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Before the War
From a lioness of British literature, an absorbing, inventive novel of love, death and aristocracy in inter-war London
Consider Vivien in November 1922. She is twenty four, and a spinster. She wears fashionably droopy clothes, but she is plain and – worse – intelligent. At nearly six foot tall, she is known unkindly by her family as 'the giantess'.
Fortunately, Vivien is rich, so she can travel to London and bribe a charismatic London publisher to marry her. What he does not know is that Vivien is pregnant with another's child, and will die in childbirth in just a few months.
Fay Weldon, with one eye on the present and one on the past, offers Vivien's fate to the reader, along with that of London between the wars: a city soaked in drizzle, peopled with flat-chested flappers, shell-shocked servicemen and aristocrats desperately clinging onto the past.
Inventive, witty and empathetic, this is a spellbinding historical novel from one of the foremost novelists of our time.
Consider Vivien in November 1922. She is twenty four, and a spinster. She wears fashionably droopy clothes, but she is plain and – worse – intelligent. At nearly six foot tall, she is known unkindly by her family as 'the giantess'.
Fortunately, Vivien is rich, so she can travel to London and bribe a charismatic London publisher to marry her. What he does not know is that Vivien is pregnant with another's child, and will die in childbirth in just a few months.
Fay Weldon, with one eye on the present and one on the past, offers Vivien's fate to the reader, along with that of London between the wars: a city soaked in drizzle, peopled with flat-chested flappers, shell-shocked servicemen and aristocrats desperately clinging onto the past.
Inventive, witty and empathetic, this is a spellbinding historical novel from one of the foremost novelists of our time.
298 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2016
110 people are currently reading
1208 people want to read
About the author
Fay Weldon
159 books398 followersFay Weldon CBE was an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrayed contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
October 31, 2016
This book read like a collection of notes for a novel that never got properly written. Elements of plot and characterization were repeated, as if the narrator had forgotten they'd already been stated. At the same time, there were large holes in the story and new characters, or new features of characters, were invented, to suit the need to push the story forward. The story was gratuitously achronolgical early on, only to rush to a chronological ending in the final part. The author's early intrusions on the narrative voice likewise served no discernible purpose, only to vanish in the latter part of the book. The best thing about the book was Vivienne. Too bad we are told from the start, and constantly reminded, that she has to die.
May 6, 2016
Before the War, shows us a domestic war in a magnificent novel by Fay Weldon. Quirky, witty, insightful with extraordinary originality that works. And, perhaps best of all, as we would expect from her, funny. A few pages into the book Feldon writes: ‘I will not distress you with Vivien forever. It is not normal in books, films or on TV for much attention to be paid to unattractive women of any age…Why should I break the rules?’ Which, of course, is precisely what she does.
We meet Vivien, or Vivvi, in 1922: single, large, ungainly, five feet eleven inches tall, 20 years old and pregnant. Vivvi claims it can only have been the Angel Gabriel, or, as she had been told by a servant ‘’you could not get pregnant if you did it standing up.’ ‘Vivien is young and rich but no flapper. She is too large and ungainly to look good dancing’. Vivvi proposes to Sherwyn Sexton: handsome, a writer, an employee of her father’s publishing company and 5’ 7” tall. For two months, in their large bed, with no sexual moves they were blissfully happy. He fitted into her ‘like a plum stone inside a plum’.
Vivvi’s pregnancy, or rather the paternity of her twins, is an issue throughout the book, indeed as is their maternity.
The novel moves between London and Austria and from 1922 to 1939 when ‘At last the real war could begin.’
Fay Weldon breaks all the conventions with gusto, a curious mixture of down-to-earth and the unlikely but it always works. What a fun book: irrepressible and a glorious way with words. I think she had great fun writing Before the War.
Sandy Hogarth. Author of The Glass Girl
We meet Vivien, or Vivvi, in 1922: single, large, ungainly, five feet eleven inches tall, 20 years old and pregnant. Vivvi claims it can only have been the Angel Gabriel, or, as she had been told by a servant ‘’you could not get pregnant if you did it standing up.’ ‘Vivien is young and rich but no flapper. She is too large and ungainly to look good dancing’. Vivvi proposes to Sherwyn Sexton: handsome, a writer, an employee of her father’s publishing company and 5’ 7” tall. For two months, in their large bed, with no sexual moves they were blissfully happy. He fitted into her ‘like a plum stone inside a plum’.
Vivvi’s pregnancy, or rather the paternity of her twins, is an issue throughout the book, indeed as is their maternity.
The novel moves between London and Austria and from 1922 to 1939 when ‘At last the real war could begin.’
Fay Weldon breaks all the conventions with gusto, a curious mixture of down-to-earth and the unlikely but it always works. What a fun book: irrepressible and a glorious way with words. I think she had great fun writing Before the War.
Sandy Hogarth. Author of The Glass Girl
July 7, 2017
2.5
Puuuhleeeeze. This is not historical fiction, any more than wallpaper is architecture. The setting is 1922 with slices of 1939, but that does not make it 'historical'. Unless you didn't understand the wallpaper/architecture thing. At best this is a literary cartoon of a doomed, brief marriage that accidentally produced two children (on paper but not in fact of paternity).
A first exposure to this author's work, so one does try not to be annoyed enough to light the book on fire. Especially a library copy. But by the final 50 pages --- noting, this is a shrimp-sized edition so the Big Fat Trade Publisher could disguise this as a novel rather than a short novella --by the final pages my rage had boiled down to sheer boredom.
