A modern classic, 26 Jun 2008
What a beautifully written insightful story. A female author who clearly has a 'masculine' side to write as a man. She intertwined the characters, their lives and personalities with skill and feeling. I loved the way she understates detail acknowledging the readers intelligence. Brilliant. It was even better than Miss Garnet's Angels. i immediately went out and bought all her other novels.

Therapist and patient help each other, 09 Dec 2007
David McBride, a psychotherapist, has a patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank who had attempted suicide. The story of Elizabeth triggers long-suppressed thoughts about and bleak insights into problems in his own life. As a result he responds to his patient's story with particular intensity and not with the detachment that therapists are supposed to show. Patients often want sessions to continue beyond the consultation hour, but here David wants it also and one session, for example, lasts for seven hours, well into the night. And although long silences in the early stages of the treatment are convincing, in the late stages I found Elizabeth's account of conversations she had had with her lover Thomas too literary, too artistically crafted: people don't speak like that; and that could also be said of a five page long speech by David to his wife Olivia. Events seem to me rather too telescoped: four separate major events happen to David on one day, and on the following day he moves from deep depression to catharsis. What also put me off somewhat is that the story is told by David in the first person, so that the wise reflections he makes from time to time about psychology and about life, especially in about the first half of the book, have about them a slightly vain tone which, perhaps unjustly, made me a little irritated with the author who is herself a psychotherapist - and in the light of that knowledge I had initially to remind myself from time to time that the psychiatrist in this novel is a man and not a woman.

But all that having been said, there are excellent things in the book. The personality of Elizabeth - so painfully lacking in self-esteem and so torn between duty to an unloved husband, children and mother-in-law on the one hand and passion for her lover Thomas on the other - is very well drawn. She has the intuition that some patients have to know what the therapist is not saying. Thomas is an unusual, magnificently forthright and eloquent creation - clearly not only Elizabeth but also both David and Salley Vickers are strongly attracted by him. Gus Galen, too, David's guru, is a meaty and wise character. There is a touching description of how, towards the end Elizabeth and David support each other. (Lesser writers would have inserted a sex scene here.)

As in the author's Miss Garnet's Angel, Italy and Italian art play a considerable part here, though I think she was much better at evoking Venice in that other novel than she is at her somewhat guide-book descriptions of Rome in this one. On the other hand what she sees in Caravaggio in this novel is more profound than what she saw in Guardi in the other one. Part of what Caravaggio means to her, to David and to Elizabeth is the subject, near the end, of the moving lecture David delivers in Rome and then of a further visit to his works in that city. This Part IV of the book is a most satisfying finale and handsomely made up for some of my earlier reservations.

An utterly engrossing book, 18 Nov 2007
This tale is told from two perspectives: Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist, and his patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, a failed suicide. Essentially it is a story about their relationship and how, over time, trust grows between them. But The Other Side of You also tackles some bigger, yet more subtle, themes, including how the decisions we make impact on the rest of our lives and how we never really know the people we are closest to.

During one of his sessions with the normally reticent Elizabeth, David confesses that "there's no cure for being alive" and that the only thing to do is to "find a way to live". Having lost a sibling as a child, this is exactly how David has lived his life, keeping the pain buried deep within but sometimes imagining he could "bring him back by willing it".

But it is only when the pair begin to discuss a painting by Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus -- which depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two unsuspecting disciples -- that Elizabeth begins to open up and reveal the hidden pain that caused her to attempt to take her own life.

What follows is a riveting tale about a tragic love affair, which swings between London and Rome, so beautifully and exquisitely told (by Vickers) that the reader must give up all hope of putting the book down. In fact, I read it in one sitting and by the end of the marathon reading session -- some 270 odd pages -- I felt utterly devastated. The story lingered in my mind for days and weeks afterwards.

This is a remarkable, utterly engrossing book that cannot fail to move any reader, no matter how hardened they might be to the myriad emotions associated with art, death, life, love and loss. I cried buckets when I got to the end, and I rather suspect you might too.


Bucks a modern trend, 29 Oct 2007
As with several of the reviewers on Amazon, I had not read Salley Vickers before but was encouraged to by a bookseller who tells me her latest, 'Where Three Roads Meet', is also fascinating. He sold me 'Miss Garnett' and this one through sheer enthusiasm (I gather she's a favourite with the independent booksellers to whom she attributes Miss Garnett's success). No need to recap the plot as it has been well done here already so I'll just add my thought that this is a writer who bucks a modern trend. Her work takes time to absorb but is nourishing both to the mind and heart. An intellectually rigorous writer with soul is a rarity. As Phillip Pullman puts it 'she's a presence to be cherished'. I liked 'Miss Garnett', which I gather was the book which made her famous, but unlike so many first-time successes she seems to have got better. 'The Other Side of You' is a deeper book. Congratulations, Ms Vickers. I await 'Three Roads' with excitement.

A book that has grown on me since I finished it!, 04 Oct 2007
Although this book has been applauded by many reviewers, I found it a bit slow and ultimately not very rewarding. Strangely though, I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars since reviewing it!

David McBryde, a psychiatrist specialising in suicide cases, is assigned to Elizabeth Cruikshank, a young, married patient. It takes him a while to gain her trust, eventually breaking the ice through a mutual respect for the artist Caravaggio.
Meanwhile some of the background leading to David's choice of career is revealed, including the death of a close brother when he was just 4 years old, the brother 6.
Once Elizabeth decides to trust the doctor, she relates the traumatic history of love and loss that had lead up to the decision to end her life.
There are some wonderful peripheral characters, especially those at the hospital, though I found Thomas, the love of Elizabeth's life, both patronising and controlling.

In spite of a number of inspiring quotes and beautiful descriptions of Caravaggio's work, I really wasn't grabbed by this book.
I had previously read Miss Garnet's Angel, prior to a visit to Venice, but even under such favourable circumstances, I felt similarly uninspired by this author. I doubt I shall read any of her other books.

There is something very old-fashioned and reassuring about Sally Vickers' novel Miss Garnet's Angel. The themes, self-discovery and redemption have the air of a bygone age, despite the novel being set in contemporary Venice in a world of holiday apartment lets and Pizza Express-funded restoration works. Julia Garnet is a middle-aged woman who has been practising economies of the spirit for years. Hers is a closed-in world, dusty with Marx's theories and when her friend and flatmate of 30 years dies Julia decides to spend the six winter months in Venice to recuperate from her loss. Miss Garnet is a dignified, brusque heroine and Sally Vickers' prose is likewise unruffled and controlled. Miss Garnet's epiphanies are as quiet and subtle as the "oro pallido" (pale gold) light in early Italian Art because, of course, art plays a part in this Venetian tale of emotional reawakening. Julia is moved by the depiction of Raphael in Guardis Tobias and the Angel: "something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet as she stood absorbing the vivid dewy painting and the unmistakable compassion in the angel's bright glance." She falls in love with Carlo, an art historian with crinkly eyes, white hair and a moustache. There are trials and tribulations to be undergone, Julia must unlearn all her old regimented ways of life, and this brings about heart ache and hurt. However, Vickers handles this with delicate sympathy, giving Julia Garnet a new sensitive view of the world, and the reader a resonant story of transformation. --Eithne Farry

A modern classic, 26 Jun 2008
What a beautifully written insightful story. A female author who clearly has a 'masculine' side to write as a man. She intertwined the characters, their lives and personalities with skill and feeling. I loved the way she understates detail acknowledging the readers intelligence. Brilliant. It was even better than Miss Garnet's Angels. i immediately went out and bought all her other novels.

Therapist and patient help each other, 09 Dec 2007
David McBride, a psychotherapist, has a patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank who had attempted suicide. The story of Elizabeth triggers long-suppressed thoughts about and bleak insights into problems in his own life. As a result he responds to his patient's story with particular intensity and not with the detachment that therapists are supposed to show. Patients often want sessions to continue beyond the consultation hour, but here David wants it also and one session, for example, lasts for seven hours, well into the night. And although long silences in the early stages of the treatment are convincing, in the late stages I found Elizabeth's account of conversations she had had with her lover Thomas too literary, too artistically crafted: people don't speak like that; and that could also be said of a five page long speech by David to his wife Olivia. Events seem to me rather too telescoped: four separate major events happen to David on one day, and on the following day he moves from deep depression to catharsis. What also put me off somewhat is that the story is told by David in the first person, so that the wise reflections he makes from time to time about psychology and about life, especially in about the first half of the book, have about them a slightly vain tone which, perhaps unjustly, made me a little irritated with the author who is herself a psychotherapist - and in the light of that knowledge I had initially to remind myself from time to time that the psychiatrist in this novel is a man and not a woman.

