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The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories
A glimmering collection of new short fiction from the Booker Prize winner and national bestselling author of How It All Began.
In such acclaimed novels as The Photograph, Family Album, and How It All Began, Penelope Lively has captivated readers with her singular blend of wisdom, elegance, and humor. Now, in her first story collection in decades, Lively takes up themes of history, family, and relationships across varied and vividly rendered settings.
In the title story, a Mediterranean purple swamp hen chronicles the secrets and scandals of Quintus Pompeius’s villa, culminating with his narrow escape from the lava and ash of Vesuvius. “Abroad” captures the low point of an artist couple’s tumultuous European road trip, trapped in a remote Spanish farmhouse and forced to paint a family mural and pitch in with chores to pay for repairs to their broken-down car. Other stories reveal friends and lovers in fateful moments of indiscretion, discovery, and even retribution—as in “The Third Wife,” when a woman learns her husband to be a serial con artist and turns a house hunting trip into an elaborately staged revenge trap.
Each of these delightful stories is elevated by Lively’s signature graceful prose and eye for the subtle yet powerfully evocative detail. Wry, charming, and keenly insightful, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories is a masterful achievement from one of our most beloved writers.
The purple swamp hen --
Abroad --
The row --
Who do you think you were? --
Old as the hills --
A biography --
The weekend --
License to kill --
Mrs. Bennet --
Lorna and Tom --
Point of view --
DIY --
The bridge --
Theory of mind --
The third wife
In such acclaimed novels as The Photograph, Family Album, and How It All Began, Penelope Lively has captivated readers with her singular blend of wisdom, elegance, and humor. Now, in her first story collection in decades, Lively takes up themes of history, family, and relationships across varied and vividly rendered settings.
In the title story, a Mediterranean purple swamp hen chronicles the secrets and scandals of Quintus Pompeius’s villa, culminating with his narrow escape from the lava and ash of Vesuvius. “Abroad” captures the low point of an artist couple’s tumultuous European road trip, trapped in a remote Spanish farmhouse and forced to paint a family mural and pitch in with chores to pay for repairs to their broken-down car. Other stories reveal friends and lovers in fateful moments of indiscretion, discovery, and even retribution—as in “The Third Wife,” when a woman learns her husband to be a serial con artist and turns a house hunting trip into an elaborately staged revenge trap.
Each of these delightful stories is elevated by Lively’s signature graceful prose and eye for the subtle yet powerfully evocative detail. Wry, charming, and keenly insightful, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories is a masterful achievement from one of our most beloved writers.
The purple swamp hen --
Abroad --
The row --
Who do you think you were? --
Old as the hills --
A biography --
The weekend --
License to kill --
Mrs. Bennet --
Lorna and Tom --
Point of view --
DIY --
The bridge --
Theory of mind --
The third wife
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 24, 2016
129 people are currently reading
3092 people want to read
About the author
Penelope Lively
129 books942 followersPenelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger.
Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra’s Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began.
She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year’s Honours List, and DBE in 2012.
Penelope Lively lives in London. She was married to Jack Lively, who died in 1998.
Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra’s Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began.
She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year’s Honours List, and DBE in 2012.
Penelope Lively lives in London. She was married to Jack Lively, who died in 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
March 14, 2023
Lively’s 2017 short story collection is an absolute delight. In the last few years, I have become a fan of short stories. They are often just the right length to read before nodding off at night. Most collections I have read are dark and melancholy, qualities I do enjoy. These stories, while definitely not trite, often had me smiling or nodding in agreement.
The narrator of the title story is an exotic bird, a purple swamp hen, pet garden resident of a wealthy family living in the path of the soon to erupt Vesuvius. Like Lively, the hen keenly watches all the human activities that occur there, all the presumed secret rendezvous. Also clairvoyant, this much ignored bird is able to warn a kind servant girl of the deadly event that will soon occur. Comeuppance is also a theme in the story, “Old as the Hills”, a bitingly funny meeting between a widow and an ex-wife. Other themes include domestic relationships, aging, and two fascinating ghost stories. There are many twists and turns and more than a few chuckles.
Penelope Lively has always been a master of characterization. Now in her eighties, her skill is just as sharp as ever. An insightful observer, she withholds judgement but never sympathy. I hope she will still be sharing her genius for many more years.
The narrator of the title story is an exotic bird, a purple swamp hen, pet garden resident of a wealthy family living in the path of the soon to erupt Vesuvius. Like Lively, the hen keenly watches all the human activities that occur there, all the presumed secret rendezvous. Also clairvoyant, this much ignored bird is able to warn a kind servant girl of the deadly event that will soon occur. Comeuppance is also a theme in the story, “Old as the Hills”, a bitingly funny meeting between a widow and an ex-wife. Other themes include domestic relationships, aging, and two fascinating ghost stories. There are many twists and turns and more than a few chuckles.
Penelope Lively has always been a master of characterization. Now in her eighties, her skill is just as sharp as ever. An insightful observer, she withholds judgement but never sympathy. I hope she will still be sharing her genius for many more years.
May 29, 2017
This was sharp. Unbelievably I'm giving a group of short stories 5 stars.
This collection was of such reality, modern depth, and word savvy dialogue- that I have to think about it for some hours.
OK, I did and overnight.
This is a book I would buy as a gift for several people I know. Most of age, and a couple in mid-life because I KNOW this would be a winner for them in entertainment value, but also in the "yes, I know" factor, as well.
