The Longest Weekend

by Honor Arundel

During a weekend vacation with her three-year-old daughter, a twenty-year-old unwed mother recalls the events which led up to her present situation.

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Honor Arundel was a novelist for children and young adults, critic, playwright, poet, editor, and journalist.

Arundel's novels for young people have earned her a reputation as an author sensitive to the conflict between responsibility to oneself and responsibility to others that many adolescent girls find difficult to resolve. She began writing novels for teenagers when her daughter complained about the lack of stories about "ordinary children … with real problems" with whom they could identify. Many critics and readers have appreciated Arundel's honesty in describing predicaments that have no easy resolution in life, but she has been criticized for portraying young women who are so closely tied to their families that they lack realistic aspirations outside of family life as well as the confidence necessary to achieve them.

The strong sense of place in Arundel's books, most of which are set in Edinburgh or in the south country of Scotland, testifies to her knowledge and love of the two places she called home.

Her last book, The Blanket Word, which tells of a teenaged daughter's response to her mother's fatal illness, was written while she herself was dying of cancer.

Reviews

[Sonia Gomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again as in most of her books, Arundale dwells on love, here it seems as though the protagonist will not succeed unless she is married to her love!
Very silly, considering women women should be empowered to be independent and stand on their feet and not be dependent on their husbands.

A goodreads friend, Mutasin Billah from Bangladesh has a different opinion of love at 16. I do appreciate his point of view, but still feel women should not be too dependent on love or a husband to build a life.

Here is Mutasin Billah's view in his own words.

'Don't be too hard on the teenage girls. I'd like to think we have all been there, young and in love when we weren't ready. I believe that the change in perspective from experience is necessary. Love has a concrete meaning at 16, a different meaning at 26, and I don't know if I'm wrong but something entirely different at 36? Anyways, enough about my world-view on love'

Maybe he does have a point!

[Julie Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teenager I was a huge fan of Honor Arundal.She really seemed to understand teenage girls and how they thought. Reading this as an adult, I can now see how dated it is, although to be fair it was published in the late 1960s.Eileen is a young single unmarried mother of almost 3 year old Gay. She decides to take her daughter away for a long weekend in the country.She wants to take a more active role in her daughters life as her doting parents, in particular her mother have gradually taken over the rearing of Gay while Eileen has been attempting to establish a career. So devoted is her mother in fact, that they have offered to adopt the little girl and Eileen realizes she needs to establish a stronger relationship with her daughter, or risk losing her. During the course of the weekend Gays father Joel suddenly turns up(He has never met his daughter)and Eileen realizes she has some major decisions to make. The story moves from past to present day, describing Eileen's relationship with her libral but supportive parents, to her first meeting Joel and her unplanned pregnancy to the present weekend in the country with Gay. The sections of the story describing her struggles with her headstrong little girl were very realistic. You really get a sense of Eileen's frustration. She is trying to be a good mother, while at the same time remising about what she has given up in the process. She is a sympathetic character although you wish she had shown a bit more backbone in some instances. The part that really got me was where Eileen talked about having to give up her ambition to become an interior decorator, to became a Doctors wife? Was this really her only option? I cannot believe how stifled women where back then, but I suppose it was realistic of the times. I did enjoy this book though. Parts of it were very moving and reminded me why I loved this author so much as a child.