The July meeting of The Low Fell Book Group took place on the 7th at Low Fell Rugby Club. We had the large room to ourselves overlooking the lush greenery of the pitch on a warm sunny evening. The setting complimented the discussions of June’s choice of The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies.
Most of the group agreed that it was an enjoyable if, an undemanding read. Several commented that they had to return to the book to remind themselves of the names of the central characters, however it was easy to continue with and good bedtime reading were other comments.
Joanne C was the book’s most ardent supporter and she has had the added advantage of having been to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Joan has also been lucky enough to visit this country and both agreed that the author’s descriptions of the countryside and culture were both accurate and powerful. With one notable exception - Joanne had actually visited a tea plantation and remarked: “They smell of tea not grass”!
Jeanette felt that the novel was a bit too laden with detailed descriptions, such as: “In the sweet-smelling, multiple- mirrored room, she splashed the repeated image of her face, and applied a dab of Apres L’Ondee, which luckily had been safely stowed in her small case.”
Jeanette was less critical of Gwen, who some of us felt came across as a bit wet. Jeanette felt her character did fit with the time and setting and that she did develop throughout the story. Perhaps on reflection that was fair as we may have been looking at her character through modern day eyes.
We also agreed that the narrative was guilty of giving the reader constant reminders of where and when it was set, which tended to become tedious. We were given numerous examples of the times, such as the sinking of Titanic and the Wall Street Crash.
Most of the group also agreed that the plot had echoes of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The young, newly married girl plunged into an unfamiliar life, the older, moody husband who keeps tootling off somewhere and the shadow of the dead former wife. Several members also guessed the secrets in the plot at an early stage, but heroically carried on with Gwen as she slowly and dramatically conceals her own secret.
Overall we gave the book a score of 3.5
It was nice to welcome a new member to the group and to have Joanne back from her fabulous time in Las Vegas with superb photographs of “Elvis” too.
Our next meeting will be on 4th August at 6.30pm, venue TBA.
Next month’s book choice is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
