For thirty years, Howard and Deborah Morgan have poured all their energy and modest savings into Stoneyridge, a smallholding deep in the English moors. Howard putters with pottery, Deborah dabbles in weaving, and both struggle to tend sheep and chickens and live off the land. But what began with simple dreams of solitude and sunlit picnics in the hills has given way to a harsher reality. To help with finances, they decide to turn Stoneyridge into a bed-and-breakfast. But a sudden stroke leaves Howard incapacitated and Deborah overwhelmed. Then, late one evening, two men arrive needing a room for the night - and set off a chain of events that uncovers the relics of old tragedies. And through it all, Stoneyridge quietly hides the bitter and transformative truth
She is the author of six novels, including the Sara Selkirk series, and the Silver Dagger winning Half Broken Things. She began writing in 1996 after a short story of hers was runner-up in a national competition sponsored by Good Housekeeping magazine. A visit to the Roman Baths with crime writer P.D. James germinated the plot of her first novel, Funeral Music, the first in the Sara Selkirk series, which gained a Dilys Award nomination for the year's best mystery published in the USA.
This is the second book I've read by this author and I've given both books 5 stars. I'm surprised more people aren't reading her books of psychological suspense.
Our Picnics in the Sun by Morag Joss captures the life and travails of Deborah and Howard Morgan who lead an idealistic life, eking out a living in Stoneyridge, deep in the England moors, with their son Adam. But when Adam leaves to pursue a career, things take a drastic change for the couple. Their pathetic condition worsened when Howard suffers an incapacitating stroke, rendering Deborah just to the role of a caregiver. The Morgans forget their pottery, their animals and their property. It is indeed a sad time for them. Everything is in ruins.
Deborah endurance reaches its limit as she becomes more and more frustrated with the life she is limited to. The kind of life she is living now is a far cry from the starry dreams they had when she and Howard first decided to live in the country. Our Picnics in the Sun is truly a sad and thoughtful story of a marriage and unfulfilled emotional lives.
Adam is also raging with discontentment. His anger drives him far away from, little knowing that his parents are in a pathetic condition. He is frustrated with the inadequacy of his homeschooling education, the countryside, the terrible winters, food, and almost everything. He is angry at his parents, and at the way they brought him up.
There is a foreboding sense of looming danger when two guests arrive needing a room one stormy night. One of them leaves in the morning but the other, a young man named Theo, who is about Adam’s age stays behind. Our Picnics in the Sun is a tale of love and loss, it is a story of the trivial disillusionments which plug our lives and hinder us from moving forward. The book is full of multifaceted characters, many of them obsessed with idealistic dreams which render them powerless to direct the course of their destiny.
Very seldom do I award a book 5 stars. This book, while not uplifting, is a masterpiece. Complex, absorbing, insightful, sad and haunting. Joss can really tell a story and "get into" how a stroke victim feels, a lonely child, a self-absorbed husband and father and a disturbed mother and wife. The setting and environment is claustrophobic and a bit confusing but as the end of the story approaches, the threads become clearer, easier to see. I love Morag Joss's body of work!
Well written with many thoughtful descriptions. An excellent portrayal of a marriage and life in an isolated location. A kind of thriller that keeps one in suspense.
This book made me feel greater compassion for my parents, with their faltering craft enterprises, their ailing herd of organic goats, their fox-persecuted chickens and geese etc. I feel for that group of the 60s/70s idealists who chose their path in the face of all their generation's rage, rebellion and idealism. They would grow organic herbs, make clogs, raise livestock humanely, free of hormones , cruel enclosures, no forced air heating, only wood fires, they would wear only pure cottons and itchy wool. The children would play with only handmade toys of wood and felt. They would forge a pure and natural place for themselves and their children in this polluted, corrupt world! But in reality everyone would be cold, itchy, envious of barbie dolls, Discman players and would eventually leave their parents and the faltering, ailing utopia as soon as possible. This is the story of Deborah and Howard, their son Adam long departed their chilly, organic yoga-centric B&B endeavor for the more worldly (and comfortable) life. It's a mystery, a tragedy and a beautifully written spiritual story as well. Joss is a master of deep introspection brought on by claustrophobic circumstances incurred via mishap and character flaws. The construct is pleasantly reminiscent of her masterful Among the Missing, but somehow more subtle and moving. Well worth the read.
