Private Papers

by Margaret Forster

Book by Forster, Margaret

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Novels

214 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Margaret Forster was educated at the Carlisle and County High School for Girls. From here she won an Open Scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford where in 1960 she was awarded an honours degree in History.

From 1963 Margaret Forster worked as a novelist, biographer and freelance literary critic, contributing regularly to book programmes on television, to Radio 4 and various newpapers and magazines.

Forster was married to the writer, journalist and broadcaster Hunter Davies. They lived in London. and in the Lake District. They had three children, Caitlin, Jake and Flora.

Reviews

[John Purcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting structure and a fascinating read. Daughter finds her mother's memoirs in a drawer and we the reader get to read the memoir and the daughter's notes, or corrections. Brilliant and brutal way to examine a life. This should be a subgenre of its own. A wonderful device.

[Hilary Tesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosemary discovers her mother's account of their family life and, as she reads, adds her own commentary. I found this a fascinating read, two views of the same events from two unreliable narrators, each bringing their own beliefs, attitudes and prejudices to the tale. It's up to the reader, then, to pick their own truth from the story accepting that their judgements too will be subjective, influenced by the reflection of their own family experiences. This was not a cheerful read, at times it was downright sad, but I am developing a great admiration for Margaret Forster's writing and will definitely be reading more of her books.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is superb. I really, really do like Forster's books. You forget that you are not in fact reading different people's accounts, Forster writes so convincingly with two distinct voices. I laughed at some of Rosemary's 'scribblings', she is such a strong character who tries to do the right thing but who is often misinterpreted. You also feel some empathy for the mother. It's a story of many sides; as the cover tag-line states 'this is the portrait of a family no mother or daughter will fail to recognize.'

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My own mother idolised the idea of family, being an only child herself, and wished her daughters were more like other people’s i.e. close to her and each other. We were, and are, not, so I can sympathise with Rosemary’s ‘battles’ with her mother. Mind you, Rosemary was pretty annoying herself.
One mark knockoff because so little was made of Jess, the adopted daughter and her death in particular. It almost seemed like the author couldn’t be bothered with her anymore

[Ruth Brumby · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was a good one of a daughter reading and making notes on a mother's record of family life. There was potential to explore truth, purposes of writing, family connections. The book is in some, rather claustrophobic, sense powerful because it allows only these two viewpoints. There is no interaction or conversation, no description, very little sense of time and place, no wider view of the world beyond focus on dysfunctional family relationships. This didn't make it very interesting for me and there is also little nuancing or development.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in an unusual way - switching between the memories of a mother and her daughter. The author has done a good job in switching styles between the two characters, because both come across strongly with distinct voices, as does their mixture of irritation and admiration for each other.
But it’s not a happy book, because both of them are incredibly self-centred. And reading this as a man, it’s noticeable how there is not a single positive male character in the book.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting study of motherhood & "the family"- what we try to achieve, why and other people's perception of it. Made me look inwardly at my own experiences and reasons for certain actions. Some bits are uncomfortable to read but very truthful & insightful. Glad I read it. Would expect nothing less from M.Forster.

[Carys · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoroughly compelling read which charters the kaleidoscope of complexity which can course its way though a family unit. I raced through this book quite quickly and seamlessly, and I really enjoyed reading both perspectives on the Butler family. However, although Rosemary's perspectives were interesting and hilarious at times, I found myself becoming tired by her constant negativity and lack of development of any sense of empathy for her mother. I also felt seeing further perspectives from Emily and Cecelia could have been really fascinating, and provided more diversity to the novel. Yet it was great read overall, and I would recommend it to anyone interested particularly in mother- daughter relationships.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and think, perhaps, that it is rather better than 3 stars but not quite 4. It was a compelling story, told in journal form by two unreliable narrators - a mother (Penelope) and her daughter (Rosemary), the former has written a narrative account of her life from the 2ww and the latter, her daughter, finds the account and offers her own commentary and version of events. It sort of works - and where it does, is fascinating - but is sometimes clunky and laboured. The themes are familiar - family life, motherhood and mother and daughter relationships - but I enjoyed the darkness and critique that was afforded between the slip of the two accounts. This is the first of Margaret Forster that I have read and I will look out for more.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mother writes a family history, the ‘Private Papers’ of the title, narrating tragedy, the death of her husband, foster daughter and grandson and also her disappointment in her remaining three daughters.

The eldest daughter finds the papers and writes a commentary on them, which could be summarised as
“No mother, it wasn’t quite like that”

I quite enjoyed the mothers story but it was spoilt for me by the tone of the daughter which was bratty and unpleasant. I couldn’t quite believe that she was a woman in her late forties, she came off as more of a petulant teenager.
I read a lot of Margaret Forster in the 1990s and really enjoyed them so perhaps this is just a blip

[Pat Kingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read

A slow start and a little off putting in that I wasn't sure at the beginning whose version of events I was reading. After a while it became clear as the characters evolved. All in all a very sad story only Rosemary seemed to enjoy her life.

What a loss to the literary world. All her books are so different. Lady's Maid is my absolute favourite.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this literally took me 2 months to read and I am normally pretty fast. it gets interesting halfway through but I never really understood why the characters were all so unpleasant and unlikeable. Margaret forster is pretty hit or miss for me, I guess. I will say when it got interesting it kept me engaged, and I had trouble deciding whether to give it two or three stars.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman who is interested in examining why her daughters' lives turned out the way they did, keeps a journal with her thoughts. The oldest daughter finds the journal, reads it and adds her own comments, mostly disagreeing with her mother. Two people, same events, two different POVs. How people from the same family can have such different stories. Good.

