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An End to Running
The story of a spiritual bankrupt - a man who runs from one situation to another in a desperate attempt to live up to the standards he sets himself. But his 'new life' on an Israeli kibbutz with his devoted mistress is no easier than the phoney literary life he left behind in London.
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First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Lynne Reid Banks
99 books404 followersLynne Reid Banks is a British author of books for children and adults. She has written forty books, including the best-selling children's novel The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 10 million copies and been made into a film.
Banks was born in London, the only child of James and Muriel Reid Banks. She was evacuated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during World War II but returned after the war was over. She attended St Teresa's School in Surrey. Prior to becoming a writer Banks was an actress, and also worked as a television journalist in Britain, one of the first women to do so. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, was published in 1960.
In 1962 Banks emigrated to Israel, where she taught for eight years on an Israeli kibbutz Yasur. In 1965 she married Chaim Stephenson, with whom she had three sons. Although the family returned to England in 1971 and Banks now lives in Dorset, the influence of her time in Israel can be seen in some of her books which are set partially or mainly on kibbutzim.
Banks was born in London, the only child of James and Muriel Reid Banks. She was evacuated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during World War II but returned after the war was over. She attended St Teresa's School in Surrey. Prior to becoming a writer Banks was an actress, and also worked as a television journalist in Britain, one of the first women to do so. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, was published in 1960.
In 1962 Banks emigrated to Israel, where she taught for eight years on an Israeli kibbutz Yasur. In 1965 she married Chaim Stephenson, with whom she had three sons. Although the family returned to England in 1971 and Banks now lives in Dorset, the influence of her time in Israel can be seen in some of her books which are set partially or mainly on kibbutzim.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 1, 2025
Lynne Reid Banks really upped her game with this second novel about a young girl (Martha) in London who falls for a one could say "tortured genius" who can write but is emotionally dependent on an older sister who holds all the cards at the beginning of the story. Financial and emotional.
Struggling for his independence from said sister, the couple leave for Israel and life on a kibbutz which at first represents a break from his dependency and a chance for a new beginning. He can't run from himself though and after a number of missteps on the kibbutz and later in Tel Aviv, he is faced with a final reckoning with himself.
The first half is Martha's perspective and her growing attachment to a mostly emotionally unavailable man, the second half is from Aaron's perspective as he struggles to break free from the chains that hold him. It's a thought-provoking novel with many layers and therein lies its strength.
Brief though it was, Banks does in one small incident raise the question of the Arabs who have "left" the land that the kibbutz occupies. In addition Aaron's behavior with a young troubled Tunisian teenager has serious consequences. Even in 1961 Banks was able to address the issue of trauma on the young psyche. An excellent read all told on many levels.
Struggling for his independence from said sister, the couple leave for Israel and life on a kibbutz which at first represents a break from his dependency and a chance for a new beginning. He can't run from himself though and after a number of missteps on the kibbutz and later in Tel Aviv, he is faced with a final reckoning with himself.
The first half is Martha's perspective and her growing attachment to a mostly emotionally unavailable man, the second half is from Aaron's perspective as he struggles to break free from the chains that hold him. It's a thought-provoking novel with many layers and therein lies its strength.
Brief though it was, Banks does in one small incident raise the question of the Arabs who have "left" the land that the kibbutz occupies. In addition Aaron's behavior with a young troubled Tunisian teenager has serious consequences. Even in 1961 Banks was able to address the issue of trauma on the young psyche. An excellent read all told on many levels.
October 19, 2023
Aaron Franks, tortured but brilliant British writer, struggles with his Jewish identity and his relationship with his bitter and bullying older sister Polly. Enter our heroine, Martha, a prim and proper English rose taken on as his secretary, who feels intimidated by the Franks' wealth and theatrical friends. As Aaron writes a ridiculously modern play to keep his controlling sister off his back, his relationship with Martha changes, and in secret they begin to work on a novel which reflects his true artistry. As their love grows, so does Aaron's disgust with himself for his weakness towards his sister, expressed in violent rages. Then his sister persuades one of her theatrical friends to stage the play, and this will change their lives for ever. It leads to their escape to a different world, to a kibbutz in Israel, where Aaron expects to find himself more accepted.
The first half of the book is told from the point of view of Martha, in the clipped upper middle class educated tones of the 1950s and early 1960s; presumably this is the voice of Lynne Reid Banks herself, as it does not change for the second half of the novel, where Aaron takes over the second half of the tale as the couple flees from the restrictions of their life in London. The style reminds me of a Victoria Woods sketch which I saw recently in which she plays a parody of Laura in 'Brief Encounter'. The book is very much a period piece, at the very beginning of the 1960s, with all the restrictions and hang-ups prevalent at the time. In spite of the reputation of this as the decade of free love, the sexual revolution had yet to take place, and London had not yet become the place to be. This novel is still set in the moral climate of post-war Britain, where pre-marital sex was unacceptable, and younger readers may not realise that for the majority of people this was still the case until the 1980s and beyond; moral values go through cycles of relaxation and tightening. Ironically, in the second half of the novel, the couple's expectations of free love and acceptance of an unmarried couple at the kibbutz are also found to be unrealistic: the time of free love has passed as the morality swings back once again.