One can only take so much simpering of narrative voice, simpering plus the irritating, frequent interruptions in flow as if the narrator is popping bon-bons and smacking lips.
Puuuhleeeeze. This is not historical fiction, any more than wallpaper is architecture. The setting is 1922 with slices of 1939, but that does not make it 'historical'. Unless you didn't understand the wallpaper/architecture thing. At best this is a literary cartoon of a doomed, brief marriage that accidentally produced two children (on paper but not in fact of paternity).
A first exposure to this author's work, so one does try not to be annoyed enough to light the book on fire. Especially a library copy. But by the final 50 pages --- noting, this is a shrimp-sized edition so the Big Fat Trade Publisher could disguise this as a novel rather than a short novella --by the final pages my rage had boiled down to sheer boredom.
One can only take so much simpering of narrative voice, simpering plus the irritating, frequent interruptions in flow as if the narrator is popping bon-bons and smacking lips.
March 13, 2017
Blogged here
3.5 stars
On a cold November in London in 1922, Vivvie Ripple awaits the train. She is a very wealthy and well-bred young woman, but lamentably inept at social interactions, clumsy, plain and much too tall. Doomed to spinsterhood, she has decided to take matters into her own hands. She will bribe a man - a handsome, if vain, writer named Sherwyn Sexton. What neither of them know is that Vivien is pregnant, and will die in childbirth in eight months, having given birth to twins - one plain, one beautiful.
Taking place between the two World Wars, Fay Weldon's latest novel shows a family as battleground. Vivvie's mother Adela (previously a character from Weldon's Love and Inheritance trilogy) resents her daughter for being plain and difficult, for depriving her of the joy of a beautiful daughter, for a difficult birth. Adela, herself an orphan, who suffered terrible abuses at the hands of her parents (and after their deaths), wreaks havoc on her family - manipulating the lives of those around her, using sex as a weapon on the men in her orbit – all the while seeing herself as the victim, her actions as justified. A victim who learned how to be a survivor, spends her life clawing for "survival", even at the expense of those she loves.
Vivvie, tall and ungainly, has a hope of happiness with Sheldon, vain and mostly-useless as he is. In Vivvie, he meets his platonic match - but her sudden death unmoors him. The story flits back and forth through time, visiting Sheldon in his later life as he reflects on the events leading up to Vivvie's proposal, with a remarkable lack of self-reflection. For the most part, characters in Before the War are entertaining rather than likeable, compelling but not relatable. Vivvie's self-esteem is so very low, Sheldon so very narcissistic, Sir Jeremy Ripple so very self-important and dense, Adela so very calculating, and the various servants and villagers and townspeople so very earthy that it all left me rather indifferent to their endless power struggles.
Interestingly, Weldon writes herself (as author) into the story, constant reminders that she has written this, made the decisions, chosen their fates. She is, of a sort, god of this domain. We are constantly reminded that this is fiction, that these people are not real - purposefully or not, this keeps the reader at a remove, preventing us from ever engaging too closely with the characters.
I also found that there was a rather heavy focus on food. There was more than one reference to unsatisfactory scrambled eggs; bright-green oysters Rockefeller play an important role; descriptions of breakfasts and lunches and dinners are detailed and expansive and go on for paragraphs. It felt like a full quarter of the book was devoted to descriptions of food, characters' reactions to food, or characters talking about food to other people¹.
The story flicks back and forth through time, changing slightly according to who's doing the telling, and how they remember it all. And then, it all ends, so abruptly that I kept tapping the side of my Kindle thinking the next page wasn't loading. I flicked backward, reread the last few pages again, and yup, there it was: that abrupt ending. I imagine, then, that this will be part of a new trilogy, or that the story will continue somehow (I think there's a lot of adventures waiting ahead for the twins).
If you enjoy historical family drama of the Downton Abbey-esque sort, this will be right up your alley.
¹That's one way to get a movie to pass the Bechdel test. Have the characters talk about breakfast for twenty minutes.
Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
On a cold November in London in 1922, Vivvie Ripple awaits the train. She is a very wealthy and well-bred young woman, but lamentably inept at social interactions, clumsy, plain and much too tall. Doomed to spinsterhood, she has decided to take matters into her own hands. She will bribe a man - a handsome, if vain, writer named Sherwyn Sexton. What neither of them know is that Vivien is pregnant, and will die in childbirth in eight months, having given birth to twins - one plain, one beautiful.
Taking place between the two World Wars, Fay Weldon's latest novel shows a family as battleground. Vivvie's mother Adela (previously a character from Weldon's Love and Inheritance trilogy) resents her daughter for being plain and difficult, for depriving her of the joy of a beautiful daughter, for a difficult birth. Adela, herself an orphan, who suffered terrible abuses at the hands of her parents (and after their deaths), wreaks havoc on her family - manipulating the lives of those around her, using sex as a weapon on the men in her orbit – all the while seeing herself as the victim, her actions as justified. A victim who learned how to be a survivor, spends her life clawing for "survival", even at the expense of those she loves.