But all that having been said, there are excellent things in the book. The personality of Elizabeth - so painfully lacking in self-esteem and so torn between duty to an unloved husband, children and mother-in-law on the one hand and passion for her lover Thomas on the other - is very well drawn. She has the intuition that some patients have to know what the therapist is not saying. Thomas is an unusual, magnificently forthright and eloquent creation - clearly not only Elizabeth but also both David and Salley Vickers are strongly attracted by him. Gus Galen, too, David's guru, is a meaty and wise character. There is a touching description of how, towards the end Elizabeth and David support each other. (Lesser writers would have inserted a sex scene here.)

As in the author's Miss Garnet's Angel, Italy and Italian art play a considerable part here, though I think she was much better at evoking Venice in that other novel than she is at her somewhat guide-book descriptions of Rome in this one. On the other hand what she sees in Caravaggio in this novel is more profound than what she saw in Guardi in the other one. Part of what Caravaggio means to her, to David and to Elizabeth is the subject, near the end, of the moving lecture David delivers in Rome and then of a further visit to his works in that city. This Part IV of the book is a most satisfying finale and handsomely made up for some of my earlier reservations.

An utterly engrossing book, 18 Nov 2007
This tale is told from two perspectives: Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist, and his patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, a failed suicide. Essentially it is a story about their relationship and how, over time, trust grows between them. But The Other Side of You also tackles some bigger, yet more subtle, themes, including how the decisions we make impact on the rest of our lives and how we never really know the people we are closest to.

During one of his sessions with the normally reticent Elizabeth, David confesses that "there's no cure for being alive" and that the only thing to do is to "find a way to live". Having lost a sibling as a child, this is exactly how David has lived his life, keeping the pain buried deep within but sometimes imagining he could "bring him back by willing it".

But it is only when the pair begin to discuss a painting by Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus -- which depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two unsuspecting disciples -- that Elizabeth begins to open up and reveal the hidden pain that caused her to attempt to take her own life.

What follows is a riveting tale about a tragic love affair, which swings between London and Rome, so beautifully and exquisitely told (by Vickers) that the reader must give up all hope of putting the book down. In fact, I read it in one sitting and by the end of the marathon reading session -- some 270 odd pages -- I felt utterly devastated. The story lingered in my mind for days and weeks afterwards.

This is a remarkable, utterly engrossing book that cannot fail to move any reader, no matter how hardened they might be to the myriad emotions associated with art, death, life, love and loss. I cried buckets when I got to the end, and I rather suspect you might too.


Bucks a modern trend, 29 Oct 2007
As with several of the reviewers on Amazon, I had not read Salley Vickers before but was encouraged to by a bookseller who tells me her latest, 'Where Three Roads Meet', is also fascinating. He sold me 'Miss Garnett' and this one through sheer enthusiasm (I gather she's a favourite with the independent booksellers to whom she attributes Miss Garnett's success). No need to recap the plot as it has been well done here already so I'll just add my thought that this is a writer who bucks a modern trend. Her work takes time to absorb but is nourishing both to the mind and heart. An intellectually rigorous writer with soul is a rarity. As Phillip Pullman puts it 'she's a presence to be cherished'. I liked 'Miss Garnett', which I gather was the book which made her famous, but unlike so many first-time successes she seems to have got better. 'The Other Side of You' is a deeper book. Congratulations, Ms Vickers. I await 'Three Roads' with excitement.

A book that has grown on me since I finished it!, 04 Oct 2007
Although this book has been applauded by many reviewers, I found it a bit slow and ultimately not very rewarding. Strangely though, I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars since reviewing it!

David McBryde, a psychiatrist specialising in suicide cases, is assigned to Elizabeth Cruikshank, a young, married patient. It takes him a while to gain her trust, eventually breaking the ice through a mutual respect for the artist Caravaggio.
Meanwhile some of the background leading to David's choice of career is revealed, including the death of a close brother when he was just 4 years old, the brother 6.
Once Elizabeth decides to trust the doctor, she relates the traumatic history of love and loss that had lead up to the decision to end her life.
There are some wonderful peripheral characters, especially those at the hospital, though I found Thomas, the love of Elizabeth's life, both patronising and controlling.

In spite of a number of inspiring quotes and beautiful descriptions of Caravaggio's work, I really wasn't grabbed by this book.
I had previously read Miss Garnet's Angel, prior to a visit to Venice, but even under such favourable circumstances, I felt similarly uninspired by this author. I doubt I shall read any of her other books.

Intriguing story, 08 Oct 2008
We all borrowed this and read it a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. I remembered it while browsing in the airport bookshop on the way to Venice and bought it to take with me. The tale of an elderly lady's Venitian adventures, and the way it is tied up with the biblical story of Tobias and Raphael is compelling, and it was pleasing to be able to use the information at the back of the book (which even includes a map) to track down some of the locations. We'd never been to the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele before, and the discovery of the statue and the paintings of Tobias and Raphael was delightful. As was the quiet square behind the church, which is where Miss Garnet lives in the early part of the story. It's a pleasant, stimulating read and such are the descriptive powers of the author that you can clearly imagine the people and places she writes about even if you're not there.


Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel., 25 Sep 2008
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

Please don't be put off !!! A wonderful book., 11 Aug 2008
If I had read these reviews before buying this book, I probably wouldn't have bought it!! I read this as it was lent to me by a friend, and it got me back to into reading again after a difficult time in my life..... this was just what I needed, escaping into the world of 'Miss Garnet' and her lengthened stay in Venice. Well researched, beautifully written, some bits were hard going but so well worth persevering. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went on to buy all Salley Vickers other books! She writes with such depth and insight, I love her books. This has actually made me realise I can't always go on peoples reviews!!

Engaging, beautifully written, 23 May 2008
I was captivated from the beginning. Sally Vickers' writing brought the initially unprepossessing Miss Garnet to life, and delicately illustrated her transformation. Attention to detail brought authenticity to modern Venice and its restoration, which I found a fascinating backdrop that enhanced the story well. The only tricksy part was the story of the twins - on first reding I found that element a little irritating, however, they do provide a perfect device to illustrate Miss Garnet's character. Observation of the minor characters and Miss Garnet's interactions with them are a pleasure.

Evocative, spellbinding and erudite, 23 May 2008
Do not be put off by the reviewers here who, while entitled to their opinions, clearly fail to grasp the deeply poetic timbre of Salley Vickers' voice and extraordinary story-telling. This is a wonderfully evocative and spellbinding novel, as well as truly erudite, in the best sense of the word (knowing, rather than merely knowledge-laden). Salley Vickers writes with passion, characteristic precision, and a deeply sympathetic ear for all that is hidden and hurting in the human heart. Julia Garnet is an endearing, gracious creation, and her transformation from icy schoolmarm to spiritual seeker is both beautiful and wholly believable. The descriptions of Venice, the story of Tobias and Raphael, and the Catholic iconography are all redolent with a rich and inky Gnosticism that is beautifully rendered. I wanted to hop onto the next plane to Venice to go and see for myself! The structure of the main narrative, interwoven with a stunning retelling of the Book of Tobit, is unselfconsciously clever as well as compelling: both narratives gripped me from beginning to end, as I found myself reading well into the small hours of the night. Julia's gradual discovery of her social and spiritual self, as she makes her own pilgrim's progress through the complexity and conflict of human (and divine) relationships, will offer hope to all who have ever been lost or alone. All in all, a joy and an inspiration. I keep returning to this book, taking something new and strangely healing away with me each time. That's what all great art does.

A modern classic, 26 Jun 2008
What a beautifully written insightful story. A female author who clearly has a 'masculine' side to write as a man. She intertwined the characters, their lives and personalities with skill and feeling. I loved the way she understates detail acknowledging the readers intelligence. Brilliant. It was even better than Miss Garnet's Angels. i immediately went out and bought all her other novels.

Therapist and patient help each other, 09 Dec 2007
David McBride, a psychotherapist, has a patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank who had attempted suicide. The story of Elizabeth triggers long-suppressed thoughts about and bleak insights into problems in his own life. As a result he responds to his patient's story with particular intensity and not with the detachment that therapists are supposed to show. Patients often want sessions to continue beyond the consultation hour, but here David wants it also and one session, for example, lasts for seven hours, well into the night. And although long silences in the early stages of the treatment are convincing, in the late stages I found Elizabeth's account of conversations she had had with her lover Thomas too literary, too artistically crafted: people don't speak like that; and that could also be said of a five page long speech by David to his wife Olivia. Events seem to me rather too telescoped: four separate major events happen to David on one day, and on the following day he moves from deep depression to catharsis. What also put me off somewhat is that the story is told by David in the first person, so that the wise reflections he makes from time to time about psychology and about life, especially in about the first half of the book, have about them a slightly vain tone which, perhaps unjustly, made me a little irritated with the author who is herself a psychotherapist - and in the light of that knowledge I had initially to remind myself from time to time that the psychiatrist in this novel is a man and not a woman.

