surfaces slowly during the novel and emerges at the climax in an unforgettable end that is truly chilling.
What makes Offshore imperfect is its limited length. Although a novella often has the tautness and direction longer novels lack it can often be at the sacrifice of material that would draw the reader closer into the fictional world. This is the case in Offshore- although all the characters are precisely defined and the story line never deviates away from the path, it seems that we never get close enough to Nenna and co to really feel for them. In a way it seems such vivid and finely crafted characters are wasted.
Nevertheless, Fitzgerald has written an encompassing and bittersweet tale of people living in unordinary circumstances.

This should have been one Booker Award amongst many, 30 Nov 2002
The novels have all been read, but the stories continue. This was the last of Ms. Fitzgerald's novels that I had yet to read, and was also the only work of hers than won the prestigious Booker Award. Her other works that were short listed for the award were "The Bookshop", "The Gate Of Angels", and "The Beginning Of Spring". In a writing career that produced 9 works of fiction, to have placed 4 of the 9 as finalists, and to win once is extraordinary. These novels, 3 works of non-fiction, and a collection of short stories, were all published in a period of time of just 15 years in length. It is certainly selfish, but I wish she began sharing her work before she was 69, in the end it does not matter, as the body of work she did produce will keep her in print for many lifetimes to come.

Ms. Fitzgerald wrote short novels; in, "Offshore", she has compressed the story into a space that is at once confining and as colorful as her books. The majority of the book takes place on boats, boats that never move. Boats that would normally form their own tiny area of culture, but this is Ms. Fitzgerald, so as is normally the case conventional measurement has nothing to do with the scope of the story. This time out she seems to test just how far she can compress the space, the number of people and their stories.

This sometimes-floating living location is a raving contradiction in space. Boats and barges meant to be mobile are not, nature can use the tide of the Thames to raise and then settle them down once again, but any motion more abrupt, and the small fragile world is put in peril. A motionless boat is a contradiction in terms. A boat is inanimate, but "it" knows that being chained in place is unnatural, or perhaps all the life that clings to the sides of these vessels are nature's disaffected elements, determined to find a way to undo what should not have been done.

"I never do anything deliberately", is spoken by one character, but is appropriate for several. This group of eclectic eccentrics may possibly be the greatest menagerie the writer ever conjured for one tale.

I cannot begin to pick a favorite from her novels; she is as excellent as she is consistent. I do know this, that unlike her characters, Ms. Fitzgerald chose every word deliberately, built every sentence with exactitude, and delivered works that are absolutely complete.

The Booker Judges deemed this work "flawless", they were correct.

Beautiful, sad, troubling, and subtle., 18 Apr 2001
This book is a tiny little jewel, so tiny, in fact, that some of its facets are obscure.

I truly enjoyed the book, but felt that it was either the last half of a very sad story, or the middle third of a happy one. We are thrust in almost expected to know the characters already. As though Ms. Fitzgerald decided to write a book so short there was no time to develope them. The result is not bad characters, but enigmatic ones.

Additionally, I was disturbed by how sentient Tilda, a six year old, was. She had the childlike attitude appropriate to her age, but prescience of an elderly woman.

Finally, there are passages and implications that are so subtle that the reader is left wondering what actually happened. The back jacket calls a character a male prostitute. The only evidence in the book of this is another character telling Tilda "I could tell you what he does for a living...it's awful." or something similar. I don't necessarily get prostitute from that.

So I feel like I missed the first half of the book, when all this was explained. No regret that I read it though, and I'll read more fitzgerald.

A good read, 08 Jan 2001
This short novel (which won the Booker Prize in 1979) tells the story of several characters living on barges on the Thames in the 60s. While diverting enough, and a good read, I found it lacked any real depth. None of the characters or events were particularly outstanding. It is short though, and doesn't outstay its welcome. Give it a go.

Penelope Fitzgerald - The Bookshop, 26 Sep 2008
A lovely little book, where a late 50's coastal town is turned into a subtle, underhand battleground for and against a bookshop. Characters are developed admirably in little space indeed, a sinister atmosphere created seemingly out of nowhere, and a book about a bookshop says much more about people than you would imagine it could. The writing is clear and bristles with every word's intention, and there are moments of great warm humour amid the rather sorrow-making bitterness directed to the shop. Great stuff, and a really recommended read.

True to day to day life, 30 Nov 2002
Many have commented on how brief this work is. There is no arguing the point, as "The Bookshop" is brief as defined by the pages it occupies. Ms. Fitzgerald also writes concisely, however she conveys as much or more than many who would take two or three times the length of her work, to tell the same story. The result would be no better; nothing more would have been related and the reader would have just consumed more time.

The events in the story come to the reader as they affect the central character. We are not privy to every conversation between other characters, nor do we witness their every thought, their every action. Just as we do day to day, we receive and react to information and events, as we are made aware of them. We share the fears, the suspicions, and the insight Florence has, but that is where it ends. We are not taken away from her to hear the plans set in motion by others; we have little advantage over her in terms of information that we alone possess.

I think the book is brilliant because it tells a story the way any of us would have experienced the events if they had happened to us. Ms. Fitzgerald cuts away anything that is remotely extraneous, but what she leaves is beautifully compact and true to life.

I have just started her work "The Blue Flower" which is massive in comparison, should be interesting.

Sparse, elegant writing makes Fitzgerald always a joy., 28 Apr 2002
As with many of her books, you feel as if you have stepped into other people's lives, just like in a dream when you arrive in a situation and watch it unfold. The action is based around the attempt of a middle aged, quiet, village-living woman to open a bookshop.
This so gentle aspiration unleashes genteele vicious activity eminating from the local lady of the manor.
You know the slim volume means the book will not last long, and you want it to go on, but when you ahve finished it you know that she was right in making you step back out of their lives and into your own at just that point.
Fitzgerald's characters are always in some kind of private turmoil, whilst carrying on with day to day living, keeping up appearances. It make syou think long and hard about the life lived behind all our ordinary facades.

A love story delivered with the utmost facility in elegant and precise language, 14 Mar 2008
Penelope Fitzgerald gives a salutary lesson in how to write a novel: concise but never superficial, intelligent but not condescending, moving but not cloying, witty but not smug. It takes a writer of the highest quality (Iris Murdoch, A S Byatt) to succeed with a historical novel and this book is a success. Set in the musty, cloistered world of Edwardian academia Gate of the Angels addresses fundamental issues such as the class divide, religious doubt in the face of scientific advancement, and women's role in society, as well as specifically contemporary issues such as universal suffrage. That the author achieves this without the grating pomposity of so many English novelists who write in the same milieu is most satisfying.
Fred Fairly, a physics lecturer, is ensconced in a tiny Cambridge college in which women are not admitted and where the academics must remain unmarried and, by inference, celibate. But when Fred is involved in a mundane accident he falls in love with the other victim, a lonely and isolated young nurse who has made a well-meaning but unfortunate error of judgement in her life. Their lives are told in two separate stories which gradually merge. The authenticity is such that the reader is transported into the Edwardian world without the aid of clichéd signposts or forced language. Always absorbing, it is a love story delivered with the utmost facility in elegant and precise language, and with real but unsentimental emotion. My copy came with the somewhat disturbing claim: `Brought to you by Woman's Journal', but don't let that put you off.


I donýt say I wonýt Fred, 01 Dec 2002
That declarative double negative is about as definitive as the various parts of this story ever seem to be. When I reviewed, "The Blue Flower", I said Ms. Fitzgerald didn't hand the story to you. In, "The Gate Of Angels", I'm still trying to decide what the reader was supposed to find, what resolution we were supposed to arrive at. One commercial review suggested the end was left for us to decide, and while that may sound like an easy out from a wraith like ending, it is quite reasonable.

Ms. Fitzgerald is meticulous in manner she writes, or perhaps what she only implies in this story. A portion of the story centers on debating, with the participants arguing that position which they personally do not believe. Good deeds are punished, perception though erroneous, too is punished, and when one character falls ill and while being helped exclaims "Surely it can't be...?" again it is a negative, not because the help is proffered, but because of the makeup of the individual who has walked on the grass.

I believe as with, "The Bookshop", Ms. Fitzgerald unfolds her story much as it would happen were it true. Sometimes we fear a confrontation, only to find it existed in our minds only. Family that we feel we should know better than all others can surprise and shock. Her books are not all neatly tied up with contrivance like most, not everything is resolved, mistakes and wrongs remain, and all is not fixed.

For anyone who has not yet had the pleasure of reading one of this lady's works, a clarification is important. Comparing anything she writes to commercial supermarket checkout romance novels is patently absurd. This authoress writes at a level that is universally admired by her peers and professional critics alike. To make the earlier comparison of her work can be described most charitably, by hoping that someone who never opened one of this lady's books made the comment. Were this to appear at the cinema it would be a stretch to get much past PG. This lady is a writer of distinction, not a purveyor of mindless trash.

Good plot, but also confusing, 11 Dec 2000
The Gate of Angels was written by Penelope Fitzgerald. The prize-winning novel is about physicist Fred Fairly and nurse Daisy Saunders. It presents a myriad of intriguing characters and side stories. The novel, set in England in the year 1912, is essentially a love story between Daisy and Fred. Fred works at the College of St. Angelicus. He meets Daisy through a bike accident. He falls in love with her right away, and then pursues her. Fred undergoes trials and tribulations in trying to get Daisy to marry him. Unfortunately for him, he never does before the novel ends.

What separates this book from others with a similar theme is the way Fitzgerald's novel diverges into two separate stories, and then comes together at the end. It is a biography of both Fred and Daisy, but also a love story.

However, this format also made it confusing for me to read at times. The chapters constantly switch from the present to the past, and vice versa. I needed to go back, after reading the book, and actually put the events in chronological order for everything to make sense. This format is unlike any other novel I have ever read. Once everything made sense to me, I realized just how deep this book really is. It is complex, and presents basic dilemmas. Overall, it is well-deserving of the Booker Prize it won.

Good plot, but confusing at times, 08 Dec 2000
The Gate of Angels was written by Penelope Fitzgerald. The prize-winning novel is about physicist Fred Fairly and nurse Daisy Saunders. It presents a myriad of intriguing characters and side stories. The novel, set in England, is essentially a love story between Daisy and Fred. However, what separates this book from others with a similar theme is the way Fitzgerald's novel diverges into two separate stories, and then comes together at the end. It is a biography of both Fred and Daisy, but also a love story.

However, this format also made it confusing for me to read at times. The chapters constantly switch from the present to the past, and vice versa. I needed to go back, after reading the book, and actually put the events in chronological order for everything to make sense. This format is unlike any other novel I have ever read. Once everything made sense to me, I realized just how deep this book really is. It is complex, and presents basic dilemmas. Overall, it is well-deserving of the Booker Prize it won.

nipped in the bud, 22 Dec 1999
This novella sets up a number of very engaging questions about physics, the body, and the soul. Then, as things get interesting, it's all over. Still, a lovely experience, as far as it goes. I wanted to read further about these two souls.