Vivvie, tall and ungainly, has a hope of happiness with Sheldon, vain and mostly-useless as he is. In Vivvie, he meets his platonic match - but her sudden death unmoors him. The story flits back and forth through time, visiting Sheldon in his later life as he reflects on the events leading up to Vivvie's proposal, with a remarkable lack of self-reflection. For the most part, characters in Before the War are entertaining rather than likeable, compelling but not relatable. Vivvie's self-esteem is so very low, Sheldon so very narcissistic, Sir Jeremy Ripple so very self-important and dense, Adela so very calculating, and the various servants and villagers and townspeople so very earthy that it all left me rather indifferent to their endless power struggles.
Interestingly, Weldon writes herself (as author) into the story, constant reminders that she has written this, made the decisions, chosen their fates. She is, of a sort, god of this domain. We are constantly reminded that this is fiction, that these people are not real - purposefully or not, this keeps the reader at a remove, preventing us from ever engaging too closely with the characters.
I also found that there was a rather heavy focus on food. There was more than one reference to unsatisfactory scrambled eggs; bright-green oysters Rockefeller play an important role; descriptions of breakfasts and lunches and dinners are detailed and expansive and go on for paragraphs. It felt like a full quarter of the book was devoted to descriptions of food, characters' reactions to food, or characters talking about food to other people¹.
The story flicks back and forth through time, changing slightly according to who's doing the telling, and how they remember it all. And then, it all ends, so abruptly that I kept tapping the side of my Kindle thinking the next page wasn't loading. I flicked backward, reread the last few pages again, and yup, there it was: that abrupt ending. I imagine, then, that this will be part of a new trilogy, or that the story will continue somehow (I think there's a lot of adventures waiting ahead for the twins).
If you enjoy historical family drama of the Downton Abbey-esque sort, this will be right up your alley.
¹That's one way to get a movie to pass the Bechdel test. Have the characters talk about breakfast for twenty minutes.
Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 17, 2017
My first Fay Weldon. I like her arch, know it all, dear reader voice. She keeps no secrets, pulls no punches, jumps all over in time with an easy, confident swaggering style that I, as a fellow more timid novelist, admire and wish to emulate. Many of these characters aren't particularly likeable, but you develop a certain affection for them with all their quirks.
September 7, 2017
I really can't recall a single part of this book that I liked. When I finished reading, I remember thinking, "was that it? what was the point?"
Not all books have to have grand sweeping statements or even cover that much time. But, like I've said in other reviews, the book has to have something to stand on, and this story didn't.
Not all books have to have grand sweeping statements or even cover that much time. But, like I've said in other reviews, the book has to have something to stand on, and this story didn't.
July 31, 2016
I love Fay Weldon, but her most recent works have been hit and miss. Before the War is no exception. It's archly, acutely meta, constantly referring to the fact that she's writing a novel and Vivvie is going to die soon. Considering she was the only character I actually liked, this was not what I wanted to hear! I also heaved a sigh of annoyance when it was revealed they're an offshoot of the Dilbernes, the chaotic dynasty from her Love and Inheritance trilogy. Talk about flogging a dead horse!
As always, there's some excellent writing, and astute social commentary. The main issue was with pacing - it sped through important parts, dawdled through irrelevant ones, and became a rushed melodrama towards the end. Besides, an author should never have to analyse or explain a character's motivations; they should be readily apparent. Turning the damaged but otherwise normal Adelaide into a nasty, self serving nymphomaniac was such a cop out - she should have started afresh with a new cast of characters. Sherwyn almost matched her in infamy, but since he seemed a transparent knock off of Ian Fleming, that hardly came as a surprise.
Perhaps a minor nitpick, but one that's beginning to rankle: what is her fixation with ugly women? I didn't mind it with Ruth in She Devil, because she is a fabulous character, but Weldon seems to think that any woman with less than conventional good looks will be a spinster nun at best, a psycho at worst. Oh, and linking this to lesbianism isn't very PC either!
As always, there's some excellent writing, and astute social commentary. The main issue was with pacing - it sped through important parts, dawdled through irrelevant ones, and became a rushed melodrama towards the end. Besides, an author should never have to analyse or explain a character's motivations; they should be readily apparent. Turning the damaged but otherwise normal Adelaide into a nasty, self serving nymphomaniac was such a cop out - she should have started afresh with a new cast of characters. Sherwyn almost matched her in infamy, but since he seemed a transparent knock off of Ian Fleming, that hardly came as a surprise.
Perhaps a minor nitpick, but one that's beginning to rankle: what is her fixation with ugly women? I didn't mind it with Ruth in She Devil, because she is a fabulous character, but Weldon seems to think that any woman with less than conventional good looks will be a spinster nun at best, a psycho at worst. Oh, and linking this to lesbianism isn't very PC either!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2017
Too cutesy, addressing the reader directly. Unlikable characters.
March 23, 2020
In “Before the War”, by the inimitable Fay Weldon, gives us a wonderfully unique. The omniscient and omnipotent narrator is that of the author herself, who seems to be making the story us as we go. Weldon talks directly to us in the 21st Century while recounting Europe (London) during the years right after WWI and right before WWII. We are introduced to Vivien who is 22, not attractive, rich, and needing a husband. We are told almost immediately that Weldon plans to have her die in childbirth soon. This is an effective and fascinating conceit and structure, for as we read the foreshadowing we also realize how unreliable our author narrator could be!
The plot is basically a farce about the parenthood of Vivian’s twins, but it’s not without genuine pathos, as well.
Fans of Weldon’s Edwardian Era “Love and Inheritance Trilogy” (like me) with find a surprise here, but it is a very different novel than those. Weldon’s trademark wit and superb storytelling abilities are alive and well! Long live Fay Weldon!