But all that having been said, there are excellent things in the book. The personality of Elizabeth - so painfully lacking in self-esteem and so torn between duty to an unloved husband, children and mother-in-law on the one hand and passion for her lover Thomas on the other - is very well drawn. She has the intuition that some patients have to know what the therapist is not saying. Thomas is an unusual, magnificently forthright and eloquent creation - clearly not only Elizabeth but also both David and Salley Vickers are strongly attracted by him. Gus Galen, too, David's guru, is a meaty and wise character. There is a touching description of how, towards the end Elizabeth and David support each other. (Lesser writers would have inserted a sex scene here.)

As in the author's Miss Garnet's Angel, Italy and Italian art play a considerable part here, though I think she was much better at evoking Venice in that other novel than she is at her somewhat guide-book descriptions of Rome in this one. On the other hand what she sees in Caravaggio in this novel is more profound than what she saw in Guardi in the other one. Part of what Caravaggio means to her, to David and to Elizabeth is the subject, near the end, of the moving lecture David delivers in Rome and then of a further visit to his works in that city. This Part IV of the book is a most satisfying finale and handsomely made up for some of my earlier reservations.

An utterly engrossing book, 18 Nov 2007
This tale is told from two perspectives: Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist, and his patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, a failed suicide. Essentially it is a story about their relationship and how, over time, trust grows between them. But The Other Side of You also tackles some bigger, yet more subtle, themes, including how the decisions we make impact on the rest of our lives and how we never really know the people we are closest to.

During one of his sessions with the normally reticent Elizabeth, David confesses that "there's no cure for being alive" and that the only thing to do is to "find a way to live". Having lost a sibling as a child, this is exactly how David has lived his life, keeping the pain buried deep within but sometimes imagining he could "bring him back by willing it".

But it is only when the pair begin to discuss a painting by Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus -- which depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two unsuspecting disciples -- that Elizabeth begins to open up and reveal the hidden pain that caused her to attempt to take her own life.

What follows is a riveting tale about a tragic love affair, which swings between London and Rome, so beautifully and exquisitely told (by Vickers) that the reader must give up all hope of putting the book down. In fact, I read it in one sitting and by the end of the marathon reading session -- some 270 odd pages -- I felt utterly devastated. The story lingered in my mind for days and weeks afterwards.

This is a remarkable, utterly engrossing book that cannot fail to move any reader, no matter how hardened they might be to the myriad emotions associated with art, death, life, love and loss. I cried buckets when I got to the end, and I rather suspect you might too.


Bucks a modern trend, 29 Oct 2007
As with several of the reviewers on Amazon, I had not read Salley Vickers before but was encouraged to by a bookseller who tells me her latest, 'Where Three Roads Meet', is also fascinating. He sold me 'Miss Garnett' and this one through sheer enthusiasm (I gather she's a favourite with the independent booksellers to whom she attributes Miss Garnett's success). No need to recap the plot as it has been well done here already so I'll just add my thought that this is a writer who bucks a modern trend. Her work takes time to absorb but is nourishing both to the mind and heart. An intellectually rigorous writer with soul is a rarity. As Phillip Pullman puts it 'she's a presence to be cherished'. I liked 'Miss Garnett', which I gather was the book which made her famous, but unlike so many first-time successes she seems to have got better. 'The Other Side of You' is a deeper book. Congratulations, Ms Vickers. I await 'Three Roads' with excitement.

A book that has grown on me since I finished it!, 04 Oct 2007
Although this book has been applauded by many reviewers, I found it a bit slow and ultimately not very rewarding. Strangely though, I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars since reviewing it!

David McBryde, a psychiatrist specialising in suicide cases, is assigned to Elizabeth Cruikshank, a young, married patient. It takes him a while to gain her trust, eventually breaking the ice through a mutual respect for the artist Caravaggio.
Meanwhile some of the background leading to David's choice of career is revealed, including the death of a close brother when he was just 4 years old, the brother 6.
Once Elizabeth decides to trust the doctor, she relates the traumatic history of love and loss that had lead up to the decision to end her life.
There are some wonderful peripheral characters, especially those at the hospital, though I found Thomas, the love of Elizabeth's life, both patronising and controlling.

In spite of a number of inspiring quotes and beautiful descriptions of Caravaggio's work, I really wasn't grabbed by this book.
I had previously read Miss Garnet's Angel, prior to a visit to Venice, but even under such favourable circumstances, I felt similarly uninspired by this author. I doubt I shall read any of her other books.

Intriguing story, 08 Oct 2008
We all borrowed this and read it a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. I remembered it while browsing in the airport bookshop on the way to Venice and bought it to take with me. The tale of an elderly lady's Venitian adventures, and the way it is tied up with the biblical story of Tobias and Raphael is compelling, and it was pleasing to be able to use the information at the back of the book (which even includes a map) to track down some of the locations. We'd never been to the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele before, and the discovery of the statue and the paintings of Tobias and Raphael was delightful. As was the quiet square behind the church, which is where Miss Garnet lives in the early part of the story. It's a pleasant, stimulating read and such are the descriptive powers of the author that you can clearly imagine the people and places she writes about even if you're not there.


Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel., 25 Sep 2008
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

Please don't be put off !!! A wonderful book., 11 Aug 2008
If I had read these reviews before buying this book, I probably wouldn't have bought it!! I read this as it was lent to me by a friend, and it got me back to into reading again after a difficult time in my life..... this was just what I needed, escaping into the world of 'Miss Garnet' and her lengthened stay in Venice. Well researched, beautifully written, some bits were hard going but so well worth persevering. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went on to buy all Salley Vickers other books! She writes with such depth and insight, I love her books. This has actually made me realise I can't always go on peoples reviews!!

Engaging, beautifully written, 23 May 2008
I was captivated from the beginning. Sally Vickers' writing brought the initially unprepossessing Miss Garnet to life, and delicately illustrated her transformation. Attention to detail brought authenticity to modern Venice and its restoration, which I found a fascinating backdrop that enhanced the story well. The only tricksy part was the story of the twins - on first reding I found that element a little irritating, however, they do provide a perfect device to illustrate Miss Garnet's character. Observation of the minor characters and Miss Garnet's interactions with them are a pleasure.

Evocative, spellbinding and erudite, 23 May 2008
Do not be put off by the reviewers here who, while entitled to their opinions, clearly fail to grasp the deeply poetic timbre of Salley Vickers' voice and extraordinary story-telling. This is a wonderfully evocative and spellbinding novel, as well as truly erudite, in the best sense of the word (knowing, rather than merely knowledge-laden). Salley Vickers writes with passion, characteristic precision, and a deeply sympathetic ear for all that is hidden and hurting in the human heart. Julia Garnet is an endearing, gracious creation, and her transformation from icy schoolmarm to spiritual seeker is both beautiful and wholly believable. The descriptions of Venice, the story of Tobias and Raphael, and the Catholic iconography are all redolent with a rich and inky Gnosticism that is beautifully rendered. I wanted to hop onto the next plane to Venice to go and see for myself! The structure of the main narrative, interwoven with a stunning retelling of the Book of Tobit, is unselfconsciously clever as well as compelling: both narratives gripped me from beginning to end, as I found myself reading well into the small hours of the night. Julia's gradual discovery of her social and spiritual self, as she makes her own pilgrim's progress through the complexity and conflict of human (and divine) relationships, will offer hope to all who have ever been lost or alone. All in all, a joy and an inspiration. I keep returning to this book, taking something new and strangely healing away with me each time. That's what all great art does.

Very readable, 19 Oct 2008
I love Sally Vickers, especially the beautiful Miss Garnet's Angel. I bought this little book because I wanted to make my order up to the price needed for free super saver postage and I'm very glad I did. I always think I should know more about Greek mythology, but am a little overwhelmed by the thought of reading the classics, also I'm fascinated by psychology but certainly no expert, I found Where Three Roads Meet to be hugely readable - I could barely put it down and when I did I looked forward to the next conversation with the blind Greek. Quite possibly a lot of it went over my head, but it did make me think without me feeling like I was working too hard. I liked it.

Dull, 05 Jan 2008
This is a dull book. It is about an imagined set of conversations between a dying Sigmund Freud and an Ancient Greek about Oedipus.
Since it is hard to see anything interesting in the world views, thoughts or experiences of any of them, it just became harder and harder work.
The writing is unengaging, and as for 'layers of meaning', I'm sorry but they passed me by completely.
It is not very long, but too long for me. The only good thing is that it occasionally draws attention to birdsong. But that doesn't make it worth reading!


