Στενές σχέσεις

by Deborah Moggach, Κλαίρη Παπαμιχαήλ-Λαϊνά (Translator)

Οι αδερφές Χάμοντ έχουν πάρει η καθεμιά το δικό της δρόμο. Η Λουίζ ζει μια φαινομενικά τέλεια ζωή στο Μπίκονσφιλντ με τον κεφαλαιοκράτη σύζυγό της, με τα δύστροπα πάνω στην εφηβεία παιδιά της και την υπέροχη κουζίνα της. Η Προύντενς, που με τα πολλά αξιώθηκε μια καριέρα στο χώρο των εκδόσεων, έχει έναν αδιέξοδο δεσμό με τον παντρεμένο προϊστάμενό της. Και η Μάντι, που μια ζωή ήταν για όλους το τετράγωνο καρφί στη στρογγυλή τρύπα, έχει μόλις γνωρίσει και ερωτευτεί μια ομοφυλόφιλη κηπουρό και επίδοξη συγγραφέα.

Ο πατέρας τους ο Γκόρντον, ένας αυθόρμητος και αεικίνητος καλοπερασάκιας, παθαίνει έμφραγμα κι όταν αναρρώνει φεύγει από το σπίτι για να συζήσει με τη νεαρή μαύρη νοσοκόμα του. Και η Ντόροθι, η γυναίκα του, μετά το πρώτο σοκ, ξεχύνεται με την ορμή οβίδας στη ζωή των θυγατέρων της.

Καθώς τα πάθη φουντώνουν, οι μάσκες πέφτουν, σχέσεις διαλύονται και οι ζωές όλων πρόκειται ν’ αλλάξουν για πάντα. Για το καλύτερο ή το χειρότερο...
«Γρήγορος ρυθμός, πολύ καλοί διάλογοι, εξαιρετικό χιούμορ και οξύτατη αντίληψη της πραγματικότητας... Ένας θηλυκός Κίνγκσλεΐ Έιμις».

Daily Telegraph

«Η κάθε σελίδα του βιβλίου αποτελεί ζωντανή απόδειξη του ταλέντου της. Ο τρόπος που αναλύει την ουσία των ανθρώπινων σχέσεων, με χιούμορ, γνώση και διορατικότητα, είναι τόσο αληθινός ώστε ξεχνάει κανείς πως πρόκειται για μυθιστόρημα».

The Times

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Contemporary

442 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Deborah Moggach is a British writer, born Deborah Hough on 28 June 1948. She has written fifteen novels to date, including The Ex-Wives, Tulip Fever, and, most recently, These Foolish Things. She has adapted many of her novels as TV dramas and has also written several film scripts, including the BAFTA-nominated screenplay for Pride & Prejudice. She has also written two collections of short stories and a stage play. In February 2005, Moggach was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by her Alma Mater, the University of Bristol . She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a former Chair of the Society of Authors, and is on the executive committee of PEN.

Reviews

[Anni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex family saga across three generations, with marriages and relationships collapsing like dominos - you will need your wits about you to remember who’s who and with whom. However, fear not - Deborah Moggach is a consummate story teller who you can rely on to keep all the balls in the air and catch them at the end. I must add a word of caution for those who are easily shocked when it comes to explicit sexual content - this is the raunchiest description of sex from the female aspect that I’ve ever encountered!

[Connie53 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooit in een ver verleden gekocht naar aanleiding van de tv-serie die van dit boek is gemaakt. Een ingewikkeld familie verhaal. Een ouder echtpaar met 3 volwassen dochters. Een dochter heeft een op het eerste oog volmaakt huwelijk, compleet met een mooi huis en een knappe kinderen. De middelste dochter heeft een affaire met haar getrouwde baas. De jongste dochter keert terug van haar vrijwilligerswerk in Afrika en zo is iedereen weer thuis. Dan krijgt de vader een hartaanval die hij gelukkig overleeft, maar na zijn herstel begint hij aan een relatie met zijn jonge verpleegster April. En dan begint het leven rond de zussen ook te verkruimelen. Hun moeder heeft geen idee wat ze moet doen zonder haar man en dat brengt de zussen bij elkaar om voor hun moeder te zorgen. Goed geschreven, maar een beetje veel drama voor een boek.