Not a mystery in the sense of her earliest work, Our Picnics in the Sun is the latest in Morag Joss's explorations deep into human motivation, frustration, and isolation.
Deborah and Howard have lived in a smallholding on the bleak moors of Exmoor for over thirty years. They have spent most of their adult lives in a determined effort to 'return to the land', to eke out a living in balance with nature. They have tried to turn their rented land into many things, a B&B, a spiritual retreat, a spa but it all ended in disappointment. Just as they are planning to try a yoga retreat, Howard suffers a stroke. Deborah, now running things alone while taking care of Howard, has only one joy in life - the weekly emails from their son, Adam. It is clear that Adam writes only out of a sense of duty but Deborah needs to believe he will come for a long awaited visit.
Having convinced herself that Adam will come, she prepares everything to make him happy including his favourite meal. However, instead of Adam, two men appear at the door. Despite Deborah's attempts to make them leave, they insist they will only stay one night. This one small incident will have a huge impact on Deborah and Howard's lives bringing all their disappointments, mistakes, and failures to the surface, forcing them to reevaluate everything they have done and believed.
As I read this novel, I kept thinking of the words of Thoreau:
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
So I wasn't surprised when, in some notes at the end, author Morag Joss mentions this quote. Our Picnics in the Sun is a story of love and loss, of the small disappointments which fill our lives and keep us from moving or moving on. It is filled with complex characters, driven by unrealistic hopes, thwarted by luck, and unable to change the direction of their lives.The story is told, in the present, by Deborah, who until the end is not always a reliable narrator and, even at the end, she does not tell us everything. In the past, Adam's story is told in third person as we learn how he became so divorced from his parents.
It is only near the end, we learn what has chained Howard and Deborah to this land despite all their disappointments. It is only when they begin to understand what has kept them here that resolution is possible. The end, itself, is both unsettling and inevitable and one that will resonate with the reader long after they turn the last page.
Debated where to put this, before settling on a 3. The story is a mystery about two old people - one disabled and the other not really spiffy - taken in by a mysterious stranger who is supposed to help them. Or something.
Told mainly in 2 perspectives of the two old people, the couple Howard & Deborah, it's unclear as to who is the unreliable narrator till the very end. The back and forth between them is of the same events told slightly differently. The love-hate dynamic between them, and of past and present and of the various disappointments of their life is wonderfully written, and highly depressing. They are unlikeable protagonists, but there's something really human about them that makes it hard to not care.
The problem is that it's rather obvious as to where it's heading towards. The pointers are in each of their narratives, and they are there early. The unfolding of the mystery on the page is consequently too slow. Some of the crazy stuff Howard put Deborah and Adam through could've been trimmed as well. The ending is unclear, which is fine. But there are some points that aren't resolved, which should have been. For example - ? This wouldn't have taken away from the ending at all.
All in all, I would have wanted it to read slightly faster. But it's a great character study nonetheless, as much as a couple of unreliable narrators can contribute to a character study. I'm glad I read it, even if it's depressing. 3 stars.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley for review.
It's rare that I don't finish a book, but I just couldn't push myself to do so with this novel.
It wasn't because of the writing - Morag Joss does a credible job with her storytelling. It was the characters that I just couldn't sympathize with - A nagging, clinging mother who is so obsessed with trying to get her self-centered adult son home that she ignores her stroke-disabled husband who just longs for a little attention from his wife. I just wanted to shake some sense into her!
So, when you think about it, the author did manage to evoke some pretty strong emotions with her work, or at least she did in me. I just wish it had been a more relatable story.
If intense and stressful family relationships are of interest to you, then this book might peak your interest. Just didn't do it for me.
Such deep, flawed, sinister, broken, sorry, interesting characters. Morag Joss is a master. This is the fourth book of hers that I've read. I'll probably end up reading them all. The only reason for 4 vs 5 stars is the ending with the which I probably should have figured out earlier. Oooh, this is so good.