Now fifty years old, the book highlights how some things have changed in the intervening time. Not only attitudes to unmarried couples have relaxed, but the expectations of women and the way they are viewed has too. It is quite shocking to current sensibilities when Aaron says that Martha "looked twenty times more feminine, more attractive and pleasing to the eye than any of the others. She looked as if she cared for her appearance, and had the leisure and means to make the most of it. She looked as a woman should look." Men with such attitudes were going to be in for a shock in the ensuing decades! It was also interesting to read a little about life in the kibbutzes; theoretically it was idyllic, but Aaron tells how hard it was, especially if you were well-educated and used to a life of ease. Ironically, in spite of fitting in as far as the hard daytime labour was concerned, he distanced himself from the high-brow intellectual life which flourished in the evenings when the kibbutzim socialised. Aaron keeps on running until he is forced to reconsider his status as an outsider, wherever he goes. It is not until the climax of the novel that there is any hope of his redemption.
There are also interesting comments on the life of immigrants. Reflecting on the fact that Jews have been rejected, ostracised and persecuted in many countries over the centuries, he wonders why this is. One of his theories is that they remain aloof and separate, a convenient scapegoat and an identifiable group, simply because they have no place to put down roots and call their homeland, and this should theoretically have been solved by the creation of Israel. Acceptance is important:
It was one thing not to be wanted in the place you were born in. That might not be enough to make you get out - it might only make you more stubbornly determined to dig in. But if there was a place that did want you - wanted you so badly it didn't even ask whether you had tuberculosis or a criminal record, let alone whether you were popular in the place you came from or whether you liked yourself or whether you had the guts to stand on your own two feet - then what sort of a bloody fool would you have to be not to go there?
It turns out that acceptance at a social level is not enough. As Aaron discovers, if you cannot accept yourself, there is no end to running.
The first half of the book is told from the point of view of Martha, in the clipped upper middle class educated tones of the 1950s and early 1960s; presumably this is the voice of Lynne Reid Banks herself, as it does not change for the second half of the novel, where Aaron takes over the second half of the tale as the couple flees from the restrictions of their life in London. The style reminds me of a Victoria Woods sketch which I saw recently in which she plays a parody of Laura in 'Brief Encounter'. The book is very much a period piece, at the very beginning of the 1960s, with all the restrictions and hang-ups prevalent at the time. In spite of the reputation of this as the decade of free love, the sexual revolution had yet to take place, and London had not yet become the place to be. This novel is still set in the moral climate of post-war Britain, where pre-marital sex was unacceptable, and younger readers may not realise that for the majority of people this was still the case until the 1980s and beyond; moral values go through cycles of relaxation and tightening. Ironically, in the second half of the novel, the couple's expectations of free love and acceptance of an unmarried couple at the kibbutz are also found to be unrealistic: the time of free love has passed as the morality swings back once again.
Now fifty years old, the book highlights how some things have changed in the intervening time. Not only attitudes to unmarried couples have relaxed, but the expectations of women and the way they are viewed has too. It is quite shocking to current sensibilities when Aaron says that Martha "looked twenty times more feminine, more attractive and pleasing to the eye than any of the others. She looked as if she cared for her appearance, and had the leisure and means to make the most of it. She looked as a woman should look." Men with such attitudes were going to be in for a shock in the ensuing decades! It was also interesting to read a little about life in the kibbutzes; theoretically it was idyllic, but Aaron tells how hard it was, especially if you were well-educated and used to a life of ease. Ironically, in spite of fitting in as far as the hard daytime labour was concerned, he distanced himself from the high-brow intellectual life which flourished in the evenings when the kibbutzim socialised. Aaron keeps on running until he is forced to reconsider his status as an outsider, wherever he goes. It is not until the climax of the novel that there is any hope of his redemption.
There are also interesting comments on the life of immigrants. Reflecting on the fact that Jews have been rejected, ostracised and persecuted in many countries over the centuries, he wonders why this is. One of his theories is that they remain aloof and separate, a convenient scapegoat and an identifiable group, simply because they have no place to put down roots and call their homeland, and this should theoretically have been solved by the creation of Israel. Acceptance is important:
It was one thing not to be wanted in the place you were born in. That might not be enough to make you get out - it might only make you more stubbornly determined to dig in. But if there was a place that did want you - wanted you so badly it didn't even ask whether you had tuberculosis or a criminal record, let alone whether you were popular in the place you came from or whether you liked yourself or whether you had the guts to stand on your own two feet - then what sort of a bloody fool would you have to be not to go there?