The plot is basically a farce about the parenthood of Vivian’s twins, but it’s not without genuine pathos, as well.
Fans of Weldon’s Edwardian Era “Love and Inheritance Trilogy” (like me) with find a surprise here, but it is a very different novel than those. Weldon’s trademark wit and superb storytelling abilities are alive and well! Long live Fay Weldon!
April 10, 2017
I am a huge fan of Fay Weldon. Since 1974 when I read Female Friends. We engaged in an on again off again pen pal communication and once I got a late night call (the early 80's) from her - she was calling to apologize for leaving L.A. without a chat. Me: surprised and delighted just the same. So when I find she is still going very strong - I am ready to go with her. I did not love the Stepmother's Diary which I sort of stopped reading - not yet finished. BUT, Before the War shows her in fine form and I am enjoying every page. I am not yet done - but this is so Fay and so perfect, I urge you to check it out. I am taking small bites because I love it so. My list Fay Faves is very long and hard to place on a list. Female Friends was and is my favorite of all, but so many others just toppled me with joy. Before the War is doing that right now. I shall be back when I finish. The bedside area is books upon books. And I went to the library yesterday and just had to get some that called my name. Chag Sameach to my landswomen and see you soon And I did finish late last night. It was a jolly ride (as they might say in Blighty). And the little twists and turns at the end delighted me. No spoilers though.
March 17, 2017
British author Fay Weldon's newest novel, "Before the War" is an almost perfect Fay Weldon novel. I think of her writing as elegantly quirky; her characters and her plots are just a bit removed from reality without being magical realism. In this new novel, she tells the story of a family - the Ripples - and tells it in the voice of an unreliable narrator. The narrator is SO unreliable that for the reader to believe any thing she or he is saying is basically foolish. But the story revolves around this narrator and you, as the reader, hang on for the ride.
The Ripple family consists of Sir Jeremy Ripple, a book publisher with socialistic leanings, his wife Adela, and their daughter, Vivian. Vivvie is a tall, ungainly girl who, aside from being quite wealthy in her own right, has not attracted a husband. She decides to propose a marriage of convenience to an author who works for her father, Sherwyn Sexton. It's a marriage without love between the two but of mutual self interest. Twin girls are born to Vivvie within months of the marriage; their actual father is unknown.The narrator tells the reader that Vivvie dies in childbed, and I suppose she does. The years pass between the two world wars as Sherwyn - who really is the main character - threads in and out of the lives of the remaining Ripples.
The characters in the book are extremely nuanced. Some are nicer than others but all are in a strange way, "lovable". We want to know what happens to them which is why we keep reading. And even the villain of the piece - Adela - is written with such honesty that she has some sympathetic appeal to the reader.
The work of Fay Weldon seems to be either appreciated or...not. I've never met anyone who has read Weldon's work and not had a strong opinion about it. If you're a Weldon fan, I can almost guarantee you'll like "Before the War". If you don't like her work, you should probably skip this.
The Ripple family consists of Sir Jeremy Ripple, a book publisher with socialistic leanings, his wife Adela, and their daughter, Vivian. Vivvie is a tall, ungainly girl who, aside from being quite wealthy in her own right, has not attracted a husband. She decides to propose a marriage of convenience to an author who works for her father, Sherwyn Sexton. It's a marriage without love between the two but of mutual self interest. Twin girls are born to Vivvie within months of the marriage; their actual father is unknown.The narrator tells the reader that Vivvie dies in childbed, and I suppose she does. The years pass between the two world wars as Sherwyn - who really is the main character - threads in and out of the lives of the remaining Ripples.
The characters in the book are extremely nuanced. Some are nicer than others but all are in a strange way, "lovable". We want to know what happens to them which is why we keep reading. And even the villain of the piece - Adela - is written with such honesty that she has some sympathetic appeal to the reader.
The work of Fay Weldon seems to be either appreciated or...not. I've never met anyone who has read Weldon's work and not had a strong opinion about it. If you're a Weldon fan, I can almost guarantee you'll like "Before the War". If you don't like her work, you should probably skip this.
August 13, 2017
I won this book in a contest here on goodreads. This plot has so much potential: Right after the first World War a pregnant, unmarried lady - who happens to be very plain and has a mild mental disability (Weldon make sure to tell us that) - proposes to a man she barely knows. You could do so many things with that plot, yet I felt like it wasn't her story I was reading....There were many characters introduced that didn't really have much of an impact or needed to be there.
I didn't think there was much of a climax. For me the best part was while they were on honeymoon - no it's not that kind of a book. So after Vivvie dies (which Weldon makes clear many times that she has control over the book, therefore Vivvie must die) the plot just fell part. Weldon focused lot of Adela and Sherwyn - very little on what the book description talks about. The last 150 pages were hard for me to get through.
I enjoyed how Weldon write. It was a nice change from the usual books I read. She breaks the "fourth wall" and writes herself into the story. I felt like it was written like she was preparing notes for a play. There were also time where I felt like it was all over the place. Readers were supposed to be taken back and forth from just after WWI to just before WWII. But I felt like that only happened once, after that it was several years later, then several years later, etc.
Overall, it was okay. I was disappointed with how the plot just stopped and took a left turn. It wasn't my favorite, but I might read another one of Weldon's because I enjoyed how narrated and wrote.