It's tempting to say a bit about each story. I won't give plots or massive giveaway details. They are so modern life in city, in town, and in country (weekend place or not) that each and every one is like a perfectly but in a miniature frame Monet. (Can you tell I am reading Black Water Lilies too?)
And they are in great majority upon, with, in the narrator lane of ORDINARY people. People of good will, good intent,aspiration for success, anger put aside for "other"- all those kind of people. Not the present day bunches of chip on the shoulder past baggage and agitating meanness that is meant to be used for "improvements".
How can I describe a story like "A Biography" that cuts to the very core of success, charisma, people savvy networking, and "knowing" someone in both the intimate and in the friend, workmate, acquaintance senses too. All of those. But DO YOU really know her/him? That particular story I guessed what she wanted not a third of the way into the story. When "everybody" assumes your goals or greatest desires (something that seems obvious), I have found it is most usually IN REAL LIFE experience, almost exactly the opposite condition that it appears to the closest observers.
And my favorite of all was "Old as the Hills". Lord, I will not tell you why. Read it, and I bet you can guess correctly. And it is absolutely true, what she says. After 70 you become completely invisible. Especially if you are female, small, brown wren or just the older lady looking person. You could probably get away with nearly anything but stripping. Maybe then they would STILL look right over you.
"Lorna and Tom" was pivot perfect. "The Weekend" has happened to me in both couples' positions.
"Abroad" I would like to send in a pamphlet form singleton fashion to a nephew in California. And a few of these stories also hold some "occult" or Gothic (if that's how you describe it) elements. "DIY" was one and that just doesn't occur when a malevolent 3rd party is involved, either. "The Bridge" is the most disquieting and it happens that a parent and child do not mesh/fit for a punch in "past memory" just like that. How astute to realize it is usually far more than just personality opposition.
Others are dovetailed in a fashion that some of you reading these may not notice. The story "Point of View"? LOL! And a character in another story is a script writer trying to write a 3 person intersect on the same "window". Oh can Penelope Lively grab the nuance. Even between the entrees here.
Many will have "The Third Wife" and ending story as their favorite. It's the most curt and demographic savvy. But to me it was the most common and I easily guessed the progression.
But over all- it is the clear insightful gaze of age knowledge that shines the most in these Lively pieces. Her 60 is magnificent in connotations. As are here in this group the core perceptions of the ages in the 50's being some of the "best". But especially and in forefront is her grasping the very gusts and inertias of energy and cutting to the chase for old age. SUPERB. That's exactly how it is. With individuals you have mainly picked all the fights worth fighting already. And inside you are fairly snickering for great lengths of time at the perceptions, impatience "necessity" or core purposes of angst that you see the young or even the younger put up in walls around themselves.
Oh to be in such a mind and have such a knife to cut the very quick of relationship and work onus as Penelope Lively at way past 80. Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire indeed!
It is not often I recommend books, and I have never recommended short stories. These I will. And I do. Heartily. And ponder them for a point, as well.
Now I will be like The Purple Swamp Hen and pass on a good deed that was done for me previously.
Read this book.
This collection was of such reality, modern depth, and word savvy dialogue- that I have to think about it for some hours.
OK, I did and overnight.
This is a book I would buy as a gift for several people I know. Most of age, and a couple in mid-life because I KNOW this would be a winner for them in entertainment value, but also in the "yes, I know" factor, as well.
It's tempting to say a bit about each story. I won't give plots or massive giveaway details. They are so modern life in city, in town, and in country (weekend place or not) that each and every one is like a perfectly but in a miniature frame Monet. (Can you tell I am reading Black Water Lilies too?)
And they are in great majority upon, with, in the narrator lane of ORDINARY people. People of good will, good intent,aspiration for success, anger put aside for "other"- all those kind of people. Not the present day bunches of chip on the shoulder past baggage and agitating meanness that is meant to be used for "improvements".
How can I describe a story like "A Biography" that cuts to the very core of success, charisma, people savvy networking, and "knowing" someone in both the intimate and in the friend, workmate, acquaintance senses too. All of those. But DO YOU really know her/him? That particular story I guessed what she wanted not a third of the way into the story. When "everybody" assumes your goals or greatest desires (something that seems obvious), I have found it is most usually IN REAL LIFE experience, almost exactly the opposite condition that it appears to the closest observers.
And my favorite of all was "Old as the Hills". Lord, I will not tell you why. Read it, and I bet you can guess correctly. And it is absolutely true, what she says. After 70 you become completely invisible. Especially if you are female, small, brown wren or just the older lady looking person. You could probably get away with nearly anything but stripping. Maybe then they would STILL look right over you.
"Lorna and Tom" was pivot perfect. "The Weekend" has happened to me in both couples' positions.
"Abroad" I would like to send in a pamphlet form singleton fashion to a nephew in California. And a few of these stories also hold some "occult" or Gothic (if that's how you describe it) elements. "DIY" was one and that just doesn't occur when a malevolent 3rd party is involved, either. "The Bridge" is the most disquieting and it happens that a parent and child do not mesh/fit for a punch in "past memory" just like that. How astute to realize it is usually far more than just personality opposition.
Others are dovetailed in a fashion that some of you reading these may not notice. The story "Point of View"? LOL! And a character in another story is a script writer trying to write a 3 person intersect on the same "window". Oh can Penelope Lively grab the nuance. Even between the entrees here.
Many will have "The Third Wife" and ending story as their favorite. It's the most curt and demographic savvy. But to me it was the most common and I easily guessed the progression.