[Helen Kollin Fichtel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off quite well. The style and setting reminded me more of Joanna Trollope than previous books I've read by this author. it was all quite pleasant and interesting enough, and then...well, it descended into crappy chick-lit territory, with some truly cringe-worthy (and imo inappropriate) sex scenes, plus the story line seemed to consist of everyone breaking up.
The ending scenario was totally unrealistic and smacked of the author just trying to tie up every single loose end in the most clunky way possible.
I believe this was one of the authors earlier novels, and I can only say that she got much, much better with experience.

[Jayne Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a terrific read. Hits the ground running with a lively run-down of the family at the centre of the plot, racing through their early years like a rollercoaster ride, hurtling towards the start of the story. That's when the perfect lives of the various family members start to unravel in startling ways. From African violets to lesbianism, it's all in here. Highly recommended if you like a good soapy story with plenty happening, rooted in the real world.

[Julia Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this modern family saga with three generations and what happens when the grandfather has a heart attack and then starts a new life. His three daughters' lives are turned upside down although his wife copes better. The grandchildren's stories are also told at first hand, and after a great deal of soul-searching and reinvention, there is a happy outcome.
It made me think about what things are really important in life.

[virginia king · Rating 1 out of 5]

Exhausting

Oh my goodness, what a story, I don't think there was any subject matter that wasn't written about somewhere in it's 300 odd pages, chauvinism, divorce, perverts, lesbians, race, you mention it, it was there! Unhappy family, bickering amongst themselves, while between them they experience the aforementioned, but don't worry, they all live happily ever after - as you do! And clearly the author has never met a real Farrier, because I can assure you, they don't live on run down estates, they make a very good living due to their expertise. Absolute tosh, totally unbelievable, don't know what possessed me to finish the book, I somehow thought it may improve, unfortunately, it got worse.

[Cath Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accurate and very funny portrait of a family in meltdown. Pater familias Gordon suffers a heart attack and after recovery decides to leave his wife of forty years, Dorothy, for a nurse. His three grown up daughters, Louise, Prudence and Maddy are all also struggling to sustain relationships and at the same time, Louise's two teenage children Imogen and Jamie are just embarking on their first attempts at love.

Moggach is unsentimental, unsparing and yet affectionate towards her characters, even the hopeless and the caddish are treated fairly. The resolution is neat without being pat and you leave the story with the sense that somehow, somewhere they continue to muddle through.

[Jan Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moggach is always a good read. I liked the range of characters and inter-relationships.The 3 daughters and their own relationships plus the way they interacted with their parents. The end was perhaps a bit cosy, but it was nice to have things resolved!
For a book that is fairly contemporary I was struck by what a difference ( in a very short time)mobile phones have made to our lives!

[Petrina Binney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows Hammond family. Gordon and Dorothy have been married for forty-four years. They have raised a family of three daughters, Louise, Prudence and Maddy, and run a construction business together.

Gordon works too hard. His view of the world is rather narrow, he uses insensitive language partly to annoy his daughters and partly because he knows no better. He rushes around, fixing things, eating fried food, smoking and generally getting stressed, until one day, he has a heart attack. During his convalescence, Gordon’s named nurse is a young black woman called April. As they get to know each other, Gordon rapidly falls in love with April and leaves Dorothy with the shattered remnants of their life together.

Meanwhile, the daughters are not without their own problems. Louise, beautiful and charming, is a wife and mother. Her husband is somewhat distant, staying away for work with some regularity. Her children are teenaged and rather difficult. A lonely man in the village shop has been totally infatuated with her for years, about which, of course, she has no idea.

Prudence, studious and sensible, has been having an affair with a married man, who she works for, for nearly a year. Working at an old publishing house in London, she retreats from thoughts of her boyfriend’s wife by reading multiple manuscripts. Being an unorthodox relationship, at best, Prudence can’t really introduce her superior and boyfriend to her sisters, but spies an opportunity to do so when Erin, a local gardener, thrusts a manuscript into her hands. Prudence begins reading and can’t stop. With the distraction of Erin, enigmatic, charismatic lesbian, at the table, Prudence can rely on Maddy, recently returned from charity work in Africa, a hardy, tomboyish type who takes no fools and speaks her mind, not saying something appalling to Stephen.

As the private lives of the women quickly unravel, they find themselves relying on their neglected familial relationships to find a strength they didn’t know they had.

A lovely, intricately-crafted novel, with some very memorable characters and lines of prose I found myself recalling with a smile. I think this is the third time I’ve read it and I look forward to the fourth.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Dorothy's husband, Gordon, walks out on their 40-year marriage for the nurse who treated him for his heart attack, the fall-out on the lives of his three adult daughters is immense. As Dorothy moves in with each of them in turn, this exposes the weaknesses in their own marriages/relationships with sometimes surprising consequences.