I didn't think there was much of a climax. For me the best part was while they were on honeymoon - no it's not that kind of a book. So after Vivvie dies (which Weldon makes clear many times that she has control over the book, therefore Vivvie must die) the plot just fell part. Weldon focused lot of Adela and Sherwyn - very little on what the book description talks about. The last 150 pages were hard for me to get through.
I enjoyed how Weldon write. It was a nice change from the usual books I read. She breaks the "fourth wall" and writes herself into the story. I felt like it was written like she was preparing notes for a play. There were also time where I felt like it was all over the place. Readers were supposed to be taken back and forth from just after WWI to just before WWII. But I felt like that only happened once, after that it was several years later, then several years later, etc.
Overall, it was okay. I was disappointed with how the plot just stopped and took a left turn. It wasn't my favorite, but I might read another one of Weldon's because I enjoyed how narrated and wrote.
February 2, 2018
I don’t remember the last time it took me this long to read a book.
I was seriously considering abandoning it...every minute of it was a real struggle...the only thing that kept me going was the unusual narrative of the story. Oh, and the fact that I am not a quitter...
It annoyed me that she kept repeating over and over again how Vivvie was too tall and simple...as if a book would be based on an ugly heroine in the first place... ridiculous...and even if I accept that she is a slightly unfortunate looking girl, I still don’t need it rubbed in my face on every page..
The characters are very unlikeable (except Vivvie and her kids). Often I had to read a paragraph twice before I could decipher what she was going on about...the sentences didn’t join together...the whole story was a mess with the narrator’s opinion popping up unnecessarily here and there...
It’s not a book you can lose yourself in... I don’t recommend it... there are so many good books out there, don’t waste your time on this...
I was seriously considering abandoning it...every minute of it was a real struggle...the only thing that kept me going was the unusual narrative of the story. Oh, and the fact that I am not a quitter...
It annoyed me that she kept repeating over and over again how Vivvie was too tall and simple...as if a book would be based on an ugly heroine in the first place... ridiculous...and even if I accept that she is a slightly unfortunate looking girl, I still don’t need it rubbed in my face on every page..
The characters are very unlikeable (except Vivvie and her kids). Often I had to read a paragraph twice before I could decipher what she was going on about...the sentences didn’t join together...the whole story was a mess with the narrator’s opinion popping up unnecessarily here and there...
It’s not a book you can lose yourself in... I don’t recommend it... there are so many good books out there, don’t waste your time on this...
June 20, 2016
This is the first Fay Weldon book that I have ever read. She is famous for having written the first episode of "Upstairs Downstairs" and plenty of other telly work, and also for her grand old age of 85. 1983 novel "The lives and loves of a she Devil. This is her most recent novel, written at the grand old age of 85. its a history type novel, mainly set in the 1920s and 30s, with plenty of evidence of sexual promiscuity amongst the main characters. It was an entertaining read, with a good mix of history and misbehaviour. I can imagine it being serialised on Sunday nights on ITV and it becoming more to do with the celebrity of the actors than the story. I wouldn't bother watching it, but I enjoyed the read.
Read
December 11, 2023I’m on a roll, ditching books that can’t keep my interest, however clever they may be. I have way too many interesting ones stacked up to read.
March 22, 2017
FAV QUOTES:
It’s good to have someone to blame, so it’s not just happenstance. The purposelessness of real life can get depressing.
The art of fiction is to exaggerate reality and see where it leads you.
It’s the pretty ones that attract love and drive men to unreason and despair, and feature in literature and films; the others are just part of the furniture–unless, Vivvie thinks, they happen to have famous family names or be very rich. They exist to set men free for more ‘important’ and ‘interesting’ things, to keep fictional plots going as written by men.
But unexpected events could all too easily lead to disaster.
It sounded so absurd it was probably true.
Though that of course was the same for most lies: they work best if the liar believes them.
The duty of the parent is to refrain from praise, no matter how naturally it sprang to one’s lips, since it was what made boys self-satisfied and girls vain: better to search for reasons to find fault, so that the child strives harder. Never tell a girl she’s pretty or it will go to her head and she’ll end up on the streets. Never tell a boy he’s clever or he’ll stop trying and end up in the gutter. It is a world away from how we live now.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive.
It’s good to have someone to blame, so it’s not just happenstance. The purposelessness of real life can get depressing.
The art of fiction is to exaggerate reality and see where it leads you.
It’s the pretty ones that attract love and drive men to unreason and despair, and feature in literature and films; the others are just part of the furniture–unless, Vivvie thinks, they happen to have famous family names or be very rich. They exist to set men free for more ‘important’ and ‘interesting’ things, to keep fictional plots going as written by men.
But unexpected events could all too easily lead to disaster.
It sounded so absurd it was probably true.
Though that of course was the same for most lies: they work best if the liar believes them.
The duty of the parent is to refrain from praise, no matter how naturally it sprang to one’s lips, since it was what made boys self-satisfied and girls vain: better to search for reasons to find fault, so that the child strives harder. Never tell a girl she’s pretty or it will go to her head and she’ll end up on the streets. Never tell a boy he’s clever or he’ll stop trying and end up in the gutter. It is a world away from how we live now.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive.
April 14, 2017
A tale of Vivien Ripple who was at twenty was very tall and not pretty and
finds herself pregnant. She decides to take matters into her own hands
and asks Sherwyn Sexton , an aspiring novelist and editor, of Ripple &
Co. to marry her. Although neither love each other, they consent to marry.