Made me see ancient story in a new light, 26 Dec 2007
I had this for Christmas and read it in one sitting. Everyone believes they know the myth of Oedipus - but apart from the fact that the poor guy bumped off his dad and made it with his mum very few people really know this, or any, myth nowadays. Salley Vickers not only made the story come alive in a very natural and matter of fact way (I like her understated style in this and all her books which allows for a real intensity when she needs it). She helped me understand its power. But also I loved her idea of the story being told to Freud. This is why this is such a good series, though to be honest only Vickers and Atwood have really made the myths work for me, maybe because they are both writers who write from a mythic/poetic perspective anyway.



a zen masterpeiece, 28 Nov 2007
This elegant allusive stylish account of the meeting between the dying Sigmund Freud and the prophet Teiresias is simply the best thing Salley Vickers has done. She just gets better and better. I read a couple of reviews which claimed it was just a rehash of Sophocles - and lacking in emotion. Nonsense. The whole point is the way she cunningly unravels the Sophocles - displaying her amazing erudition on the way with a wonderfully tactful and witty lightness - and casts a whole new light on the myth as well as on Freud. In its economy and wisdom this is a Zen masterpiece.

Only Vickers could pull this off, 18 Nov 2007
WHERE THREE ROADS MEET is a retelling of the Oedipus myth, famous within the world of literaure but also psychology and psychanalysis, thanks to Sigmund Freud who developed the 'Oedipus Complex' to explain early infantile sexuality.
Vickers takes the figure of Freud in his last years, when he is suffering from cancer, as one of the characters within this retelling. Freud is visited by a mysterious man who is blind and comes to him to recount a story about Oedipus. This mysterious visitor claims that he thinks Freud has missed something in his own Oedipus theory, and so he tells the story in order to help the famed psychoanalyst 'see' another point. For Vickers' retelling, the important point about the story is that Oedipus pushed and pushed for the knowledge that would be his downfall, despite being warned that there really are some things that should remain unsaid:
'"Events must be endured if they are to disclose their meaning."
"Or unfold untold meanings? And no one, even you, Doctor, has ever quite accounted for humankind's resistance to letting well alone."' (p173).

What makes this novel truely memorable is that Vickers plays around with language and words - as Freud and his visitor discuss the Oedipus story as well as Freud himself, they muse on the origins of words and how that may relate to the story they are discussing. This results in the book staying with you long after you have finished reading its lines. As any good psychoanalyst should, Vickers is able to make you stop and think and relfect on what has just been said, slowly showing you alternative perspectives or issues to consider.
This is a fantastic read - highly recommneded.

Fiction readers with a sweet tooth and a high tolerance of Anglican whimsy are offered much beguilement in Sally Vickers' new novel Mr Golightly's Holiday. Set in the Devon village of Great Calne, it records the events observed, and in part precipitated, by Mr Golightly, the author of a work once famous but now tending to be overlooked, who has elected to settle himself in this community for a while. Mr Golightly himself, a rumpled, elderly figure arriving in a half-timbered Traveller van, is a familiar enough version of "the male author"; Great Calne, an apparently idyllic village with a wide range of carefully differentiated characters, but underneath seething with unseen discontents and rivalries, is itself another easily summoned trope--the kind of community now perhaps most commonly encountered in fictional terms in TV shows. This is handy, for Mr Golightly decides that the best way of dragging his great work into the limelight of popularity and relevance is to recast it as a soap opera. In the event, he makes little headway with this project because, of course, the affairs of the village become all-absorbing and gradually draw him in. And so things unfold, as the characters carefully established by Sally Vickers work out their destinies in a mixture of social comedy (some of it very sharp), melodrama, nature mysticism and visionary redemption that delivers far more than the opening paragraphs can suggest. Moreover, the precise identity of Mr Golightly, while not exactly part of the plot, is disclosed gradually and may come as a surprise to some.

It should be said that this is not really a novel, although it does offer many of the satisfactions of a novel. It is a fable with distinctly eschatological overtones, and as such runs the general risks of the genre, most of which are successfully negotiated. --Robin Davidson

A modern classic, 26 Jun 2008
What a beautifully written insightful story. A female author who clearly has a 'masculine' side to write as a man. She intertwined the characters, their lives and personalities with skill and feeling. I loved the way she understates detail acknowledging the readers intelligence. Brilliant. It was even better than Miss Garnet's Angels. i immediately went out and bought all her other novels.

Therapist and patient help each other, 09 Dec 2007
David McBride, a psychotherapist, has a patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank who had attempted suicide. The story of Elizabeth triggers long-suppressed thoughts about and bleak insights into problems in his own life. As a result he responds to his patient's story with particular intensity and not with the detachment that therapists are supposed to show. Patients often want sessions to continue beyond the consultation hour, but here David wants it also and one session, for example, lasts for seven hours, well into the night. And although long silences in the early stages of the treatment are convincing, in the late stages I found Elizabeth's account of conversations she had had with her lover Thomas too literary, too artistically crafted: people don't speak like that; and that could also be said of a five page long speech by David to his wife Olivia. Events seem to me rather too telescoped: four separate major events happen to David on one day, and on the following day he moves from deep depression to catharsis. What also put me off somewhat is that the story is told by David in the first person, so that the wise reflections he makes from time to time about psychology and about life, especially in about the first half of the book, have about them a slightly vain tone which, perhaps unjustly, made me a little irritated with the author who is herself a psychotherapist - and in the light of that knowledge I had initially to remind myself from time to time that the psychiatrist in this novel is a man and not a woman.

But all that having been said, there are excellent things in the book. The personality of Elizabeth - so painfully lacking in self-esteem and so torn between duty to an unloved husband, children and mother-in-law on the one hand and passion for her lover Thomas on the other - is very well drawn. She has the intuition that some patients have to know what the therapist is not saying. Thomas is an unusual, magnificently forthright and eloquent creation - clearly not only Elizabeth but also both David and Salley Vickers are strongly attracted by him. Gus Galen, too, David's guru, is a meaty and wise character. There is a touching description of how, towards the end Elizabeth and David support each other. (Lesser writers would have inserted a sex scene here.)

As in the author's Miss Garnet's Angel, Italy and Italian art play a considerable part here, though I think she was much better at evoking Venice in that other novel than she is at her somewhat guide-book descriptions of Rome in this one. On the other hand what she sees in Caravaggio in this novel is more profound than what she saw in Guardi in the other one. Part of what Caravaggio means to her, to David and to Elizabeth is the subject, near the end, of the moving lecture David delivers in Rome and then of a further visit to his works in that city. This Part IV of the book is a most satisfying finale and handsomely made up for some of my earlier reservations.

An utterly engrossing book, 18 Nov 2007
This tale is told from two perspectives: Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist, and his patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, a failed suicide. Essentially it is a story about their relationship and how, over time, trust grows between them. But The Other Side of You also tackles some bigger, yet more subtle, themes, including how the decisions we make impact on the rest of our lives and how we never really know the people we are closest to.

During one of his sessions with the normally reticent Elizabeth, David confesses that "there's no cure for being alive" and that the only thing to do is to "find a way to live". Having lost a sibling as a child, this is exactly how David has lived his life, keeping the pain buried deep within but sometimes imagining he could "bring him back by willing it".

But it is only when the pair begin to discuss a painting by Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus -- which depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two unsuspecting disciples -- that Elizabeth begins to open up and reveal the hidden pain that caused her to attempt to take her own life.

What follows is a riveting tale about a tragic love affair, which swings between London and Rome, so beautifully and exquisitely told (by Vickers) that the reader must give up all hope of putting the book down. In fact, I read it in one sitting and by the end of the marathon reading session -- some 270 odd pages -- I felt utterly devastated. The story lingered in my mind for days and weeks afterwards.

This is a remarkable, utterly engrossing book that cannot fail to move any reader, no matter how hardened they might be to the myriad emotions associated with art, death, life, love and loss. I cried buckets when I got to the end, and I rather suspect you might too.


Bucks a modern trend, 29 Oct 2007
As with several of the reviewers on Amazon, I had not read Salley Vickers before but was encouraged to by a bookseller who tells me her latest, 'Where Three Roads Meet', is also fascinating. He sold me 'Miss Garnett' and this one through sheer enthusiasm (I gather she's a favourite with the independent booksellers to whom she attributes Miss Garnett's success). No need to recap the plot as it has been well done here already so I'll just add my thought that this is a writer who bucks a modern trend. Her work takes time to absorb but is nourishing both to the mind and heart. An intellectually rigorous writer with soul is a rarity. As Phillip Pullman puts it 'she's a presence to be cherished'. I liked 'Miss Garnett', which I gather was the book which made her famous, but unlike so many first-time successes she seems to have got better. 'The Other Side of You' is a deeper book. Congratulations, Ms Vickers. I await 'Three Roads' with excitement.

A book that has grown on me since I finished it!, 04 Oct 2007
Although this book has been applauded by many reviewers, I found it a bit slow and ultimately not very rewarding. Strangely though, I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars since reviewing it!