I really liked it...story a bit improbable...woman conjures up her imaginary son who died at birth 28 years ago. i liked the description of the farm/home where they lived, their lifestyle and beliefs...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I'm not sure how people have classified this as a mystery, because while it has a gothic type feel, it's not a mystery by the ways I define it. It's definitely an intriguing book with a good storyline. More of a domestic suspense if anything.
The Five Star Story of a Frumpy Weary Middle Aged Wife and Her Worn Weary Old Husband
This book starts out in 2008 and Howard Morgan is in a pig shed where he has a stroke while doing yoga. Then it goes to 2011 when he still has not fully recovered from the stroke and his wife Deborah has to take care of him and their farm and bed and breakfast.
Deborah met her husband met in 1979 when she was 18 and he taught her art history class. He told her all his life he was searching for an object to love and then he found her and they were married. Howard's age is never given Deborah only says that their age difference was great so I take it to be about 20 years and I think it fits the story.
He gets a small inheritance and they rent a farm and Deborah is too young to worried about not being able to buy it. Howard wants to live modestly, naturally, and responsible and Deborah is happy to go along. They are not really out to make a lot of money. They get a deep discount on the rent for farming. They have sheep and chickens and raise vegetables . He does pottery in brown and makes things that aren't vases but not bowls either. She does weaving and her fabrics are loose and saggy and also brown with nubs like rabbit scat. Nothing they do is any good. If you ever saw them at a farmer's market their zucchini would be 2 for a dollar and be the worst ones there while everyone else's would be 3 for a dollar. They don't understand why no one wants to pay the prices they charge for their goods and services so they are always broke. To paraphrase from the book because someone is industrious does not mean they have talent.
It's not easy for their son Adam to live like this but he is able to go to school and get a good job in London. He is coming home for his 28th birthday and Deborah is making big plans for the annual birthday picnic. But a couple comes to rent a bed and breakfast room and this upsets her-- she doesn't want to rent any rooms. They haven't had any customers in ages but the couple insists because the sign is still up and yes she charges them 20 pounds over the regular rate with probably a 50 percent increase in their regular bad service.
And this is the breaking point that causes everything to change. Things they never talked about when they happened are remembered. When I was about two thirds through the book I made the mistake of reading a thank you at the end of the book and this give me a clue as to what was happening and while it didn't spoil the book for me I would advise not to do it
This is beautifully written book compelling right from the start. The author's descriptions are just perfect. I never heard of the author but brought it home from the library based on the title and cover. The chapters are written from his view , her view and emails back and forth from her and her son Adam. I think it would be perfect for book clubs and it does have a reader's guide. I also think this book deserves a lot more attention to let people know it's out there. .
Deborah and Howard are living on the bleak moors of Exmoor desperately striving to hold on to Stoneyridge - their smallholding where the land is unforgiving and all their good intentions seem to come to nothing.
When Howard has a stroke, his wife, herself not very strong and recovering from an injury, is compelled to look after him on her own. There is no money, the van is unreliable, their crops are not producing, their animals are more a liability than a benefit and their landlord is trying to bully them off the land. Deborah’s only glimmer of happiness during a week filled with managing her demanding husband, who is still capable of being a bully even though he is unable to speak, is the weekly brief email that comes from their son who lives overseas. Through these emails Adam appears to be a thoughtless and uncaring young man who dismisses out of hand his mother’s desperate need to see him.
One stormy night, Deborah is expecting Adam to arrive, but two men appear asking for a room. This night changes everything. It is the turning point for Deborah. But it is hard for the reader to determine whether this is a change for the better or the worse.
Morag Joss has written a tense and complex story with an air of desperation which captivates and enthrals. Deborah is a fascinating character who although seemingly driven by those around her for her entire life, has the ability to surprise the reader in the haunting conclusion.