Vivien delivers twin girls- one pretty and one not. The story takes place
between WWI and WWII. It is a tale of a family and their hardships and the
lies told to cover up the past.
finds herself pregnant. She decides to take matters into her own hands
and asks Sherwyn Sexton , an aspiring novelist and editor, of Ripple &
Co. to marry her. Although neither love each other, they consent to marry.
Vivien delivers twin girls- one pretty and one not. The story takes place
between WWI and WWII. It is a tale of a family and their hardships and the
lies told to cover up the past.
April 12, 2022
Such an odd book, I’ve never read anything like it. So much about what was to come was immediately given away for example. I did consider not finishing but sun was out, I had time to kill etc, and in the end, I am glad I finished it.
I couldn’t decide 2 or 3 stars, but felt generous, or pleased, or surprised, or whatever.
I couldn’t decide 2 or 3 stars, but felt generous, or pleased, or surprised, or whatever.
March 9, 2017
Before The War is a historical novel set in the early twentieth century with an ironic tone and a self conscious narrator. It tells the story of Vivien Ripple, the daughter of a publisher, Sherwyn Sexton, a writer and an editor at Ripple & Co, and the events that occur after Vivien makes the unlikely suggestion that they get married. Europe tries to recover from one war and hurtles headlong into another whilst the characters find themselves entangled more messily than they imagined and the world they live in shown to be ridiculous.
Weldon writes in a humorous and metafictional style, with a narrator who skirts between exposing the act of making up details on the spot and claiming that the events are true. The narrative of the novel is farcical and not particularly original, reading like something from Waugh or Burgess perhaps, but the narratorial style provides a driving force, exposing the act of looking back at fake history from the twenty first century through direct comments to the reader and references to modern things such as Gone Girl mixed into asides. The use of hindsight and historical irony makes this a novel more about the act of writing a novel set between the world wars than one focused on a narrative in the period.
Before The War is not quite the historical novel it seems to be, but this makes it suited to readers looking for irony, self consciousness, and something akin to Evelyn Waugh writing his novels from the vantage point of the twenty first century.
Weldon writes in a humorous and metafictional style, with a narrator who skirts between exposing the act of making up details on the spot and claiming that the events are true. The narrative of the novel is farcical and not particularly original, reading like something from Waugh or Burgess perhaps, but the narratorial style provides a driving force, exposing the act of looking back at fake history from the twenty first century through direct comments to the reader and references to modern things such as Gone Girl mixed into asides. The use of hindsight and historical irony makes this a novel more about the act of writing a novel set between the world wars than one focused on a narrative in the period.
Before The War is not quite the historical novel it seems to be, but this makes it suited to readers looking for irony, self consciousness, and something akin to Evelyn Waugh writing his novels from the vantage point of the twenty first century.
July 23, 2016
I've heard a few things about Fay Weldon, so going into this book got me a tad bit too excited - plus it's set in 1920s London. I just couldn't pass up the offer to try it out. A very interesting read. Unlike anything I've ever come across. I've only read a handful of Historical Fiction novels in my reading years, and not once was I ever disappointed!
The story is told between the past and the present - the events that occurred before, during and after Vivien's death. It's chock full of Family drama, wit, and lust. I enjoyed each chapter immensely. Quite honestly speaking It wasn't anything I'd expected it to be. I have to admit, I was surprised with the amount of sexual references that revolved around the book (though they made me laugh a little), and some parts of the story just didn't click, so overall I did have few issues with it, but nonetheless, I still I ended up really enjoying the book.
Anyway,
I'd say the book is less plot driven and more character focused. The characters were the main aspects of the story which was great because they're fresh off the page unique and has a bundle of stories to tell the readers. Though I find most of them highly intolerable, they are as real as they can get and are all highly entertaining. I'm also a huge fan of the writing; very fun and humorous. In a word, this book is unputdownable (well, after the first 30 pages or so. But I swear, it gets real good.)
Thank you so much to HarperCollins (Head of Zeus) for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
The story is told between the past and the present - the events that occurred before, during and after Vivien's death. It's chock full of Family drama, wit, and lust. I enjoyed each chapter immensely. Quite honestly speaking It wasn't anything I'd expected it to be. I have to admit, I was surprised with the amount of sexual references that revolved around the book (though they made me laugh a little), and some parts of the story just didn't click, so overall I did have few issues with it, but nonetheless, I still I ended up really enjoying the book.
Anyway,
I'd say the book is less plot driven and more character focused. The characters were the main aspects of the story which was great because they're fresh off the page unique and has a bundle of stories to tell the readers. Though I find most of them highly intolerable, they are as real as they can get and are all highly entertaining. I'm also a huge fan of the writing; very fun and humorous. In a word, this book is unputdownable (well, after the first 30 pages or so. But I swear, it gets real good.)
Thank you so much to HarperCollins (Head of Zeus) for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
April 15, 2016
My first book by Fay Weldon and it was excellent.
How shameful that I'd heard from her but had not got around to reading her. And when I found out she wrote the first episode of "Upstairs Downstair", one of my favorite series of all times I was hooked. She's 84 years old and still writing and publishing.
This is a book filled with main characters. We first meet Vivvie: tall, awkward, rich, single and pregnant. Then we have Sherwyn Sexton, aspiring novelist, penniless and short. How she manages to marry him is amazing. We also have Vivvie's parents, Sexton's mistress and his friend Mungo and the twins, Vivvie's daughters. All perfectly described characters and holding an important part of the plot.