This is a book about the fragility of human relationships, and about being honest with ourselves. With a large cast and plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading, this is as well written as you would expect from this accomplished writer.

My one complaint is that almost without exception every man in this book is a selfish rotter! All the husbands are unfaithful to their wives, wanting their cake and eating it, and the one exception is a rather sweet but pathetic character. I think a slightly more nuanced view of the opposite sex would have made for a more convincing novel.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deborah Moggach must have written this book with her tongue firmly pushing against her cheek. Like an exam question: "How can the lives of the members of a nice middle class family disintegrate". Discuss. At the head of the family are Gordon and Dorothy running a firm of builders. Then there are the three grown up daughters, one married with two awkward (what else) children. All their relationships are in peril. This is not always a happy story, but it is told with wit and charm and, at times, totally gripping. As ever with Moggach, no literary masterpiece but a good story.

[Terje Aruoja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lausa hämmastav, millist vaeva me näeme, et tõele mitte silma vaadata. Selles on midagi kangelaslikku. Kui me kogu selle energia, mida raiskame, vabandused, mida enda jaoks välja mõtleme, ülemaalisse elektrivõrku lülitaksime, võiksime oma enesepettusega tervet linna valgustada. (lk 136)
Aga tagantjärele tarkus lihtsustab möödunut ja püüab õigustada juhtunut, mineviku sündmusi hakatakse nägema mustvalgelt. (lk 179)

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this author for a while and finally one came available at my library - this was it. I enjoyed the family’s change of perspective as their Father made a u turn in his life. Perfect reading to be in the background of ones on life at the end of day or when there’s a space to enjoy.

I’m guessing it won’t be hugely memorable but certainly pleasurable to read, it’s aged a bit due to technology etc but I will definitely try a later novel by the same author.

[Gertrude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual book by an author I always enjoy. Each book seems very different that she has written but all are interesting stories that are told well.
This book is about a 17 year old girl who gets kidnapped for a ransom. The story follows the impact this has on the girl herself, her family and the kidnappers. All are left very different after the experience and the consequences are far reaching and unexpected.

[Hilary Sinclair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seem to have raced through this book but feel manipulated. “Later, she would remember this moment” is repeated several times, heralding a crisis. There were a lot of characters to keep track of. Everything is resolved at the end to suggest a happy ending. If it was a film I would not have even thought of seeing it.

[Jill]

As always Deborah Moggach weaves a compelling tale of family life - loves and losses, twists and dips, happiness and grief.
I don't think it is as good as some of her other books but a story worth reading.

[Kathleen Jowitt]

Explores the unspoken inadequacies and pitfalls of relationships with a jaundiced eye. But really quite fun.

[Covie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, it's more like 2.7 stars.

[Chris Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book good read

[Lisa van Zyl-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was good to read a traditional novel, with characters and a plot.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling story of family breakdown.

[Sheila F · Rating 5 out of 5]

DM at her best.

[Margaret Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deborah Moggach is very good at painting characters. This is about the repercussions for a family after their father has a heart attack. I couldn’t put it down.

[Shirley Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. First time I’ve read this author. The characters were well described and there were lots of twists in the story. I am looking for my next Deborah Moggach book.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third novel I have read by Deborah Moggach. Like the other 2, she has great character development. Interesting characters. Beautifully written book.

[Sara G · Rating 2 out of 5]

For Moggach a very weak book.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The read draws you along like you’re watching it in a movie. Couldn’t put it down. Great characters , funny, sad and emotional at times.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family full of people having problems in love: marriages falling apart, relationships going sour in unexpected ways and generally no-one having a good time of it. But I suppose novels are like newspapaers: good news is no news. It was sad that all the happiness in tthe book was fleeting, but at least one became bothered enough to care. The style is also rather choppy, with lots of changes of point of view. This and the presence of some salacious details that make this a not for the prudish book, suggest it was written with filming in mind from the start. The copy I read had a TV tie in dustjacket and lots of typos, some of which should have been picked up by simple use of a spellchecker. Words like "privilidged" tend to jump out at me, slow down my reading and spoil my enjoyment.

[Anita]

I read this book on a rainy Sunday and it was perfect for the day. Not a taxing book and by the same author as 'Marigold hotel' but I didn't find it as good or enjoyable. It was not a subject for humour . A family with troubles. Hmmmmmm Not great but a good read.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit painful to read. Every emotion and thought was so clearly stated that it didn't leave any work for the reader. Also a lot of coincidences!