But over all- it is the clear insightful gaze of age knowledge that shines the most in these Lively pieces. Her 60 is magnificent in connotations. As are here in this group the core perceptions of the ages in the 50's being some of the "best". But especially and in forefront is her grasping the very gusts and inertias of energy and cutting to the chase for old age. SUPERB. That's exactly how it is. With individuals you have mainly picked all the fights worth fighting already. And inside you are fairly snickering for great lengths of time at the perceptions, impatience "necessity" or core purposes of angst that you see the young or even the younger put up in walls around themselves.
Oh to be in such a mind and have such a knife to cut the very quick of relationship and work onus as Penelope Lively at way past 80. Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire indeed!
It is not often I recommend books, and I have never recommended short stories. These I will. And I do. Heartily. And ponder them for a point, as well.
Now I will be like The Purple Swamp Hen and pass on a good deed that was done for me previously.
Read this book.
September 27, 2017
Yes, 5 stars for short stories, because every single one of them was great. Penelope Lively has fast become my favorite British author. I read "How It All Began" a few months ago, a novel about how one seemingly innocuous event can set off a whole series of life changing experiences. I also read "Moon Tiger" a few years ago, and need to revisit that one. She has a way of getting to the marrow of people and relationships, her dialogue is wonderful, and her characters are blessed with common sense. This was a library book, but I may get myself a copy when it comes out in paperback. Recommended even for people who don't like short stories.
November 19, 2019
These stories are lively and, yes, Lively. (Sorry. I didn’t write that first ‘lively’ on purpose, but I’m sure the author has heard it way too many times.)
From my limited knowledge of her work (this is only my fourth book of hers), some of the themes seem to be ones she’s been working with for years (e.g., her novel The Photograph and the stories “The Biography” and “The Bridge”). A few of the stories are almost too similar to each other for comfort, but the differences make up for that. Actually, the collection showcases a wide range, including whimsical historical fiction (the title story) and even a ghost story, or is it two? Or three? You decide. (The power of the mind is a potent force.)
I think this collection would be both a nice introduction to a first-time reader of the author and a pleasure for long-time Lively fans. I fall somewhere in the middle, so I guess it works for that category too.
*
I would like to say to inner-flap writers: Please don't give away too much information in your descriptions: You ruined the final story for me.
From my limited knowledge of her work (this is only my fourth book of hers), some of the themes seem to be ones she’s been working with for years (e.g., her novel The Photograph and the stories “The Biography” and “The Bridge”). A few of the stories are almost too similar to each other for comfort, but the differences make up for that. Actually, the collection showcases a wide range, including whimsical historical fiction (the title story) and even a ghost story, or is it two? Or three? You decide. (The power of the mind is a potent force.)
I think this collection would be both a nice introduction to a first-time reader of the author and a pleasure for long-time Lively fans. I fall somewhere in the middle, so I guess it works for that category too.
*
I would like to say to inner-flap writers: Please don't give away too much information in your descriptions: You ruined the final story for me.
December 9, 2017
Penelope Lively is always a pleasure to read. This collection of 15 stories covers quite a wide range of styles and subjects, from Roman times to the present day, and as always Lively is perceptive, thoughtful and entertaining.
I particularly liked The Biography, a set of interviews by the biographer of a recently deceased television historian, in which the interviewees all give subtly different spins and in some cases reveal what they concealed from the biographer.
A fine collection which demonstrates that Lively is still on top form.
I particularly liked The Biography, a set of interviews by the biographer of a recently deceased television historian, in which the interviewees all give subtly different spins and in some cases reveal what they concealed from the biographer.
A fine collection which demonstrates that Lively is still on top form.
Read
December 3, 2017As a young teenager, following her parents' divorce, Penelope Lively was sent away from Cairo to a boarding school in England. She was divided from her mother, who remarried and didn't see her daughter again for two years, from her father who was abroad, and from the person she loved most, Lucy the nanny turned governess who started working for a different family. Ms Lively describes the institution as "appalling" and recognises now with hindsight both that she was bullied and that the staff knew and did nothing to protect her. She touched on this episode in her memoir Oleander, Jacaranda.
(from an interview in the Guardian
Ms Lively's writing can sometimes seem to be perfectly ordinary. She doesn't go in for surface fireworks or experimentation, but her stories draw depth. And this is one of her themes too: what is going on under the surface of appearances. In Old as the Hills
Another of her fascinations is the rigidity of social expectations, and how over time women have managed to gently free themselves from same. One perfect little jewel of a story that shows how change can be effected is Licence to Kill. Such a mundane plot: Pauline is undertaking a shopping expedition, aided by her youthful care worker, Cally. What's in mind for the long term, Pauline asks, You don't want to be dancing attendance on old women indefinitely. Cally can only imagine the sort of job associated with traditional women's roles: care, nursing, catering. Pauline, now she was probably a teacher wasn't she? She was not.
Cally begins to see the world with different eyes.
Ms Lively can pick things apart: how hokum biography can be, how point of view and empathy of mind is something we all struggle with, how differences in background and levels of wealth can ruin a marriage. Then of course Lively is a historian, and the thread that claims history lives alongside us is woven into three of her stories here. It's not an idea I would reject, no, but I am a little allergic to it physically pushing someone downstairs or into the path of a passing bus. But that's just me. Apart from those three, the stories here are quietly devastating and puckishly wicked. A delight.
“American audiences ask the sort of questions I sometimes think English audiences would like to ask but don’t dare to,” Lively replies when I ask how she recovered. “I remember when I toured with that book, a man said, ‘You sound as though you’ve had a really screwed up sort of life at points, how come you seem to be a perfectly ordinary person?’ There’s no answer to that, really.”