In Our Picnics in the Sun: A Novel, by Morag Joss, we meet Howard and Deborah, who 30 years ago fell in love, married and moved into a tenancy in a small-holding in the country, enthused by the idea of "going back to the land" and supporting themselves with their own farm labour, along with pottery and a few B&B bookings for some extra cash. When Howard suffers a stroke, however, all the work of caring for him in addition to the work on the land falls on Deborah, whose only means of coping is to visit the town library once a week to send to and receive emails from the couple's adult son, Adam, a successful businessman who somehow seems never to have the time to get back home to England. Not even for his birthday, as Deborah learns to her chagrin; just as she has reluctantly taken in a couple of guests for the B&B, she learns that Adam will not be coming home for his 28th birthday, which sends her into another tailspin.... I have to say that while I've liked some of Joss's previous novels, I just couldn't stomach this one. I couldn't stand any one of the characters, the circumstances are very unpleasant and the story, well, to be honest I can't say much about the story because the point to which I've just described the book is the point at which I abandoned it, having read only about 25% of the novel. It was just too depressing for me.
Deborah and Howard have been struggling to survive on their "back to the land" property on the wilds of Exmoor for years. After Howard has a stroke, the future seems bleak indeed, until a young man named Theo turns up to help. But is Theo too good to be true?
Morag Joss brings to life the bleak isolation of rural poverty and the terrible life consequences of refusing to cut your losses and give up on an unachievable dream. I wouldn’t class this as mystery or suspense as the book description suggests, but it’s very vivid and convincing.
Disclosure: I know the author and won a copy of this book in a competition.
This is not a traditional mystery/thriller, but given the first page Epigraph, I raced through this book not sure where it was going and what the "stranger's" role would be. It is also a psychological study of the relationships between husband/wife and parents/son and also about values, in this case the parents have opted for a minimalistic, live off the land style and their son has no interest in this simple life. Of course, the simple life is not so simple. Very interesting novel but potentially more interesting to parents with grown children and the "boomer" generation.
This is really a story when strict idealism is not always right. This book made me angry and sad. A well written story that has an obvious ending however, what led to the ending is possibly a lesson to some.
This book was very visual and I love that in a book.
For me this book was unexpected and in a nice way. A topic that is very rarely covered in fiction writing.
Another great novel by Morag Joss. I love how she plays with perspectives, constantly leading the sympathy of the reader this way or another wo see it reversed in the next chapter. Nothing is what it seems. I started out disliking the characters: Howard's misguided overbearance, Deborah's disconnected routines, Adam's cruel absence... But in the end there's only understanding and compassion.
This was another pick by my 3-year-old and he totally hit this one out of the park. I would identify this as an exploration of regret and family resentment. While that sounds unappealing, this was so well written and fascinating. Loved it!
This was a very melancholic story about an middle-age couple living on the moors and trying to eke out a life running a B&B with hippie-like intentions. The husband was a bit brutish, the wife a tad meek and conforming to his wishes, and their son had a traumatic upbringing always being on this side of having money and parties and gifts. It took place with these three viewpoints (the son is now an adult living elsewhere and a bit absent from their lives) throughout the story delving back into their history.
The characters in this book were not very likable. Deborah, the long-suffering wife, was just so whiny. First, I felt sorry for Howard, her husband, who had suffered a life-altering stroke, but flashbacks revealed him to have been extremely overbearing and controlling prior to his stroke. Their son, Adam, was a dynamic character; however, I felt he changed too late, but I could hardly blame him for not wanting to visit his parents often.
I feel like the twist at the end was a good one, and the vagueness of the ending was also fine. The writing was very good, also. None of these positive aspects made me want to give the book more than a 2-star rating, however.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A couple attempting to live off the land open a B&B. Without explanation a young man arrives and volunteers to help the couple simply in return for being allowed to stay with them. At first I thought the guest was a threat to the couple. Morag Joss has the reader guessing until the very end as to the motivations of/for the visitor to the couple who have never healed after the death of a child. I recommend this author. Kristi & Abby Tabby
Very interesting story about living life the way we do, the choices we make, based on our misconceptions, fears, hurts - just life. Sometimes joyous, sometimes sad.
I did have a few questions in the end but don't want to spoil for anyone else.
This book was classified as a mystery. I can’t say that I agree. To me, it is more a reflection of lives lived, of regrets, of what might have been. The author is extremely talented with characterization. The ending. . . . . . . . .oh the ending in a word, unexpected. Bittersweet.