David McBryde, a psychiatrist specialising in suicide cases, is assigned to Elizabeth Cruikshank, a young, married patient. It takes him a while to gain her trust, eventually breaking the ice through a mutual respect for the artist Caravaggio.
Meanwhile some of the background leading to David's choice of career is revealed, including the death of a close brother when he was just 4 years old, the brother 6.
Once Elizabeth decides to trust the doctor, she relates the traumatic history of love and loss that had lead up to the decision to end her life.
There are some wonderful peripheral characters, especially those at the hospital, though I found Thomas, the love of Elizabeth's life, both patronising and controlling.

In spite of a number of inspiring quotes and beautiful descriptions of Caravaggio's work, I really wasn't grabbed by this book.
I had previously read Miss Garnet's Angel, prior to a visit to Venice, but even under such favourable circumstances, I felt similarly uninspired by this author. I doubt I shall read any of her other books.

Intriguing story, 08 Oct 2008
We all borrowed this and read it a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. I remembered it while browsing in the airport bookshop on the way to Venice and bought it to take with me. The tale of an elderly lady's Venitian adventures, and the way it is tied up with the biblical story of Tobias and Raphael is compelling, and it was pleasing to be able to use the information at the back of the book (which even includes a map) to track down some of the locations. We'd never been to the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele before, and the discovery of the statue and the paintings of Tobias and Raphael was delightful. As was the quiet square behind the church, which is where Miss Garnet lives in the early part of the story. It's a pleasant, stimulating read and such are the descriptive powers of the author that you can clearly imagine the people and places she writes about even if you're not there.


Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel., 25 Sep 2008
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

Please don't be put off !!! A wonderful book., 11 Aug 2008
If I had read these reviews before buying this book, I probably wouldn't have bought it!! I read this as it was lent to me by a friend, and it got me back to into reading again after a difficult time in my life..... this was just what I needed, escaping into the world of 'Miss Garnet' and her lengthened stay in Venice. Well researched, beautifully written, some bits were hard going but so well worth persevering. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went on to buy all Salley Vickers other books! She writes with such depth and insight, I love her books. This has actually made me realise I can't always go on peoples reviews!!

Engaging, beautifully written, 23 May 2008
I was captivated from the beginning. Sally Vickers' writing brought the initially unprepossessing Miss Garnet to life, and delicately illustrated her transformation. Attention to detail brought authenticity to modern Venice and its restoration, which I found a fascinating backdrop that enhanced the story well. The only tricksy part was the story of the twins - on first reding I found that element a little irritating, however, they do provide a perfect device to illustrate Miss Garnet's character. Observation of the minor characters and Miss Garnet's interactions with them are a pleasure.

Evocative, spellbinding and erudite, 23 May 2008
Do not be put off by the reviewers here who, while entitled to their opinions, clearly fail to grasp the deeply poetic timbre of Salley Vickers' voice and extraordinary story-telling. This is a wonderfully evocative and spellbinding novel, as well as truly erudite, in the best sense of the word (knowing, rather than merely knowledge-laden). Salley Vickers writes with passion, characteristic precision, and a deeply sympathetic ear for all that is hidden and hurting in the human heart. Julia Garnet is an endearing, gracious creation, and her transformation from icy schoolmarm to spiritual seeker is both beautiful and wholly believable. The descriptions of Venice, the story of Tobias and Raphael, and the Catholic iconography are all redolent with a rich and inky Gnosticism that is beautifully rendered. I wanted to hop onto the next plane to Venice to go and see for myself! The structure of the main narrative, interwoven with a stunning retelling of the Book of Tobit, is unselfconsciously clever as well as compelling: both narratives gripped me from beginning to end, as I found myself reading well into the small hours of the night. Julia's gradual discovery of her social and spiritual self, as she makes her own pilgrim's progress through the complexity and conflict of human (and divine) relationships, will offer hope to all who have ever been lost or alone. All in all, a joy and an inspiration. I keep returning to this book, taking something new and strangely healing away with me each time. That's what all great art does.

Very readable, 19 Oct 2008
I love Sally Vickers, especially the beautiful Miss Garnet's Angel. I bought this little book because I wanted to make my order up to the price needed for free super saver postage and I'm very glad I did. I always think I should know more about Greek mythology, but am a little overwhelmed by the thought of reading the classics, also I'm fascinated by psychology but certainly no expert, I found Where Three Roads Meet to be hugely readable - I could barely put it down and when I did I looked forward to the next conversation with the blind Greek. Quite possibly a lot of it went over my head, but it did make me think without me feeling like I was working too hard. I liked it.

Dull, 05 Jan 2008
This is a dull book. It is about an imagined set of conversations between a dying Sigmund Freud and an Ancient Greek about Oedipus.
Since it is hard to see anything interesting in the world views, thoughts or experiences of any of them, it just became harder and harder work.
The writing is unengaging, and as for 'layers of meaning', I'm sorry but they passed me by completely.
It is not very long, but too long for me. The only good thing is that it occasionally draws attention to birdsong. But that doesn't make it worth reading!


Made me see ancient story in a new light, 26 Dec 2007
I had this for Christmas and read it in one sitting. Everyone believes they know the myth of Oedipus - but apart from the fact that the poor guy bumped off his dad and made it with his mum very few people really know this, or any, myth nowadays. Salley Vickers not only made the story come alive in a very natural and matter of fact way (I like her understated style in this and all her books which allows for a real intensity when she needs it). She helped me understand its power. But also I loved her idea of the story being told to Freud. This is why this is such a good series, though to be honest only Vickers and Atwood have really made the myths work for me, maybe because they are both writers who write from a mythic/poetic perspective anyway.



a zen masterpeiece, 28 Nov 2007
This elegant allusive stylish account of the meeting between the dying Sigmund Freud and the prophet Teiresias is simply the best thing Salley Vickers has done. She just gets better and better. I read a couple of reviews which claimed it was just a rehash of Sophocles - and lacking in emotion. Nonsense. The whole point is the way she cunningly unravels the Sophocles - displaying her amazing erudition on the way with a wonderfully tactful and witty lightness - and casts a whole new light on the myth as well as on Freud. In its economy and wisdom this is a Zen masterpiece.

Only Vickers could pull this off, 18 Nov 2007
WHERE THREE ROADS MEET is a retelling of the Oedipus myth, famous within the world of literaure but also psychology and psychanalysis, thanks to Sigmund Freud who developed the 'Oedipus Complex' to explain early infantile sexuality.
Vickers takes the figure of Freud in his last years, when he is suffering from cancer, as one of the characters within this retelling. Freud is visited by a mysterious man who is blind and comes to him to recount a story about Oedipus. This mysterious visitor claims that he thinks Freud has missed something in his own Oedipus theory, and so he tells the story in order to help the famed psychoanalyst 'see' another point. For Vickers' retelling, the important point about the story is that Oedipus pushed and pushed for the knowledge that would be his downfall, despite being warned that there really are some things that should remain unsaid:
'"Events must be endured if they are to disclose their meaning."
"Or unfold untold meanings? And no one, even you, Doctor, has ever quite accounted for humankind's resistance to letting well alone."' (p173).

What makes this novel truely memorable is that Vickers plays around with language and words - as Freud and his visitor discuss the Oedipus story as well as Freud himself, they muse on the origins of words and how that may relate to the story they are discussing. This results in the book staying with you long after you have finished reading its lines. As any good psychoanalyst should, Vickers is able to make you stop and think and relfect on what has just been said, slowly showing you alternative perspectives or issues to consider.
This is a fantastic read - highly recommneded.

Don't Peek at the P.S. Section, 20 Aug 2008

It would have been easy to overlook `Mr Golightly's Holiday,' as the title did not appeal, but ever since I discovered Vickers' `Miss Garnet's Angel' I simply have to share Salley Vickers. I have introduced everyone I know!

The carefully chosen cover for Mr Golightly conveys its own message in art form. Vickers opens with the quote: `Take hold lightly, let go lightly; this is one of the great secrets of felicity in love' (Robert Orage). After you have romped to the end, you will realise that the choice of quotation is sublime.

You'll resent every single interruption to your journey of discovery while you are in the company of Mr Golightly. As soon as you have read the closing lines; you will want to journey with him again immediately.

Don't peek at the P.S. section no matter how tempted you are to confirm your growing suspicions. If you re-visit the blurb and reviews, you may find your theory chinks of light getting wider and brighter, and the emails Mr G. receives will seem less puzzling.

Vickers' characters grow bone, skin and breathe within the heart stopping prose, you may feel that you already know them, and maybe you do


Thoroughly enjoyed this book!, 11 Aug 2008
I really enjoyed this book, and read it in a week...... I found this book easier to read than her other books, and a really uplifting and wonderful read... loved it! I became engrossed with all the characters in the little village on Dartmoor, and almost felt that I lived there too! Nothing negative to say! It is one of my favourite of Salley Vickers books, and I have enjoyed them all........

Fable and Fantasy not for Me!, 03 Jul 2008
I just cannot get into this!! It is very unusual for me to give up but five chapters is enough to tell me that I just cannot read anymore. If I had read the Amazon reviews properly before starting, maybe I would never have done so? Reading what Amazon has to say, along with my own efforts to try, I have learnt that this is not really a novel but a Fable. Amazon says and I quote that 'One needs a high tolerance of Anglican whimsy to enjoy this'
I just do not feel like reading a novel that is full of allergorical and theological undertones at this time and the soap-opera of the villagers lives just did not catch my imagination.
Just maybe, another time and another place I would try again.

twee? u wouldn't believe it, 13 May 2008
I can't believe this got published. Couldn't make it to the end, lol didn't NEED to. This really is pitiful faux-spiritual rubbish.

Inspirational, 16 Jun 2007
Mr Golightly's Holiday works on two levels: on one, the account of the eponymous hero's holiday in Great Calne and on the other...why, that would ruin the plot! Suffice to say, that if you are a fan of Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, then this is the book for you. Vicker's prose is clear and light yet the mesaage deep and thought- provoking. It is the first of her work that I have read but certainly not the last. Vickers deserves to be ranked as one of the most highly acclaimed modern novelists.

A modern classic, 26 Jun 2008
What a beautifully written insightful story. A female author who clearly has a 'masculine' side to write as a man. She intertwined the characters, their lives and personalities with skill and feeling. I loved the way she understates detail acknowledging the readers intelligence. Brilliant. It was even better than Miss Garnet's Angels. i immediately went out and bought all her other novels.

Therapist and patient help each other, 09 Dec 2007
David McBride, a psychotherapist, has a patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank who had attempted suicide. The story of Elizabeth triggers long-suppressed thoughts about and bleak insights into problems in his own life. As a result he responds to his patient's story with particular intensity and not with the detachment that therapists are supposed to show. Patients often want sessions to continue beyond the consultation hour, but here David wants it also and one session, for example, lasts for seven hours, well into the night. And although long silences in the early stages of the treatment are convincing, in the late stages I found Elizabeth's account of conversations she had had with her lover Thomas too literary, too artistically crafted: people don't speak like that; and that could also be said of a five page long speech by David to his wife Olivia. Events seem to me rather too telescoped: four separate major events happen to David on one day, and on the following day he moves from deep depression to catharsis. What also put me off somewhat is that the story is told by David in the first person, so that the wise reflections he makes from time to time about psychology and about life, especially in about the first half of the book, have about them a slightly vain tone which, perhaps unjustly, made me a little irritated with the author who is herself a psychotherapist - and in the light of that knowledge I had initially to remind myself from time to time that the psychiatrist in this novel is a man and not a woman.

But all that having been said, there are excellent things in the book. The personality of Elizabeth - so painfully lacking in self-esteem and so torn between duty to an unloved husband, children and mother-in-law on the one hand and passion for her lover Thomas on the other - is very well drawn. She has the intuition that some patients have to know what the therapist is not saying. Thomas is an unusual, magnificently forthright and eloquent creation - clearly not only Elizabeth but also both David and Salley Vickers are strongly attracted by him. Gus Galen, too, David's guru, is a meaty and wise character. There is a touching description of how, towards the end Elizabeth and David support each other. (Lesser writers would have inserted a sex scene here.)

As in the author's Miss Garnet's Angel, Italy and Italian art play a considerable part here, though I think she was much better at evoking Venice in that other novel than she is at her somewhat guide-book descriptions of Rome in this one. On the other hand what she sees in Caravaggio in this novel is more profound than what she saw in Guardi in the other one. Part of what Caravaggio means to her, to David and to Elizabeth is the subject, near the end, of the moving lecture David delivers in Rome and then of a further visit to his works in that city. This Part IV of the book is a most satisfying finale and handsomely made up for some of my earlier reservations.

An utterly engrossing book, 18 Nov 2007
This tale is told from two perspectives: Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist, and his patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, a failed suicide. Essentially it is a story about their relationship and how, over time, trust grows between them. But The Other Side of You also tackles some bigger, yet more subtle, themes, including how the decisions we make impact on the rest of our lives and how we never really know the people we are closest to.

During one of his sessions with the normally reticent Elizabeth, David confesses that "there's no cure for being alive" and that the only thing to do is to "find a way to live". Having lost a sibling as a child, this is exactly how David has lived his life, keeping the pain buried deep within but sometimes imagining he could "bring him back by willing it".

But it is only when the pair begin to discuss a painting by Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus -- which depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two unsuspecting disciples -- that Elizabeth begins to open up and reveal the hidden pain that caused her to attempt to take her own life.

What follows is a riveting tale about a tragic love affair, which swings between London and Rome, so beautifully and exquisitely told (by Vickers) that the reader must give up all hope of putting the book down. In fact, I read it in one sitting and by the end of the marathon reading session -- some 270 odd pages -- I felt utterly devastated. The story lingered in my mind for days and weeks afterwards.

This is a remarkable, utterly engrossing book that cannot fail to move any reader, no matter how hardened they might be to the myriad emotions associated with art, death, life, love and loss. I cried buckets when I got to the end, and I rather suspect you might too.


Bucks a modern trend, 29 Oct 2007
As with several of the reviewers on Amazon, I had not read Salley Vickers before but was encouraged to by a bookseller who tells me her latest, 'Where Three Roads Meet', is also fascinating. He sold me 'Miss Garnett' and this one through sheer enthusiasm (I gather she's a favourite with the independent booksellers to whom she attributes Miss Garnett's success). No need to recap the plot as it has been well done here already so I'll just add my thought that this is a writer who bucks a modern trend. Her work takes time to absorb but is nourishing both to the mind and heart. An intellectually rigorous writer with soul is a rarity. As Phillip Pullman puts it 'she's a presence to be cherished'. I liked 'Miss Garnett', which I gather was the book which made her famous, but unlike so many first-time successes she seems to have got better. 'The Other Side of You' is a deeper book. Congratulations, Ms Vickers. I await 'Three Roads' with excitement.

A book that has grown on me since I finished it!, 04 Oct 2007
Although this book has been applauded by many reviewers, I found it a bit slow and ultimately not very rewarding. Strangely though, I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars since reviewing it!

David McBryde, a psychiatrist specialising in suicide cases, is assigned to Elizabeth Cruikshank, a young, married patient. It takes him a while to gain her trust, eventually breaking the ice through a mutual respect for the artist Caravaggio.
Meanwhile some of the background leading to David's choice of career is revealed, including the death of a close brother when he was just 4 years old, the brother 6.
Once Elizabeth decides to trust the doctor, she relates the traumatic history of love and loss that had lead up to the decision to end her life.
There are some wonderful peripheral characters, especially those at the hospital, though I found Thomas, the love of Elizabeth's life, both patronising and controlling.

In spite of a number of inspiring quotes and beautiful descriptions of Caravaggio's work, I really wasn't grabbed by this book.
I had previously read Miss Garnet's Angel, prior to a visit to Venice, but even under such favourable circumstances, I felt similarly uninspired by this author. I doubt I shall read any of her other books.

Intriguing story, 08 Oct 2008
We all borrowed this and read it a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. I remembered it while browsing in the airport bookshop on the way to Venice and bought it to take with me. The tale of an elderly lady's Venitian adventures, and the way it is tied up with the biblical story of Tobias and Raphael is compelling, and it was pleasing to be able to use the information at the back of the book (which even includes a map) to track down some of the locations. We'd never been to the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele before, and the discovery of the statue and the paintings of Tobias and Raphael was delightful. As was the quiet square behind the church, which is where Miss Garnet lives in the early part of the story. It's a pleasant, stimulating read and such are the descriptive powers of the author that you can clearly imagine the people and places she writes about even if you're not there.


Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel., 25 Sep 2008
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

Please don't be put off !!! A wonderful book., 11 Aug 2008
If I had read these reviews before buying this book, I probably wouldn't have bought it!! I read this as it was lent to me by a friend, and it got me back to into reading again after a difficult time in my life..... this was just what I needed, escaping into the world of 'Miss Garnet' and her lengthened stay in Venice. Well researched, beautifully written, some bits were hard going but so well worth persevering. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went on to buy all Salley Vickers other books! She writes with such depth and insight, I love her books. This has actually made me realise I can't always go on peoples reviews!!

Engaging, beautifully written, 23 May 2008
I was captivated from the beginning. Sally Vickers' writing brought the initially unprepossessing Miss Garnet to life, and delicately illustrated her transformation. Attention to detail brought authenticity to modern Venice and its restoration, which I found a fascinating backdrop that enhanced the story well. The only tricksy part was the story of the twins - on first reding I found that element a little irritating, however, they do provide a perfect device to illustrate Miss Garnet's character. Observation of the minor characters and Miss Garnet's interactions with them are a pleasure.

Evocative, spellbinding and erudite, 23 May 2008
Do not be put off by the reviewers here who, while entitled to their opinions, clearly fail to grasp the deeply poetic timbre of Salley Vickers' voice and extraordinary story-telling. This is a wonderfully evocative and spellbinding novel, as well as truly erudite, in the best sense of the word (knowing, rather than merely knowledge-laden). Salley Vickers writes with passion, characteristic precision, and a deeply sympathetic ear for all that is hidden and hurting in the human heart. Julia Garnet is an endearing, gracious creation, and her transformation from icy schoolmarm to spiritual seeker is both beautiful and wholly believable. The descriptions of Venice, the story of Tobias and Raphael, and the Catholic iconography are all redolent with a rich and inky Gnosticism that is beautifully rendered. I wanted to hop onto the next plane to Venice to go and see for myself! The structure of the main narrative, interwoven with a stunning retelling of the Book of Tobit, is unselfconsciously clever as well as compelling: both narratives gripped me from beginning to end, as I found myself reading well into the small hours of the night. Julia's gradual discovery of her social and spiritual self, as she makes her own pilgrim's progress through the complexity and conflict of human (and divine) relationships, will offer hope to all who have ever been lost or alone. All in all, a joy and an inspiration. I keep returning to this book, taking something new and strangely healing away with me each time. That's what all great art does.

Very readable, 19 Oct 2008
I love Sally Vickers, especially the beautiful Miss Garnet's Angel. I bought this little book because I wanted to make my order up to the price needed for free super saver postage and I'm very glad I did. I always think I should know more about Greek mythology, but am a little overwhelmed by the thought of reading the classics, also I'm fascinated by psychology but certainly no expert, I found Where Three Roads Meet to be hugely readable - I could barely put it down and when I did I looked forward to the next conversation with the blind Greek. Quite possibly a lot of it went over my head, but it did make me think without me feeling like I was working too hard. I liked it.

Dull, 05 Jan 2008
This is a dull book. It is about an imagined set of conversations between a dying Sigmund Freud and an Ancient Greek about Oedipus.
Since it is hard to see anything interesting in the world views, thoughts or experiences of any of them, it just became harder and harder work.
The writing is unengaging, and as for 'layers of meaning', I'm sorry but they passed me by completely.
It is not very long, but too long for me. The only good thing is that it occasionally draws attention to birdsong. But that doesn't make it worth reading!


Made me see ancient story in a new light, 26 Dec 2007
I had this for Christmas and read it in one sitting. Everyone believes they know the myth of Oedipus - but apart from the fact that the poor guy bumped off his dad and made it with his mum very few people really know this, or any, myth nowadays. Salley Vickers not only made the story come alive in a very natural and matter of fact way (I like her understated style in this and all her books which allows for a real intensity when she needs it). She helped me understand its power. But also I loved her idea of the story being told to Freud. This is why this is such a good series, though to be honest only Vickers and Atwood have really made the myths work for me, maybe because they are both writers who write from a mythic/poetic perspective anyway.



a zen masterpeiece, 28 Nov 2007
This elegant allusive stylish account of the meeting between the dying Sigmund Freud and the prophet Teiresias is simply the best thing Salley Vickers has done. She just gets better and better. I read a couple of reviews which claimed it was just a rehash of Sophocles - and lacking in emotion. Nonsense. The whole point is the way she cunningly unravels the Sophocles - displaying her amazing erudition on the way with a wonderfully tactful and witty lightness - and casts a whole new light on the myth as well as on Freud. In its economy and wisdom this is a Zen masterpiece.

Only Vickers could pull this off, 18 Nov 2007
WHERE THREE ROADS MEET is a retelling of the Oedipus myth, famous within the world of literaure but also psychology and psychanalysis, thanks to Sigmund Freud who developed the 'Oedipus Complex' to explain early infantile sexuality.
Vickers takes the figure of Freud in his last years, when he is suffering from cancer, as one of the characters within this retelling. Freud is visited by a mysterious man who is blind and comes to him to recount a story about Oedipus. This mysterious visitor claims that he thinks Freud has missed something in his own Oedipus theory, and so he tells the story in order to help the famed psychoanalyst 'see' another point. For Vickers' retelling, the important point about the story is that Oedipus pushed and pushed for the knowledge that would be his downfall, despite being warned that there really are some things that should remain unsaid:
'"Events must be endured if they are to disclose their meaning."
"Or unfold untold meanings? And no one, even you, Doctor, has ever quite accounted for humankind's resistance to letting well alone."' (p173).

What makes this novel truely memorable is that Vickers plays around with language and words - as Freud and his visitor discuss the Oedipus story as well as Freud himself, they muse on the origins of words and how that may relate to the story they are discussing. This results in the book staying with you long after you have finished reading its lines. As any good psychoanalyst should, Vickers is able to make you stop and think and relfect on what has just been said, slowly showing you alternative perspectives or issues to consider.
This is a fantastic read - highly recommneded.

Don't Peek at the P.S. Section, 20 Aug 2008

It would have been easy to overlook `Mr Golightly's Holiday,' as the title did not appeal, but ever since I discovered Vickers' `Miss Garnet's Angel' I simply have to share Salley Vickers. I have introduced everyone I know!

The carefully chosen cover for Mr Golightly conveys its own message in art form. Vickers opens with the quote: `Take hold lightly, let go lightly; this is one of the great secrets of felicity in love' (Robert Orage). After you have romped to the end, you will realise that the choice of quotation is sublime.

You'll resent every single interruption to your journey of discovery while you are in the company of Mr Golightly. As soon as you have read the closing lines; you will want to journey with him again immediately.

Don't peek at the P.S. section no matter how tempted you are to confirm your growing suspicions. If you re-visit the blurb and reviews, you may find your theory chinks of light getting wider and brighter, and the emails Mr G. receives will seem less puzzling.

Vickers' characters grow bone, skin and breathe within the heart stopping prose, you may feel that you already know them, and maybe you do


Thoroughly enjoyed this book!, 11 Aug 2008
I really enjoyed this book, and read it in a week...... I found this book easier to read than her other books, and a really uplifting and wonderful read... loved it! I became engrossed with all the characters in the little village on Dartmoor, and almost felt that I lived there too! Nothing negative to say! It is one of my favourite of Salley Vickers books, and I have enjoyed them all........

Fable and Fantasy not for Me!, 03 Jul 2008
I just cannot get into this!! It is very unusual for me to give up but five chapters is enough to tell me that I just cannot read anymore. If I had read the Amazon reviews properly before starting, maybe I would never have done so? Reading what Amazon has to say, along with my own efforts to try, I have learnt that this is not really a novel but a Fable. Amazon says and I quote that 'One needs a high tolerance of Anglican whimsy to enjoy this'
I just do not feel like reading a novel that is full of allergorical and theological undertones at this time and the soap-opera of the villagers lives just did not catch my imagination.
Just maybe, another time and another place I would try again.

twee? u wouldn't believe it, 13 May 2008
I can't believe this got published. Couldn't make it to the end, lol didn't NEED to. This really is pitiful faux-spiritual rubbish.

Inspirational, 16 Jun 2007
Mr Golightly's Holiday works on two levels: on one, the account of the eponymous hero's holiday in Great Calne and on the other...why, that would ruin the plot! Suffice to say, that if you are a fan of Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, then this is the book for you. Vicker's prose is clear and light yet the mesaage deep and thought- provoking. It is the first of her work that I have read but certainly not the last. Vickers deserves to be ranked as one of the most highly acclaimed modern novelists.

Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel., 25 Sep 2008
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

A modern classic, 26 Jun 2008
What a beautifully written insightful story. A female author who clearly has a 'masculine' side to write as a man. She intertwined the characters, their lives and personalities with skill and feeling. I loved the way she understates detail acknowledging the readers intelligence. Brilliant. It was even better than Miss Garnet's Angels. i immediately went out and bought all her other novels.

Therapist and patient help each other, 09 Dec 2007
David McBride, a psychotherapist, has a patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank who had attempted suicide. The story of Elizabeth triggers long-suppressed thoughts about and bleak insights into problems in his own life. As a result he responds to his patient's story with particular intensity and not with the detachment that therapists are supposed to show. Patients often want sessions to continue beyond the consultation hour, but here David wants it also and one session, for example, lasts for seven hours, well into the night. And although long silences in the early stages of the treatment are convincing, in the late stages I found Elizabeth's account of conversations she had had with her lover Thomas too literary, too artistically crafted: people don't speak like that; and that could also be said of a five page long speech by David to his wife Olivia. Events seem to me rather too telescoped: four separate major events happen to David on one day, and on the following day he moves from deep depression to catharsis. What also put me off somewhat is that the story is told by David in the first person, so that the wise reflections he makes from time to time about psychology and about life, especially in about the first half of the book, have about them a slightly vain tone which, perhaps unjustly, made me a little irritated with the author who is herself a psychotherapist - and in the light of that knowledge I had initially to remind myself from time to time that the psychiatrist in this novel is a man and not a woman.