It turns out that acceptance at a social level is not enough. As Aaron discovers, if you cannot accept yourself, there is no end to running.
September 22, 2019
Oh, another find at used bookstore...have read many(I thought most) if Lynn Reid Bank's adult novels...I always plunge into her novels and I come up swimming happily.
May 20, 2018
The two parts, each told by a different protagonist, feel very much like two completely different books.
April 28, 2014
When Martha Fletcher is hired as a girl Friday (is that still a
job description), typist to avante garde, would be author Aaron
Franks, she is unwittingly pushed into a world of pseudo
intelligentsia where both Aaron and his sister find it hard to
come to terms with their Jewish birthright. Martha struggles with
the fierce arguments between the siblings - Polly feels he is a
genius who will one day be remembered with Einstein, he knows he
isn't but why not?? It is so different from her world of sharing
a flat with three girlfriends and becoming increasingly disillusioned
with her "solitary current admirer" and his frequent references to
"jew boy" and "arty pansy types"!!
Welcome to London in the swinging 50s!! As with Banks' auto
biographical "The Warning Bell" references to this book (apart from
a terrific review from "bookguide" on goodreads) are rare - it's
almost like the author only wants to acknowledge her children's
books, young adult fiction and "The L Shaped Room" trilogy, but
this book, her second published novel can stand on it's own.
The second part of the book is Aaron's story and his determination
and need to find his Jewish roots. With Martha he journeys to
Israel to start over in a Kibbutz - he is excited and eager but
the gloss wears off on the way - he expected hardship and steerage,
what he got was blue rinse and tourist. The book went a bit off
for me then - Maggie who had been three dimensional, a real
personality in her part of the story suddenly became shadowy and
a cardboard cut out who seems to go along with every suggestion but
she is definitely having more of a fun time than Aaron. His self
indulgent lifestyle hasn't prepared him for the give and take of
Kibbutz life.
Fascinating reading about Kibbutz life (I know I couldn't handle
it, like Aaron I value my privacy too much), their views on child
rearing - that children are the most important things in life and
must be given room and freedom to explore and no one is allowed to
impede them. Aaron is almost kicked off the Kibbutz for beating a
young man who is clearly headed for a life of crime!!
Because it is Aaron's narration you never really understand the
intense, immediate longing that Martha feels for the Kibbutz way
of life. So even though the first 100 pages is quite a good read
Banks never develops Martha's psyche - why did she so completely
divorce herself from Aaron when at the beginning she was willing
to go through hell and high water to look after him??
job description), typist to avante garde, would be author Aaron
Franks, she is unwittingly pushed into a world of pseudo
intelligentsia where both Aaron and his sister find it hard to
come to terms with their Jewish birthright. Martha struggles with
the fierce arguments between the siblings - Polly feels he is a
genius who will one day be remembered with Einstein, he knows he
isn't but why not?? It is so different from her world of sharing
a flat with three girlfriends and becoming increasingly disillusioned
with her "solitary current admirer" and his frequent references to
"jew boy" and "arty pansy types"!!
Welcome to London in the swinging 50s!! As with Banks' auto
biographical "The Warning Bell" references to this book (apart from
a terrific review from "bookguide" on goodreads) are rare - it's
almost like the author only wants to acknowledge her children's
books, young adult fiction and "The L Shaped Room" trilogy, but
this book, her second published novel can stand on it's own.
The second part of the book is Aaron's story and his determination
and need to find his Jewish roots. With Martha he journeys to
Israel to start over in a Kibbutz - he is excited and eager but
the gloss wears off on the way - he expected hardship and steerage,
what he got was blue rinse and tourist. The book went a bit off
for me then - Maggie who had been three dimensional, a real
personality in her part of the story suddenly became shadowy and
a cardboard cut out who seems to go along with every suggestion but
she is definitely having more of a fun time than Aaron. His self
indulgent lifestyle hasn't prepared him for the give and take of
Kibbutz life.
Fascinating reading about Kibbutz life (I know I couldn't handle
it, like Aaron I value my privacy too much), their views on child
rearing - that children are the most important things in life and
must be given room and freedom to explore and no one is allowed to
impede them. Aaron is almost kicked off the Kibbutz for beating a
young man who is clearly headed for a life of crime!!
Because it is Aaron's narration you never really understand the
intense, immediate longing that Martha feels for the Kibbutz way
of life. So even though the first 100 pages is quite a good read
Banks never develops Martha's psyche - why did she so completely
divorce herself from Aaron when at the beginning she was willing
to go through hell and high water to look after him??
October 13, 2022
Very good, engrossing read. I've always liked her intensity.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews