Patrick Parker's Progress

by Mavis Cheek

"Mavis Cheek's warm, confiding tone, conjures up a country kitchen and a long empty afternoon" The Guardian. "There has always been a touch of the Alan Bennett about Mavis Cheek. Both writers share an uncanny talent for writing with a charm that takes your breath away" Daily Mail. Patrick Parker, golden child of bomb-devastated Coventry, adored and encouraged by his mother, fulfils his destiny to be a bridge builder as great at Brunel. Audrey Wapshott feels her destiny is to be the wife of handsome, brilliant Patrick. Audrey, miserable and abandoned is left to follow her own journey when their paths cross years later, wicked Audrey plots a grand and satisfying retribution.

Genres: Fiction

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Born in Wimbledon, now part of London, Mavis left school at 16 to do office work with Editions Alecto, a Kensington publishing company. She later moved to the firm's gallery in Albemarle Street, where she met artists such as David Hockney, Allen Jones, Patrick Caulfield and Gillian Ayres. In 1969 she married a "childhood sweetheart", Chris Cheek, a physicist, whom she had met at a meeting of the Young Communist League in New Malden, but they separated three years later. Later she lived for eleven years with the artist Basil Beattie. She returned to education in 1976, doing a two-year arts course at Hillcroft College, a further education college for women.

Although Cheek had planned to take a degree course, she turned instead to fiction writing while her daughter, Bella Beattie, was a child. She moved from London to Aldbourne in the Wiltshire countryside in 2003, but as she explained to a newspaper, "Life in the city was a comparative breeze. Life in the country is tough, a little bit dangerous and not for wimps."

Cheek has been involved with the Marlborough LitFest, and also teaches creative writing. This has included voluntary work at Holloway and Erlstoke prisons. As she described in an article: "What I see [at Erlstoke] is reflected in my own experience. Bright, overlooked, unconfident men who are suddenly given the opportunity to learn grow wings, and dare to fail. It helps to be able to tell them that I, too, was once designated thick by a very silly [education] system. My prisoners have written some brilliant stuff, and perhaps it gives them back some self-esteem."

Reviews

[Corbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm still reading this but want to write a mid-review because I'm really struggling with it. It could be due to the fact that I'm a pretty busy mother most of the week who's usually too tired to read at night so I keep reading it in scraps and bits. But I'm finding that when I pick it up I'm just not taking it all in. I can read quite big chunks of it without feeling the least bit entertained, it's more like I keep going just to find out where it was all taking me after investing so much time already.
I've read previous books of hers : Three Men on a Plane, Mrs Fyttons's Country Life ( or something like that ! ) and enjoyed both. Her books are usually about broken relationships and getting back on track. This one has strayed from her usual path in combining a broken relationship with a great deal of background and technical-historical detail. I can't put my finger on it, it just doesn't hang together, the two characters are initially dealt with by twining their stories together. But when their relationship is severed Patrick's story is told almost entirely without including Audrey and then when she re-enters his life years later the story goes backward to tell her side after the break. Perhaps if their stories had stayed combined it would be easier or perhaps by the time I finish it I'll feel less critical ? Let you know !

[Laura Daly · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I borrowed this book from the Kindle Library and to be honest it was disappointing. I should say I enjoyed the childhood more than the adults they became. Wow, how Little Audrey turned out was a big let down, I found myself not liking any of the characters very much and found all of them as weak as weak tea. I also found some of it very unbelievable and quite pointless. It was a slow and painful read which left more questions than answers.. Sorry I borrowed it.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the lives of two people, the self absorbed architect Patrick Parker, and Audrey, the girl who loves him, from their births through to their fifties. Close for most of the first twenty or so years of their lives, they go their separate ways and we follow first Patrick’s life and then Audrey’s. Patrick remains totally self absorbed throughout (unless you count his adoration of Isambard Kingdom Brunel) and it is hard to understand what Audrey or anyone else sees in him. With the Audrey part of the book we suddenly find ourselves in a Nancy Mitford novel, as she goes to live in Paris as the mistress of a wealthy French businessman and learn how to be chic and cynical. It all seems rather improbable, as does the part where she and Patrick finally meet again. Some characters you hope might do something,like Patrick’s meek father George and his girlfriend Lilly, but they don’t. Some characters are introduced but we don’t learn enough about them - like Patrick’s wife and children for instance. I was hoping something really interesting would happen eventually, but it never does.