But all that having been said, there are excellent things in the book. The personality of Elizabeth - so painfully lacking in self-esteem and so torn between duty to an unloved husband, children and mother-in-law on the one hand and passion for her lover Thomas on the other - is very well drawn. She has the intuition that some patients have to know what the therapist is not saying. Thomas is an unusual, magnificently forthright and eloquent creation - clearly not only Elizabeth but also both David and Salley Vickers are strongly attracted by him. Gus Galen, too, David's guru, is a meaty and wise character. There is a touching description of how, towards the end Elizabeth and David support each other. (Lesser writers would have inserted a sex scene here.)

As in the author's Miss Garnet's Angel, Italy and Italian art play a considerable part here, though I think she was much better at evoking Venice in that other novel than she is at her somewhat guide-book descriptions of Rome in this one. On the other hand what she sees in Caravaggio in this novel is more profound than what she saw in Guardi in the other one. Part of what Caravaggio means to her, to David and to Elizabeth is the subject, near the end, of the moving lecture David delivers in Rome and then of a further visit to his works in that city. This Part IV of the book is a most satisfying finale and handsomely made up for some of my earlier reservations.

An utterly engrossing book, 18 Nov 2007
This tale is told from two perspectives: Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist, and his patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, a failed suicide. Essentially it is a story about their relationship and how, over time, trust grows between them. But The Other Side of You also tackles some bigger, yet more subtle, themes, including how the decisions we make impact on the rest of our lives and how we never really know the people we are closest to.

During one of his sessions with the normally reticent Elizabeth, David confesses that "there's no cure for being alive" and that the only thing to do is to "find a way to live". Having lost a sibling as a child, this is exactly how David has lived his life, keeping the pain buried deep within but sometimes imagining he could "bring him back by willing it".

But it is only when the pair begin to discuss a painting by Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus -- which depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two unsuspecting disciples -- that Elizabeth begins to open up and reveal the hidden pain that caused her to attempt to take her own life.

What follows is a riveting tale about a tragic love affair, which swings between London and Rome, so beautifully and exquisitely told (by Vickers) that the reader must give up all hope of putting the book down. In fact, I read it in one sitting and by the end of the marathon reading session -- some 270 odd pages -- I felt utterly devastated. The story lingered in my mind for days and weeks afterwards.

This is a remarkable, utterly engrossing book that cannot fail to move any reader, no matter how hardened they might be to the myriad emotions associated with art, death, life, love and loss. I cried buckets when I got to the end, and I rather suspect you might too.


Bucks a modern trend, 29 Oct 2007
As with several of the reviewers on Amazon, I had not read Salley Vickers before but was encouraged to by a bookseller who tells me her latest, 'Where Three Roads Meet', is also fascinating. He sold me 'Miss Garnett' and this one through sheer enthusiasm (I gather she's a favourite with the independent booksellers to whom she attributes Miss Garnett's success). No need to recap the plot as it has been well done here already so I'll just add my thought that this is a writer who bucks a modern trend. Her work takes time to absorb but is nourishing both to the mind and heart. An intellectually rigorous writer with soul is a rarity. As Phillip Pullman puts it 'she's a presence to be cherished'. I liked 'Miss Garnett', which I gather was the book which made her famous, but unlike so many first-time successes she seems to have got better. 'The Other Side of You' is a deeper book. Congratulations, Ms Vickers. I await 'Three Roads' with excitement.

A book that has grown on me since I finished it!, 04 Oct 2007
Although this book has been applauded by many reviewers, I found it a bit slow and ultimately not very rewarding. Strangely though, I have upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars since reviewing it!

David McBryde, a psychiatrist specialising in suicide cases, is assigned to Elizabeth Cruikshank, a young, married patient. It takes him a while to gain her trust, eventually breaking the ice through a mutual respect for the artist Caravaggio.
Meanwhile some of the background leading to David's choice of career is revealed, including the death of a close brother when he was just 4 years old, the brother 6.
Once Elizabeth decides to trust the doctor, she relates the traumatic history of love and loss that had lead up to the decision to end her life.
There are some wonderful peripheral characters, especially those at the hospital, though I found Thomas, the love of Elizabeth's life, both patronising and controlling.

In spite of a number of inspiring quotes and beautiful descriptions of Caravaggio's work, I really wasn't grabbed by this book.
I had previously read Miss Garnet's Angel, prior to a visit to Venice, but even under such favourable circumstances, I felt similarly uninspired by this author. I doubt I shall read any of her other books.

Intriguing story, 08 Oct 2008
We all borrowed this and read it a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. I remembered it while browsing in the airport bookshop on the way to Venice and bought it to take with me. The tale of an elderly lady's Venitian adventures, and the way it is tied up with the biblical story of Tobias and Raphael is compelling, and it was pleasing to be able to use the information at the back of the book (which even includes a map) to track down some of the locations. We'd never been to the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele before, and the discovery of the statue and the paintings of Tobias and Raphael was delightful. As was the quiet square behind the church, which is where Miss Garnet lives in the early part of the story. It's a pleasant, stimulating read and such are the descriptive powers of the author that you can clearly imagine the people and places she writes about even if you're not there.


Art, Venice and mid-life self-discovery - a refreshingly different novel., 25 Sep 2008
`Death is outside life but it alters it: it leaves a hole in the fabric of things which those who are left behind try to repair.' Thus opens the novel.

Julia Garnet and her long-standing companion and flatmate Harriet decide to retire from work together, on the same day, but when two days later Harriet unexpectedly dies, Miss Garnet decides it is time to take a trip abroad and settles upon six months in Venice. Cautious, dignified and unadventurous by nature, Julia is also a virgin and inexperienced in matters of the heart. Venice is quite a revelation.

Julia discovers feelings of passion for the first time when she comes across the Guardi panels in the Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (Church of Angelo Raffaele), which depict the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. As she views the paintings ...'Something rusty and hard shifted deep inside Julia Garnet', and she goes on to make further emotional discoveries through her friendships and discoveries in the city of Venice. Julia discovers that for the first time in her life she is able to befriend others, and counts among her friends a couple she accused of queue jumping the taxi rank on her first day, a young boy, Nicco, the unsuitable and overly-attentive Carlo, a couple of young English church restorers, and a charming priest.

The ancient Jewish story of Tobias and the Angel is deftly interwoven amongst Julia's story of re-awakening and discovery. Tobias undertakes his journey of ancient times as Julia travels in the present day, and there are subtle threads between them.

Quite a surprise and not at all what I was expecting, `Miss Garnet's Angel' is a breath of fresh air to read. The unsophisticated anti-heroine, Julia, is so down-to-earth, so dignified, and for her years so naive, that she is quite plausible, believable and ultimately delightful, as she discovers each new experience and her confidence grows. A thoroughly enjoyable novel of travel and discovery and one I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

Please don't be put off !!! A wonderful book., 11 Aug 2008
If I had read these reviews before buying this book, I probably wouldn't have bought it!! I read this as it was lent to me by a friend, and it got me back to into reading again after a difficult time in my life..... this was just what I needed, escaping into the world of 'Miss Garnet' and her lengthened stay in Venice. Well researched, beautifully written, some bits were hard going but so well worth persevering. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went on to buy all Salley Vickers other books! She writes with such depth and insight, I love her books. This has actually made me realise I can't always go on peoples reviews!!

Engaging, beautifully written, 23 May 2008
I was captivated from the beginning. Sally Vickers' writing brought the initially unprepossessing Miss Garnet to life, and delicately illustrated her transformation. Attention to detail brought authenticity to modern Venice and its restoration, which I found a fascinating backdrop that enhanced the story well. The only tricksy part was the story of the twins - on first reding I found that element a little irritating, however, they do provide a perfect device to illustrate Miss Garnet's character. Observation of the minor characters and Miss Garnet's interactions with them are a pleasure.

Evocative, spellbinding and erudite, 23 May 2008
Do not be put off by the reviewers here who, while entitled to their opinions, clearly fail to grasp the deeply poetic timbre of Salley Vickers' voice and extraordinary story-telling. This is a wonderfully evocative and spellbinding novel, as well as truly erudite, in the best sense of the word (knowing, rather than merely knowledge-laden). Salley Vickers writes with passion, characteristic precision, and a deeply sympathetic ear for all that is hidden and hurting in the human heart. Julia Garnet is an endearing, gracious creation, and her transformation from icy schoolmarm to spiritual seeker is both beautiful and wholly believable. The descriptions of Venice, the story of Tobias and Raphael, a