If the first part of the book is mainly Vivvie, the second one is Adele, her beautiful (and small) mother who has the biggest appetite for everything in life.
We get a hint of what is going to happen, as from the first chapter we know Vivvie is to die, we just don't know exactly how or when, and so we keep on reading anxiously as to discover this mystery. And we will have all the answers, all the way from 1922 when the book starts, to 1939 (and a few scenes in 1947)
And there's to be a second part: "After the War". That just made my day!
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
How shameful that I'd heard from her but had not got around to reading her. And when I found out she wrote the first episode of "Upstairs Downstair", one of my favorite series of all times I was hooked. She's 84 years old and still writing and publishing.
This is a book filled with main characters. We first meet Vivvie: tall, awkward, rich, single and pregnant. Then we have Sherwyn Sexton, aspiring novelist, penniless and short. How she manages to marry him is amazing. We also have Vivvie's parents, Sexton's mistress and his friend Mungo and the twins, Vivvie's daughters. All perfectly described characters and holding an important part of the plot.
If the first part of the book is mainly Vivvie, the second one is Adele, her beautiful (and small) mother who has the biggest appetite for everything in life.
We get a hint of what is going to happen, as from the first chapter we know Vivvie is to die, we just don't know exactly how or when, and so we keep on reading anxiously as to discover this mystery. And we will have all the answers, all the way from 1922 when the book starts, to 1939 (and a few scenes in 1947)
And there's to be a second part: "After the War". That just made my day!
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
March 18, 2017
Weldon is a devilishly clever writer. This is a wonderful novel of a British family in the period between the two Wars but it's more than that in a way- it's a group of terrific character studies - Vivian, Sherwyn, Adela all stand out on the page. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC. If you haven't read Weldon before this is a great place to start; if you have, you know what a treat is in store for you.
March 11, 2016
Set in the 1920's, this story is about the life and subsequent death of Vivien.
Fay Weldon always tells intriguing stories and this is one of her best yet.
Very highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Head of Zeus via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
Fay Weldon always tells intriguing stories and this is one of her best yet.
Very highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Head of Zeus via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
April 30, 2017
A very Fay Weldon book! Ironic, witty, clever, fascinating. London between WWI and WWII, Vivien, 24, tall, plain and socially challenged, but she is just the catalyst for the rest of the story, poor Vivien. Not the usual historical novel, but then Fay Weldon is not the usual novelist. A good and different read.
June 6, 2017
This book started out great and I liked the way the author let you know what was going to happen and then kept you wondering how and when it would occur. However, by halfway through the book, I was definitely tired of most of the characters and the way they interacted. By themselves they were interesting but together, they lost their luster. Not a book I would recommend.
September 20, 2016
Wonderful:
Not read any Fay Weldon since university. Why not? This was fabulous, original and gripping. Unlikeable characters, but it didn't matter - I was intrigued and grew to like even some of the most obnoxious ones. Must look up some more of her books.
Not read any Fay Weldon since university. Why not? This was fabulous, original and gripping. Unlikeable characters, but it didn't matter - I was intrigued and grew to like even some of the most obnoxious ones. Must look up some more of her books.
September 30, 2022
I had a hard time determining if I did or didn't enjoy this book (the exact same way I feel about the front cover). Fay Weldon is clearly a very capable, engaging author, and I'm a sucker for historical fiction and period detail, but at times it felt like this book was standing on those merits alone.
Contrary to a lot of reviews I've seen, I actually liked the smug, comma-laden, constantly-feeding-you-scraps-of-the-future narrative voice. I thought it was executed well and at times was the main appeal of the book.
My issue is that the contents of the story wouldn't be compelling if they weren't told in such a frenetic, flashy way. The plot points are cohesive enough until the halfway point, at which point Weldon shatters the 4th wall like a plate over your head & seems to start winging it thereafter. The latter half of the novel devotes too many pages to uninteresting characters and fails to develop the only remaining character who had any potential (Sherwyn). As soon as you learn that the vindictive matriarch of the story is a crossover from another Weldon tale, the author seems to pivot and refocus the book on this much less compelling character.
One final thing that irritated me is a certain paragraph where protagonist Sherwyn Sexton makes a decision that the narrator refers to as "the beginning of a lifetime of regrettable decisions" or something to that effect. We actually get to revisit Sherwyn for a couple decades after this fact, and - quite the opposite - he seems pointedly contended (worst case: cooly indifferent, just like the rest of the book). It truly felt like Weldon had a more ambitious storyline planned than she ended up executing here.
I liked the writing style enough that I will probably grab at least one other Weldon story - I've seen a few people mentioning that this is not her best work.
Contrary to a lot of reviews I've seen, I actually liked the smug, comma-laden, constantly-feeding-you-scraps-of-the-future narrative voice. I thought it was executed well and at times was the main appeal of the book.
My issue is that the contents of the story wouldn't be compelling if they weren't told in such a frenetic, flashy way. The plot points are cohesive enough until the halfway point, at which point Weldon shatters the 4th wall like a plate over your head & seems to start winging it thereafter. The latter half of the novel devotes too many pages to uninteresting characters and fails to develop the only remaining character who had any potential (Sherwyn). As soon as you learn that the vindictive matriarch of the story is a crossover from another Weldon tale, the author seems to pivot and refocus the book on this much less compelling character.