[Aishwarya Bahuguna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings for this book. As much as I enjoyed the first part, I was disappointed to see what became of Audrey. It was sad to read through her part but I kept holding on to see maybe now she would realise that it's time to stop putting up with things. Well, nothing much seemed to happen in the end.
I did enjoy the country vibes, reading about their childhood and teenage phase was a nostalgic experience.
The level of research the writer did regarding art and architecture is admirable. There were bits of humor here and there as well.
But overall, I'm disappointed because the ending could have been built in a much better way.

[Smitha Vasudevan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick was born to build bridges, legendary ones which would be his mark. Every step, every thought he takes takes him closer to his dream. Florence, his embittered mother, is the perfect launch pad for her son's ambitions. Audrey, childhood friend and sweetheart becomes a casualty of Patrick's self obsession. Forced to forge a life for herself in Paris, she learns what it is to live a dual life. But like everything in life, the wheels of life does turn for all of them.

A magnificent story, well researched and well presented.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

So we have a novel set in mainly Coventry ,the birthplace of the titular character.His mother dotes on him and his father is excluded.Father has an affair and mother feels as though she doesn't get repaid for all her years of lovingly rearing Patrick.The female antagonist goes to live in Paris and is kept by a sugar daddy .Sugar daddy dies and she returns to Coventry.
She tells Patrick the day he learns how to shed a tear instead of being so narcissistic is the day he learns to feel love.
This happens too late and her hopes of anyy romance with him are dashed

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like Patrick and I didn't like Audrey's choices in life and most of the book was tedious, but chapter 14 of section 3, about 90% through the book the scene when Madame Koi challenges Patrick to debate about Isambard Kingdom Brunel is sheer genius. I think the whole book was written for this scene.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the beginning the book was interesting but then Audrey's story came and it was a little disappointing. Why female characters of this author always need to be submissive.
The only thing that had made this book readable was the author's sense of story telling and the starting point of the plot.
But everything at the end came very off.

[Kitty McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read from start to finish

[Kym Hamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the next book up for discussion at my book club run by the V&A Museum (London, UK) and as I've never read any of Mavis Cheek's books, I dived in feeling quite curious. From a young age, Patrick Parker is determined to be a builder of great bridges and Cheek's novel charts his progress via the women who feel the need to possess him throughout his life: His mother, his wife and his 'old flame'. It's a lightweight read and while it's full of flawed and largely unlikable characters, it finishes at the right time to stop it being drawn out and tedious. In summary, good but not great.

[Cláudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

Não há dúvida que a Mavis Cheek escreve mesmo bem. Não é só a história que nos prende, é também a maneira como está escrita, a graça, a perspicácia, a seriedade...
Parece previsível que desde o início iremos detestar o Patrick e adorar a Audrey, apesar de qualquer coisa que eles façam, mas o sentimento vai muito mais fundo que isso. Mas é com um sorriso de satisfação, ironia e vingança que chegamos ao fim...

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up because of the author, as it didn't really grab me any other way. However, the story was wonderful,parallellingthe lives of two young people and their obsessions. Definitely worth the read.

[Veronica Zundel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was attracted to this by the fact that it starts with the 1940 air raid that destroyed much of my home town, Coventry, including the cathedral. It's a decent read and occasionally very funny but ultimately I couldn't care much about any of the characters - not enough heart in it.

[Sam Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to read and get into, has the basis of a good story line but struggled all the way through. The extracts from other books regarding bridges at the start of every chapter only made the book more boring

[Evy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's veeeeeeery slooooowwww.....

[Sukanya]

Again, a perceptive, witty read by Mavis Cheek.

[Noreen Mcgrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. There is a distinct pathos in the characters which the author draws with great skill

[Carolyn Lawry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Mavis Cheek, this book started well but drifted off towards the end...not her best book but some great, if unlikable characters made this a reasonably enjoyable read.

[Barbara Hodkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Patrick Parker's Progress

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't continue with this - It's well written and easy to read but nothing much is happening and it's not keeping my interest.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Mavis Cheek is like an ironic Maeve Binchy. I enjoyed the first half but then it got tedious.

[marta filipa]

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