(from an interview in the Guardian
Ms Lively's writing can sometimes seem to be perfectly ordinary. She doesn't go in for surface fireworks or experimentation, but her stories draw depth. And this is one of her themes too: what is going on under the surface of appearances. In Old as the Hills
Our coffee comes. The waitress hopes we have enjoyed our meal. The restaurant is emptying. People are getting up, putting coats on, passing our table with an indulgent glance and smile: two elderly friends lunching, having a chat about old times. Bless.But these two 'friends' have daggers drawn: parry, thrust and riposte. First blood drawn. Bless.
Another of her fascinations is the rigidity of social expectations, and how over time women have managed to gently free themselves from same. One perfect little jewel of a story that shows how change can be effected is Licence to Kill. Such a mundane plot: Pauline is undertaking a shopping expedition, aided by her youthful care worker, Cally. What's in mind for the long term, Pauline asks, You don't want to be dancing attendance on old women indefinitely. Cally can only imagine the sort of job associated with traditional women's roles: care, nursing, catering. Pauline, now she was probably a teacher wasn't she? She was not.
Cally begins to see the world with different eyes.
She saw street, cars, people, all much the same as half an hour ago but somehow vaguely unreliable. She felt, oddly, older. A slightly different person, who knew more. Who knew how to make adjustments. Maybe not Hotel and Catering, she thought. I may not be a Hotel and Catering person. I don't know who I am yet, do I? Who I may be.
Ms Lively can pick things apart: how hokum biography can be, how point of view and empathy of mind is something we all struggle with, how differences in background and levels of wealth can ruin a marriage. Then of course Lively is a historian, and the thread that claims history lives alongside us is woven into three of her stories here. It's not an idea I would reject, no, but I am a little allergic to it physically pushing someone downstairs or into the path of a passing bus. But that's just me. Apart from those three, the stories here are quietly devastating and puckishly wicked. A delight.
October 29, 2021
What a wonderful way to start out my relationship with Penelope Lively! How did I miss reading her before this? This collection of fifteen short stories is a delight to read. Lively has a keen understanding of human nature and of relationships and writes with insight and great wit. These stories take place mainly in contemporary times, but a few are set in times past, including Pompei in the title story. They are populated with people of all types - men, women, children, a couple of ghosts and a swamp hen - in all kinds of relationships - siblings, co-workers, husbands/wives, parents/children, lovers, friends, acquaintances, enemies - who inhabit worlds fully formed in just a few pages. So fully formed that I was drawn in immediately, swept along throughout and never felt they ended too soon. Some are good, most outstanding and a couple of the stories are stellar!
I say give this book a whirl, even if you don't fancy yourself a lover of short stories. You might be delightfully surprised!
This review from The Guardian says a lot about why I loved this book. https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
I say give this book a whirl, even if you don't fancy yourself a lover of short stories. You might be delightfully surprised!
This review from The Guardian says a lot about why I loved this book. https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
September 3, 2017
What a delightful gift this collection of short stories has been. I literally did a happy dance at the library when I found it on the shelves!! I'm not usually a short story reader nowadays, but I'm a huge fan of Penelope Lively's writing ever since reading her Booker Prize winning book Moon Tiger, a remembrance of her childhood in Egypt.
Lively writes magnificently - with wit, elegance and gorgeous style. I really have no choice but to now buy this book because I will yearn to reread most of these stories again. I've already reread some again - first to be pulled into the tapestry of the story, and again to marvel at her facility w language and ponder her themes - how she leads, guides, and surprises.
The Purple Swamphen was such a delightful whimsical story and yet left me contemplating history, art, chance and the surprising interconnection of life.
Most of the stories had communication as a theme (among other themes) and the way we really only partially know the people closest to us. POV and The Bridge were two of my favorite stories.
But I loved The Row as well...who, after all, hadn't a row or two with their beloved?
Her telling made me smile, then laugh in recognition, and made me feel like a kinder, gentler person with her conclusion - it changed me and enlarged my heart in that small way that literature sometimes does.
Her story Mrs. Bennet was a sly reference to that infamous fictional creation by Jane Austen, a tip of the hat to the persistence of some cultural norms and then the inevitable passage of time that brings dramatic change.
She explores the role of patchwork memory, how we feel about fiction, how we construct and hide from our own stories.
"Arthouse movie stuff, memory is. Fragmented narrative, jumpy footage, much left out, allusions you've got to be sharp enough to pick up...That's the inside of my head."
In an interview on her book How it All Began, Lively stated:
"We go to fiction because we like a story, and we want our lives to have the largesse of story, the capacity, the onward thrust — we not only want, but need, which is why memory is so crucial, and without it we are lost, adrift in a hideous eternal present."
It's also why I read Penelope with such great pleasure...and am thankful she still feels compelled to write and does it with no loss of verve or depth!
Oh, I must not forget - Penelope Lively has some playful ? Curious? Interest in ghosts - I know this from her children's books and one of her earliest books The Ghost and Mr. Kempe. Several of the short stories in this collection fall into a gothic style. A way to explain the unexplainable ... or her rich British literary history.
Lively writes magnificently - with wit, elegance and gorgeous style. I really have no choice but to now buy this book because I will yearn to reread most of these stories again. I've already reread some again - first to be pulled into the tapestry of the story, and again to marvel at her facility w language and ponder her themes - how she leads, guides, and surprises.
The Purple Swamphen was such a delightful whimsical story and yet left me contemplating history, art, chance and the surprising interconnection of life.
Most of the stories had communication as a theme (among other themes) and the way we really only partially know the people closest to us. POV and The Bridge were two of my favorite stories.
