Brief Shining

by Kathleen Rowntree

To Sally and Anne, Willow Dasset was a place of sun and poppy fields and haymaking, and Grandpa Ludbury striding across the farmyard to welcome them. Everything was perfect at Willow Dasset, except their parents. Meg and Henry brought all their tensions and resentments with them, and their pervading restlessness somehow damaged the enchantment of summer at the farm.

As Sally, the elder, changed from a child into a young girl, she realized that the tension came from her mother. Meg was a Ludbury, with all the strangeness, the greeds and longings of that curious clan. But now Meg's jealousy and resentment was centred on her own daughter. Sally, reaching for a life of her own, knew that if she wanted any kind of happiness, she had to fight her mother any way she could. And one thing she never forgot was her grandmother--for Rebecca too had had to fight the Ludburys--and Rebecca had won.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1989

About the author

Kathleen Rowntree was born in Northumberland, brought up in Lincolnshire, studied music and English at Hull University and is now living with her husband in Oxfordshire. She taught for some years before she began to write. When asked what her novels are about she usually replies with one word: 'relationships'. Her explorations of human foibles and tangles lead reviewers to use words like sharp, shrewd, witty, satirical, clever and hard-biting - as well as sympathetic, funny, warm, suspenseful and (fortunately) entertaining. She has many other interests besides reading and writing fiction, especially art, poetry and hill-walking. Among the UK writers she herself gets most from are Elizabeth Taylor, Julian Barnes and William Trevor while Anne Tyler and Alison Lurie are two of her US favourites.

Reviews

[Julie Dunnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of a family and it’s relationship with a farm Willow Dasset. Meg, Henry and their daughters Sally and Anne return there once or twice a year and these visits paint the picture of their lives. Not sure I really understood the point of this book!

[Sandra McIntier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing true to life post war story. One that invited you into the heart of this family. To share their joys, sorrows and mistakes.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A character based family novel, set over a couple of decades, as we see children grow up, and adults grow old. There's not much plot as such, but lovely main characters. What I had not realised, the first time I read this, is that it's a sequel to the author's first book, 'The quiet war of Rebecca Sheldon'.

I appreciated the social history aspect, the coming-of-age scenario of a dreamy, imaginative child, and the mildly amusing caricatures of some of the minor characters.

Overall, I thought this a pleasant, enjoyable book.

Longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, comforting and very amusing throughout. The story and the speech of the characters used my very favourite language style - slightly archaic (an air of Enid Blyton) with a brilliant lexicon.
The novel is really all about a family. I definitely identified with Sally, the main character. Basically, the story centres around her growing up and I could identify with many of the happenings. Children tend view the world differently, but as time moves on, things develop and the more complex understandings of adulthood take over, some things loose their patina.