[Ann Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would probably have given this 3.5. Penelope has written a record of life with her daughters. Penelope had given birth to three daughters and had adopted another. This was all Penelope wanted and felt she had given it her all to allow her daughters to have a good life. However the oldest daughter, Rosemary, read this document and totally disagreed.

[LouiseB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit psychological

[Hilary May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure how this book ended up on my shelf. Very readable and an interesting structure but found the unremitting misery a bit much and some implausible seeming tragedies.

[Clare Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

poignant, clever, a daughter reading her mother's diary and her memories so different.

[C.J. Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel that definitely hits home the fact that everyone remembers things differently and each will believe that their version is correct. Quite a sobering read for a parent.

[Kathy Buys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting angle to family dynamics and the impact of the war

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot even though it didn't really have a story arc. Mum is writing a fulsome and regretful history of her family, mourning all the things that didn’t turn out as she’d hoped, and what happened to her daughters, and how different it all should have been. Her sparkiest daughter is reading along and writing about her irritation about everything Mum is saying. Disappointed because she never married? Hardly! A death in the family stretches everyone, but doesn’t change much, which is what would probably happen in real life, so that's fine.

[Mystica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penelope our main character is the Mother - she is also now old. Her children are all grown up and rather patronizing and condescending of her behavior both present and past. Particularly the past. Penelope was brought up in an orphanage and married very young, a doctor who volunteered in WWII and never came back. She single handedly brought up her large family and in her opinion family came first and hence she put their needs before anyone else's.

The story told in two characters both Penelope and her eldest daughter Rosemary are alternate - both overpowering strong characters who thought their way was the best. It is a story of how most families operate. A lot of give and take, a lot of forgiving and forgetting and putting aside differences for the good of all.

The story of the Butler family is told against the fabric of breakout of WWII and the massive changes that took place socially. This was particularly so for women and women of the older generation like Penelope got caught in the middle not knowing exactly what was expected of them at the present times.

This was a very intriguing read. You got caught up in the moment and wanted to slap Rosemary for her high handedness. On the other side you wanted to shake Penelope out of her implacability. Very good book.

[Anne Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed this book (if enjoyed is the right word). It was harrowing and terribly sad in parts, and, as the story of different family members' perceptions of what happens between them vqry so wildly. it is at times gruelling, humiliating and depressing. i found myself wincing at one person (usually the mother)'s blatant attempts to mask real feelings with schmaltz or cliches, immediately followed by a vitriolic critique by her daughter ... so true, families are like this. I found the conclusion strangely a relief, that we can never plan to produce children how we want them to be (and blame our own failings if they arent) ... bad luck and exterior events play just as great a role, and of course everyone's capacity to do something unexpected and extraordinary. I found the way this book is written - mother's diary being read secretly by her daughter who then adds her wildly differing memories and perception on her mother's analyses - very authentic as a vehicle for examining how differently people can experience the same event. Will certainly reasd some more by margaret Forster (this is the rirst of her books i have read)

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, but didn't engage me as much as other books by the same author have done. It's basically a two hander, Rosemary is reading through her mother's diary-cum-memoir and interjecting with her own views on events as Penelope relates the story of her life and family from her own point of view. Generally I like to see a story told from two different viewpoints neither of which can be relied on too much and I'm also quite happy to read about characters I don't like or don't find sympathetic. Although I liked the switching of the narration, and I alternately liked and disliked both the narrators I ended up disliking pretty much everyone in the book and not caring what happened to any of them. Ultimately I was happy to put it down and move on.

[Maria Longley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intimate look at a family from the point of view of Penelope, mother, and Rosemary, eldest daughter. It's in an interesting form of private papers written by Penelope and with extra comments by Rosemary as she reads them after finding them in with a box of photos. Families in literature are not very happy places, and there is a sort of sad inevitability about the story, but it is great to have two such strong characters to tell it.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved this when I read it as a teenager - still enjoyed rereading it but didn't live up to my recollections somehow. Enjoyed the different perspectives of the daughter and mother narratives and how alike they were despite insisting this was not the case! Also liked the idea that the more you try and force a family to be how you think it should be the less of a 'real' family it becomes (comfortable families accept each other in all their glorious differences)

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pour l'instant plutôt répétitif : amertume de la fille aînée et idéalisation de la mère.
...
J'aurais aimé avoir le point de vue des autres filles. Et la fin... qu'est-ce qu'on retient de ce livre... pas grand chose. Et il n'y a pas vraiment de conclusion et je ne trouve pas que la fille aînée a évolué. Je donne 3 étoiles tout de même considérant que les personnages étaient attachants.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting idea - a daughter going through her mother's diaries, which have a somewhat idealised version of events, which the daughter argues and disputes - and well written, and it does draw you in. But I kept hoping throughout that by the end things would have become a bit less depressing, and they never really do.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a daughter finds her mothers autobiography she challenges the way things were in her family and writes her account of family life from her own point of view. Interesting as we grow up in families but all have different perspectives of the family.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A difficult read for those of us who are someone's daughter or someone's mother. Brilliant, cold, angry, profoundly depressing, it moved me to tears and I remain rather haunted by the subject matter.

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very typical Margaret Forster novel. I liked the 2 voice method of story-telling, especially as one voice had written her thoughts as a diary and the 2nd voice was adding/disagreeing and putting her own pov. Quite clever.