But I loved The Row as well...who, after all, hadn't a row or two with their beloved?
Her telling made me smile, then laugh in recognition, and made me feel like a kinder, gentler person with her conclusion - it changed me and enlarged my heart in that small way that literature sometimes does.
Her story Mrs. Bennet was a sly reference to that infamous fictional creation by Jane Austen, a tip of the hat to the persistence of some cultural norms and then the inevitable passage of time that brings dramatic change.
She explores the role of patchwork memory, how we feel about fiction, how we construct and hide from our own stories.
"Arthouse movie stuff, memory is. Fragmented narrative, jumpy footage, much left out, allusions you've got to be sharp enough to pick up...That's the inside of my head."
In an interview on her book How it All Began, Lively stated:
"We go to fiction because we like a story, and we want our lives to have the largesse of story, the capacity, the onward thrust — we not only want, but need, which is why memory is so crucial, and without it we are lost, adrift in a hideous eternal present."
It's also why I read Penelope with such great pleasure...and am thankful she still feels compelled to write and does it with no loss of verve or depth!
Oh, I must not forget - Penelope Lively has some playful ? Curious? Interest in ghosts - I know this from her children's books and one of her earliest books The Ghost and Mr. Kempe. Several of the short stories in this collection fall into a gothic style. A way to explain the unexplainable ... or her rich British literary history.
February 22, 2018
Very nicely done. Indeed, it reminds me why I fell in love with Lively's stuff so many years ago. I'm late to the party on this one, and I can't say that I prefer her short stories to her classic platform, the novel, but, as long as she keeps publishing, I'll keep (buying and) reading.
This is a small, efficient, tight, and immensely gratifying collection of stories - some quite short, some a little longer - each unique. The prose is elegant - no muss, no fuss, no waste. And Lively's offering of bagatelles, vignettes, or, ... say, ... snapshots are rarely what they seem, revealing their secrets (their underlying tensions, their unspoken words, their buried treasures) all in good time. As in her novels and non-fiction, Lively increasingly focuses on aging (and, while it's a toss up, her sublime Old As the Hills may have been my favorite story, particularly for the stinger at the end)). There's plenty of social observation doled out, more than a fair share of relationships and heart break and disappointment and, yes, deception, and even a little imagination bleeding into speculative fantasy bordering on the supernatural (or, then again, maybe not). Suffice it to say that it's a surprisingly diverse and creative collection.
Full disclosure: Lively has always appealed to me, and I'm long past the point of being objective about her work. Assuming my math is right, this is the 20th book of hers that I've read - mostly fiction, but a couple of (autobiographical) non-fiction pieces stuck in there for good measure. It wasn't so long ago (yes, yes, in a world without Kindles and e-readers) that it was difficult to find her work in the U.S. Ah, how the world has changed. In London, you could go to Foyle's (at the time, I believe, the largest - and strangest - bookstore anywhere) and head into the Penguin Paperback section [Nope, not making it up, at Foyle's (the mother ship, at Charing Cross Road), there were publisher sections - which is a pretty dramatic departure from typical bookstore (or, for that matter, library) organizational systems] and walk out with a stack of stuff for which there wasn't yet a US market (although, and my memory is fuzzy here, all of that changed after Moon Tiger became popular following the Booker Prize).
Sure, some of Lively's stuff is better (and more memorable) than others, but ... to the extent that, as noted above, she (long ago) won a Booker Prize I know I'm not completely crazy, and, more importantly, she's one of those authors that has entertained me sufficiently over the years that I'm sure I give her the benefit of the doubt or ... in other words, I'm predisposed to enjoy her books. This was no exception.
This is a small, efficient, tight, and immensely gratifying collection of stories - some quite short, some a little longer - each unique. The prose is elegant - no muss, no fuss, no waste. And Lively's offering of bagatelles, vignettes, or, ... say, ... snapshots are rarely what they seem, revealing their secrets (their underlying tensions, their unspoken words, their buried treasures) all in good time. As in her novels and non-fiction, Lively increasingly focuses on aging (and, while it's a toss up, her sublime Old As the Hills may have been my favorite story, particularly for the stinger at the end)). There's plenty of social observation doled out, more than a fair share of relationships and heart break and disappointment and, yes, deception, and even a little imagination bleeding into speculative fantasy bordering on the supernatural (or, then again, maybe not). Suffice it to say that it's a surprisingly diverse and creative collection.
Full disclosure: Lively has always appealed to me, and I'm long past the point of being objective about her work. Assuming my math is right, this is the 20th book of hers that I've read - mostly fiction, but a couple of (autobiographical) non-fiction pieces stuck in there for good measure. It wasn't so long ago (yes, yes, in a world without Kindles and e-readers) that it was difficult to find her work in the U.S. Ah, how the world has changed. In London, you could go to Foyle's (at the time, I believe, the largest - and strangest - bookstore anywhere) and head into the Penguin Paperback section [Nope, not making it up, at Foyle's (the mother ship, at Charing Cross Road), there were publisher sections - which is a pretty dramatic departure from typical bookstore (or, for that matter, library) organizational systems] and walk out with a stack of stuff for which there wasn't yet a US market (although, and my memory is fuzzy here, all of that changed after Moon Tiger became popular following the Booker Prize).
Sure, some of Lively's stuff is better (and more memorable) than others, but ... to the extent that, as noted above, she (long ago) won a Booker Prize I know I'm not completely crazy, and, more importantly, she's one of those authors that has entertained me sufficiently over the years that I'm sure I give her the benefit of the doubt or ... in other words, I'm predisposed to enjoy her books. This was no exception.