One final thing that irritated me is a certain paragraph where protagonist Sherwyn Sexton makes a decision that the narrator refers to as "the beginning of a lifetime of regrettable decisions" or something to that effect. We actually get to revisit Sherwyn for a couple decades after this fact, and - quite the opposite - he seems pointedly contended (worst case: cooly indifferent, just like the rest of the book). It truly felt like Weldon had a more ambitious storyline planned than she ended up executing here.
I liked the writing style enough that I will probably grab at least one other Weldon story - I've seen a few people mentioning that this is not her best work.
December 20, 2018
In the 80s, my favourite authors were Mary Wesley and Fay Weldon. Mary Wesley began writing in her seventies, and she died in 1997 so there are only ten novels listed at Wikipedia–which is still amazing, when you consider she was only writing for 14 years, beginning in 1983 with Jumping the Queue and ending with Part of the Furniture in 1997. I’ve only got four of these novels because I read all the others via the library. I’ve also got the BBC series based on The Camomile Lawn (1984), and somewhere, also the biography Wild Mary written by her son Toby Eady…
Fay Weldon (born in 1931) started writing in 1967 and is still going strong, with 42 books to her credit at Wikipedia. Last year I read and reviewed Death of a She-devil published in 2017, the same year that she published Before the War. She was 86 but her wit is as sharp as ever.
I romped through Before the War in no time, admittedly enjoying Parts 1 & 2 more than the fallout from the hapless Vivien’s death. I would have liked Vivien to surge triumphantly through life, leaving a trail of foolish people behind her. But Weldon has never opted for the happy ending: it wouldn’t be true to her world view, nor—given the historical period of the setting—to real life.
However, the characters who underestimate Vivian all come to a messy end, and serves them right. And while Weldon intrudes into the narrative to tell us that...
... in fact Weldon is, as she always is, being ironic.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/12/20/b...
Fay Weldon (born in 1931) started writing in 1967 and is still going strong, with 42 books to her credit at Wikipedia. Last year I read and reviewed Death of a She-devil published in 2017, the same year that she published Before the War. She was 86 but her wit is as sharp as ever.
I romped through Before the War in no time, admittedly enjoying Parts 1 & 2 more than the fallout from the hapless Vivien’s death. I would have liked Vivien to surge triumphantly through life, leaving a trail of foolish people behind her. But Weldon has never opted for the happy ending: it wouldn’t be true to her world view, nor—given the historical period of the setting—to real life.
However, the characters who underestimate Vivian all come to a messy end, and serves them right. And while Weldon intrudes into the narrative to tell us that...
‘I will not distress you with Vivien forever. It is not normal in books, films or on TV for much attention to be paid to unattractive women of any age…Why should I break the rules?’ (p.7)
... in fact Weldon is, as she always is, being ironic.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/12/20/b...
September 27, 2021
Here's the paradox at the core of my experience of reading this book: The bad news is that the plot is poorly organized. I very much agree with the comment that it reads more like notes for a book than an actual finished product. And yet: I couldn't put it down. I think that's because there's something soothing about Weldon's stylish, judgmental prose that's easy to sink into. The world that is described is certainly beyond my imagination. It was enjoyable to hear Vivvie's reaction to the fox stole, consider the toxicity of her family of origin, watch characters fumble around in a preoccupied trance.
The book seems concerned with writers (Sherwyn, Mungo) who create product for the money and status, regardless of having much that is substantive to impart besides gossipy anecdotes drenched with privilege. By the end I was wondering if this was a pot-kettle situation.
Whatever editor allowed the book to be published in this state should be fired. Weldon deserves more reliable feedback. Hard to believe that the writer of The Hearts & Lives of Men isn't capable of doing a much better job with these ideas.
The book seems concerned with writers (Sherwyn, Mungo) who create product for the money and status, regardless of having much that is substantive to impart besides gossipy anecdotes drenched with privilege. By the end I was wondering if this was a pot-kettle situation.
Whatever editor allowed the book to be published in this state should be fired. Weldon deserves more reliable feedback. Hard to believe that the writer of The Hearts & Lives of Men isn't capable of doing a much better job with these ideas.
March 23, 2017
In 1922 Vivien is twenty-four, and a spinster. She is tall, unsociable, and wears droopy clothes - but she is intelligent. Vivien is rich, so she can travel to London and bribe Sherwyn Sexton, one of father’s employees to marry her. Her father is a London publisher. What Sherwyn does not know is that Vivien is pregnant with another man’s child, and will die in childbirth in just a few months.
The critics note that this book carries shades of Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh and P.G. Wodehouse. I would agree. The book is playful and humorous.
I believe that this is the first book written by Fay Weldon that I have read. Fay Weldon was born in 1931 in Birmingham, England. On her web page, she notes that she has written 34 novels, numerous TV dramas, several radio plays, 5 full length stage plays, quite a few short ones, five collections of short stories, had four children, looked after four step children, and has been married three times.
After you read this book, you will want to delve a little deeper into Fay Weldon’s other books.
The critics note that this book carries shades of Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh and P.G. Wodehouse. I would agree. The book is playful and humorous.
I believe that this is the first book written by Fay Weldon that I have read. Fay Weldon was born in 1931 in Birmingham, England. On her web page, she notes that she has written 34 novels, numerous TV dramas, several radio plays, 5 full length stage plays, quite a few short ones, five collections of short stories, had four children, looked after four step children, and has been married three times.
After you read this book, you will want to delve a little deeper into Fay Weldon’s other books.
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