Redhill Rococo

by Shena Mackay

Luke Ribbons is drifting away from parents, parish and old friends and -withluck-into the -arms of Pearl Slattery. He is dazzled by the sunsh ine and by the Slattery brood-but unfortunately Pearl doesn`t share this romantic vision. . .

ebook

First published March 1, 1986

About the author

Shena Mackay was born in Edinburgh in 1944 and currently lives in London. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and also Honorary Visiting Professor to the MA in Writing at Middlesex University.

Her novels include the black comedy Redhill Rococo (1986), winner of the Fawcett Society Book Prize; Dunedin (1992), which won a Scottish Arts Council Book Award; and the acclaimed The Orchard on Fire (1995) which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. Her novel Heligoland (2003) was shortlisted for both the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Whitbread Novel Award.

Reviews

[Hilary G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having ordered the new Haruki Murakami novel, and not wanting to have to wait too long before I could start reading it, I looked on my shelf for a short book to keep me going. I once read some short stories by Shena Mackay, which I enjoyed, so I had bought a couple of her other books from charity shops and had them on my shelves.I found Redhill Rococo, which at 170 pages was about perfect.

I had no preconceptions about the book and knew nothing about it at all, but I must say that I found it a delight to read. I defy any other writer to do as much as Shena Mackay has with what it rather a thin plot. Actually, it is not much more than a snapshot of a few people's lives in an ordinary English town. I don't know of anything that Redhill is famous for, I'm not even sure where it is. I have never had any reason to visit there and did not find any reason to do so in this book. Most, if not all, of the characters in the novel are leading vaguely unpleasant, unaspiring, even pointless-seeming lives, but I have to consider the possibility that many people in many places are. I wonder if Farnborough looks any different from the outside? Shena Mackay manages to illuminate a small group, in a smallish town, for a short period of their lives, and her writing is so perceptive, it's actually quite gripping. She is brilliant at describing the nastier things of life - little things like horrible food and lack of cleanliness and disappointment. Yet, there were laugh out loud moments, when she described something so graphically that I could see it as if I was in a theatre or watching TV. And funny as it is, it's all terribly sad, terribly poignant, amidst the ordinariness and the comedic events, there is desperation.

I thought this book was a little gem.

PS - I have no idea why Julie Walters is on the cover of this book, or whether the artist's depiction of someone who looks exactly like her was unconscious. That said, Julie Walters at the sort of age in the picture would have been a perfect Pearl Slattery.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Shena Mackay's short stories and I've enjoyed a number of her novels, particularly The Orchard on Fire. Redhill Rococo seems to occupy a sort of uneasy middle ground; it's a short novel (or long novella) that reads very much like a short story in the way characters are developed and the plot is developed, but it doesn't quite seem to work as a novel. That said, it features some brilliant observation and classic Mackay dark wit. Originally published in 1986 it perfectly captures the suburban grot of the time and the grim hopelessness of the sections of society left behind by that divisive decade. Not Mackay's best work, but certainly worth a read for the sense of time and place it evokes.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luke, a vicar's son, is just out of prison & goes to lodge with dysfunctional Slattery family, promptly falling in love with head of the household Pearl (although why this occurred passed me by, Pearl wasn't particularly pleasant to him! )

There's quite a mix of characters, not all likeable, some quirky & one verging on the absurd but they come together convincingly & all the ups & downs of family life make for an entertaining enough read. The Reverend Ichabod Ribbons -great name btw - was straight out of a sitcom.


However, I kept feeling I was missing something. I'm not good at reading between the lines so did something pass me by? I don't know. I felt a bit like I was reading an excerpt from a book....or a very long short story!

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can’t remember where I heard it, but a recent discussion on settings for British novels, tend to be rural or urban and not much set in suburbia, mentioned this novel as a rare example. Piqued my interest and some of her more recent works have been highly acclaimed. But didn’t like this, way too episodial, bitty pieces and not much depth to the characters, all events/ plot driven. I did as this was published in 1986 like the niche references to the contemporary music/fashions (stolen Benetton sweatshirt) that took me back.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather strange, but amusing story, with some interesting characters.

[Jen aka jazzee2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given to me on recommendation by a friend, I had already loved and enjoyed Mackay's Orchard on Fire so was looking forward to this. I loved the character portrayal, reminding me a little of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy (some of my all time favourite books). I loved the moments of comedy, tenderness and poignancy, and the fact that we know things that the characters do not - and vice versa, with Mackay (like any great writer) keeping us guessing on her true meaning. Somehow, however, there was something about this book that didn't work as well for me; that said, it was a good quick read nonetheless.

This is a BookCrossing book, do let me know if you would like it:
www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6509108

[Maryzj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warts and all story of life in the south-east in the early 80s, so obviously quite dated now. Stark contrasts between the close observations (or perhaps "excessive details") of location and the exaggerated behaviour of the nonetheless interesting characters and unlikely situations.

[Wendyfoleybtinternet.Com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read this originally in the 90's, I thought I would recommend it to my present bookclub so I'll wait until they read it before commenting