January 1, 2020
“I love stories. So much more satisfying than real life. Real life goes on and on, plotless and pointless. A story has form and content, beginning and end, significance.”
I was so thrilled to receive this, my first Goodreads Giveaway win. You wouldn’t know that from the fact it took me over a year to read it. Sorry Penguin—I do appreciate it, honest! It’s just I often have trouble with the short story form. They are usually too long for my snippets of reading time, and work better read as a whole. But this one worked for me. The stories were mostly short, and held up if I had to leave and come back in the middle of them.
All of the stories have a sort of light-hearted sarcasm that I love, and that I relate to as something that can develop as one ages. Many explore what we think is happening versus what is really happening, and how different those two can be.
Each story was a different exploration. I loved “The Row,” about marriage and fighting, but a happy, realistic story. A few had spooky twists that were quite fun. In several, the woman escapes, and that was very satisfying. My favorite was “The Bridge.” There is a whole novel in this story. It’s deep and satisfying, but with all the unnecessary bits lopped off.
All of these felt like condensed, polished pearls.
I believe that writing about characters gives a person some insight into the human condition. For me, these stories are particularly writerly; clearly coming from someone who has given a lot of thought to what people think and why people do what they do--someone who, after all, creates people for a living. I feel larger after reading these stories, like I’ve lived a bunch of lives.
Penelope Lively is remarkably good at this.
I was so thrilled to receive this, my first Goodreads Giveaway win. You wouldn’t know that from the fact it took me over a year to read it. Sorry Penguin—I do appreciate it, honest! It’s just I often have trouble with the short story form. They are usually too long for my snippets of reading time, and work better read as a whole. But this one worked for me. The stories were mostly short, and held up if I had to leave and come back in the middle of them.
All of the stories have a sort of light-hearted sarcasm that I love, and that I relate to as something that can develop as one ages. Many explore what we think is happening versus what is really happening, and how different those two can be.
Each story was a different exploration. I loved “The Row,” about marriage and fighting, but a happy, realistic story. A few had spooky twists that were quite fun. In several, the woman escapes, and that was very satisfying. My favorite was “The Bridge.” There is a whole novel in this story. It’s deep and satisfying, but with all the unnecessary bits lopped off.
All of these felt like condensed, polished pearls.
I believe that writing about characters gives a person some insight into the human condition. For me, these stories are particularly writerly; clearly coming from someone who has given a lot of thought to what people think and why people do what they do--someone who, after all, creates people for a living. I feel larger after reading these stories, like I’ve lived a bunch of lives.
Penelope Lively is remarkably good at this.
July 10, 2017
I normally spread out short stories so that they don't merge into one, but I've read this book in pretty much one setting. It was so charming and exciting and Penelope Lively has a lovely way with words. Who would think of writing a story about a purple swamp hen? Or a row? Or two old ladies bickering over afternoon tea? There are delights and treats and exciting endings over every page. Wonderful.
February 22, 2024
I'm trying to get through the books that have been on my TBR pile the longest, which means I'm getting to books I don't even remember adding, this one was such an instance, knowing myself it might just have been because I liked the bird on the cover.
I enjoyed this collection well enough, but I found that given the similarities of themes and tone between the stories they got kind of muddled together, that might be a fast reader problem. The style was generally pleasant with an air of it's not that deep so I'd say it would make for a pretty good palate cleanser type of read.
I enjoyed this collection well enough, but I found that given the similarities of themes and tone between the stories they got kind of muddled together, that might be a fast reader problem. The style was generally pleasant with an air of it's not that deep so I'd say it would make for a pretty good palate cleanser type of read.
December 21, 2017
When I saw the title of this book, my first thought (a feeling of trepidation) was, how could Penelope Lively write a story about a purple swamp hen? And I had no idea what a purple swamp hen was. For that matter, neither did Ms. Lively, and that's how she came to write the title story. The story behind the story is found here: http://www.npr.org/2017/05/06/5269190...
Ms. Lively is one of my favorite writers and, once again, she hasn't let me down. There are fourteen very good stories in this collection - The title story, "Old As the Hills", "A Biography", and "The Bridge" are my favorites right now - and only one let-down - "The Third Wife" - pretty much a setup/throwaway piece, to my mind.
The New York Times Book review printed a good lead article on Penelope Lively a couple of months ago. At the end of it, she's quoted as saying, "I wouldn't know what to if I wasn't writing. I'd feel very restless. I know if I start something new I may never finish it, but it's what you do. A writer writes."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/bo...
And a reader reads. As long as she keeps writing, I'll keep reading.
Ms. Lively is one of my favorite writers and, once again, she hasn't let me down. There are fourteen very good stories in this collection - The title story, "Old As the Hills", "A Biography", and "The Bridge" are my favorites right now - and only one let-down - "The Third Wife" - pretty much a setup/throwaway piece, to my mind.
The New York Times Book review printed a good lead article on Penelope Lively a couple of months ago. At the end of it, she's quoted as saying, "I wouldn't know what to if I wasn't writing. I'd feel very restless. I know if I start something new I may never finish it, but it's what you do. A writer writes."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/bo...
And a reader reads. As long as she keeps writing, I'll keep reading.
July 29, 2018
A touch of satire, pathos, and the eerie - this was a page-turning short story collection! The title story was the opener, and the point-of-view character and setting were so cleverly drawn, I was hooked from the start.
There were some heavy-hitters in the group that really stood out: 'Old As the Hills', 'A Biography' (*favorite of the whole book - a life deconstructed), 'The Weekend', and 'DIY'.
After reading this, I loved hearing this interview with Ms. Lively from NPR's Weekend Edition, May 2017.
There were some heavy-hitters in the group that really stood out: 'Old As the Hills', 'A Biography' (*favorite of the whole book - a life deconstructed), 'The Weekend', and 'DIY'.
After reading this, I loved hearing this interview with Ms. Lively from NPR's Weekend Edition, May 2017.
July 11, 2017
What a lovely compilation of unique short stories by Penelope Lively!
I found these stories to be witty and often, after I finished reading each, I then had that "a ha" moment and everything made complete sense. The stories range from a woman who finally meets her husband's mistress to an old "fix up" type of house with a suspicious hold on the people who choose to call it home.
Some of my favorites: The Weekend, Lorna and Tom, DIY, The Bridge, and the title story, The Purple Swamp Hen.
This book was my introduction to Ms. Lively. I can definitely see myself reading more of her work in the future.
I found these stories to be witty and often, after I finished reading each, I then had that "a ha" moment and everything made complete sense. The stories range from a woman who finally meets her husband's mistress to an old "fix up" type of house with a suspicious hold on the people who choose to call it home.
Some of my favorites: The Weekend, Lorna and Tom, DIY, The Bridge, and the title story, The Purple Swamp Hen.
This book was my introduction to Ms. Lively. I can definitely see myself reading more of her work in the future.
May 5, 2022
The title story opens this collection. It is the strongest and the quirkiest. Most of the rest are similar, in terms of broad plot. The stories are all quite short, yet serve to outline the relationship of a couple (dare I presume to specify? — a male/female couple); meeting, courtship, marriage, decline. There are variations in setting and tone but most of the pieces cover this same basic territory.
Of course, much of literature embraces the same familiar themes. Penelope Lively is a talented novelist, and each of these pieces is well-written, interesting, absorbing, and complete. I found it was not a collection I wanted to dash through, but would pick it up now and then as a palate cleanser, and happily read just one.
Now that I think of it, maybe I'll reread the quirky opening story, The Purple Swamp Hen. I didn't even realize there were such creatures as purple swamp hens, but there are, and now I know, and perhaps you do too.
Of course, much of literature embraces the same familiar themes. Penelope Lively is a talented novelist, and each of these pieces is well-written, interesting, absorbing, and complete. I found it was not a collection I wanted to dash through, but would pick it up now and then as a palate cleanser, and happily read just one.
Now that I think of it, maybe I'll reread the quirky opening story, The Purple Swamp Hen. I didn't even realize there were such creatures as purple swamp hens, but there are, and now I know, and perhaps you do too.
January 19, 2019
Penelope Lively's collection of short stories is a fun read! Lively’s books have received much praise and it is easy to see why. It takes real talent to write a short story that will immediately pull you in and keep you engaged until the end. Don’t be fooled by it’s title - purple swamp hens are real! In this collection, each story has realistic characters and settings, and ends with a twist. A very enjoyable book!
April 8, 2020
An old-fashioned writing style with a poor attitude towards women. 2 stars because one or two of the stories were mildly interesting.
March 25, 2018
I am not a die hard short story aficionado although I seem to read them rather frequently. But I do like to read almost anything that has intrigued me by a review or a recommendation by another bookworm. In this case, I had read a review that intrigued me. I have not read anything previously by Penelope Lively (and I see she has written a great deal) so I borrowed it from my library. I think this is the first five star review I've given to a collection of short stories that were not horror based (a la Stephen King, etc.) I will be reading more by this writer assuredly. These shorts were wonderful; so unique and well crafted. There isn't one 'bad' story in the collection and most of them are absorbing. It takes real talent to put across a mood, setting, characters and dialogue that are so sharply written that you are instantly brought into the story, especially in a short story where it must be done quickly. Even though it is the end of March, I have a strong feeling that this will make my top 10 books of 2018.
May 23, 2018
Every story in the collection made for very enjoyable reading.
June 28, 2019
3.5 out of 5. Lively [pun intended], incisive short story collection. Most consisted of psychological portraits of present-day English couples or families. Some were only a few pp. long. Only the title story concerning ancient Pompeii was different. Not a word was wasted in any story. Wickedly humorous in most places. I liked all of them, not all equally. Some stood out for me:
*The purple swamp hen: A peacock-like bird and a servant girl who has "perfect understanding" with it although they aren't able to speak with one another, flee the opulent villa where they live, when the earthquakes begin. My favorite of all.
*Abroad: a couple whose car has broken down, is being fixed, and are staying with a peasant family, to earn their keep and to pay for the repairs, are forced to work for the family [he, the artist, paint a mural of the whole extended family and she help out around the house] until the car is fixed.
*Who do you think you were?: a young woman searches her family tree.
*The biography: A writer of a forthcoming biography interviews different people as to how they saw the late subject, a woman history professor and gets different viewpoints of how they saw her.
*The third wife: She revenges herself on a cad of a husband on behalf of herself and the two previous wives.
Some of the stories have O. Henry-type endings.
Interview with the author on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2017/05/06/526919...
Recommended. I want to try more of Ms. Lively's writing.
*The purple swamp hen: A peacock-like bird and a servant girl who has "perfect understanding" with it although they aren't able to speak with one another, flee the opulent villa where they live, when the earthquakes begin. My favorite of all.
*Abroad: a couple whose car has broken down, is being fixed, and are staying with a peasant family, to earn their keep and to pay for the repairs, are forced to work for the family [he, the artist, paint a mural of the whole extended family and she help out around the house] until the car is fixed.
*Who do you think you were?: a young woman searches her family tree.
*The biography: A writer of a forthcoming biography interviews different people as to how they saw the late subject, a woman history professor and gets different viewpoints of how they saw her.
*The third wife: She revenges herself on a cad of a husband on behalf of herself and the two previous wives.
Some of the stories have O. Henry-type endings.
Interview with the author on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2017/05/06/526919...
Recommended. I want to try more of Ms. Lively's writing.
July 14, 2017
Delightful, witty, charming, observant Penelope Lively! I was thrilled to spend a few days in this author's company, engaged in these slice-of-life short stories. It's presumptuous to say so, but I think Ms. Lively and I have a similar life outlook because whenever I read her books I feel immediately comfortable. I'm not British and I'm not in my eighties, but I recognized the way her characters see and think about themselves and others.
These are relationship stories, whether in ancient Pompei or current-day London. There's not a lot of plot in any of them, but they are each fully realized, complex character portraits and I loved them.
These are relationship stories, whether in ancient Pompei or current-day London. There's not a lot of plot in any of them, but they are each fully realized, complex character portraits and I loved them.
May 25, 2017
This wonderful collection starts off with the musings of a Swamp Hen, observing the daily life of the household and providing commentary (with a modern flare) on the happenings in a Roman garden, just before Vesuvius erupts. Absolutely delightful! The more serious stories are insightful and satisfying, but the humorous ones are my personal favorites. There's not a dud in the lot, each unique and ever so clever. What an imagination you have, Ms Liveley!
February 5, 2020
Wonderful stories . . . enjoyed the narrator, too, since I listened to these. Wouldn't mind reading many of the stories again, the only weak one in the collection was "Mrs. Bennett", a Jane Austen re-telling whose setting didn't quite work to me.
Favorite story in the collection was perhaps the title one; telling the story of life in an ancient Pompeii rich villa and swamp hen's narrow escape from Vesuvius. Stories are about relationships and families. Language and style a pleasure. I've read a couple of Penelope Lively novels years ago but now must look for more.
I am not normally a short story reader & felt that with the best of these stories -- I wanted them to go on.
Favorite story in the collection was perhaps the title one; telling the story of life in an ancient Pompeii rich villa and swamp hen's narrow escape from Vesuvius. Stories are about relationships and families. Language and style a pleasure. I've read a couple of Penelope Lively novels years ago but now must look for more.
I am not normally a short story reader & felt that with the best of these stories -- I wanted them to go on.
August 21, 2023
Is it possible I have a new short story writer?
Quite possibly.
Quite possibly.
December 24, 2016
Clever, funny, sharp, stylish and self assured - really enjoyed this collection of short stories.
A Biography was particularly good - various people being interviewed by an biographer gathering information for their next book. You only get one side of the interviews, but cleverly you can work out exactly what is being asked of them.
Not sure if the 'ghost stories' really worked, but loved most of the others. They didn't always finish the way I thought they would!
A Biography was particularly good - various people being interviewed by an biographer gathering information for their next book. You only get one side of the interviews, but cleverly you can work out exactly what is being asked of them.
Not sure if the 'ghost stories' really worked, but loved most of the others. They didn't always finish the way I thought they would!
April 5, 2017
This is a great set of stories by a story-teller who at 80+ has not lost any of her skills. I always have trouble remembering short stories but at the time of reading they often give me this sort of pleasure - delight in language, clever plotting (often with an unexpected twist at the end) and deep insight into human nature. I have admired Penelope Lively's work for a very long time and this just added to my respect for her wisdom and her craft.
June 1, 2022
I picked this up because of how much I enjoyed Moon Tiger. It's a decently entertaining collection of stories, although the characters and plots run together after a while without much to distinguish some from the others. Just wondering, do people in England still say "needs must"?
May 24, 2017
My favourite story: 'The Third Wife' - short and snappy
August 15, 2024
Really satisfying collection of short stories from an accomplished and celebrated author I’d never read until picking up Moon Tiger earlier this year. That led me to The Photograph, which led me to this, and she hasn’t disappointed me yet. A Purple Swamp Hen with a rich sense of history and a wicked sense of justice and humor narrates the opening story and sets an appropriate tone for those that follow, most of which contemplate the nature of relationships, history, aging and loss. Such raw material sounds sobering in the abstract, and common fare for many writers, and maybe what separates the great from the average is the ability to extract something new, different and revelatory from these much-trodden themes. One way Penelope Lively does this is by maneuvering among various points of view, shifting and occupying perspectives just long enough to generate empathy for multiple characters in shared settings – except maybe for the duplicitous husband in the final story, a revenge fantasy that was brief and entertaining and maybe the weakest story of the lot. Besides the title story, I enjoyed “Old as the Hills” and “License to Kill” the most, maybe because the protagonists were so atypical in the mainstream but right at home in Lively’s world. Some years ago, I “discovered” a Welsh author named Bernice Rubens whose literary talent, while acknowledged and awarded by readers and critics alike, still somehow seemed mired in confounding obscurity. I have a similar impression of Penelope Lively, despite her Booker Prize and her title as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, whatever that is. To that point, rather than quote her work, I’m going to quote The New York Times Book Review: “On the spectrum of elderly female novelists – with twinkly old dears at one end, as Lively has suggested, and formidable cranks and grandes dames at the other – she is somewhere in the middle…” That may be a backhanded compliment, but being in the middle of that spectrum is actually a sweet spot for both writers and readers.
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