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From the Heart
Everyone likes Olive Piper. A happy, open-hearted child growing up in the 1950s, her life is contented. When her passion for reading gets her into university she feels sure the world is waiting for her.
But then she makes a mistake – the kind any one of us could make – and faces an impossible choice.
'A shattering coming-of-age story' Daily Telegraph
But then she makes a mistake – the kind any one of us could make – and faces an impossible choice.
'A shattering coming-of-age story' Daily Telegraph
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2017
22 people are currently reading
289 people want to read
About the author
Susan Hill
180 books2,265 followersSusan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
December 16, 2017
EXCERPT: '...it occurred to her that she had a choice- now, here. She could fret about whether her father had done the right thing, marrying again, coming to this town, confining his life to a small space, and whether he would be able to grow old here in some sort of contentment- and she was right, he was not old yet, only in his early sixties. Or she could simply leave him- them- to it, let them carry on with their life as they would have done if she had not existed. Trying to discover how happy he really was, if he had regrets, was pointless because his life was not hers.'
THE BLURB: You’re a young woman. You can choose. Which career to pursue. Who to have sex with. Who to marry and have children -- or not -- with. This is now.
Step into the shoes of Olive. You’re a happy, open-hearted girl. Your (tricky) mother is dead and you live with your father in a solid, Edwardian house with apple trees in the garden. He’s a kind man who does his fair share around the house. Your passion for books gets you easily into university, where the world is surely waiting for you.
There, you take part in a play, and are noticed by the leading man. Even though he’s not as glamorous off-stage, he becomes your boyfriend. But then you make a mistake – the kind any one of us could make – and face an impossible choice. You are young, still, and full of hope. You can’t possibly know how that mistake will sit in your heart. Or that when you get a job at a wonderful school you will meet an older colleague and fall in love. But the affair must stay secret; the world won’t have it any other way.
All you have ever wanted is for your heart to be free. But you are living in a time and place where freedoms we now take for granted had the power to destroy.
MY THOUGHTS: Susan Hill, no matter in what genre she is writing, and she is a very versatile author, never fails to inspire me to want to write.
She writes from the heart, so this book is aptly titled. She takes perfectly ordinary situations- friendship, love, birth, death, marriage, second marriages - and explores the emotions of them and the impact on the lives of the characters, the choices they make.
Hill's writing makes me think of friends, of choices I have made, of relationships that have flourished, and those that have failed. She makes me question if I could have done, or indeed could do, better. There is a lot of wisdom in her writing.
Don't expect conventional endings, happy ever afters; you won't get them. You will get an interesting and thought provoking read.
My favorite quote from this book- 'Books had been all to her. They saved her. ...'
Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Chatto and Windus for providing a digital copy of From the Heart by Susan Hill for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
THE BLURB: You’re a young woman. You can choose. Which career to pursue. Who to have sex with. Who to marry and have children -- or not -- with. This is now.
Step into the shoes of Olive. You’re a happy, open-hearted girl. Your (tricky) mother is dead and you live with your father in a solid, Edwardian house with apple trees in the garden. He’s a kind man who does his fair share around the house. Your passion for books gets you easily into university, where the world is surely waiting for you.
There, you take part in a play, and are noticed by the leading man. Even though he’s not as glamorous off-stage, he becomes your boyfriend. But then you make a mistake – the kind any one of us could make – and face an impossible choice. You are young, still, and full of hope. You can’t possibly know how that mistake will sit in your heart. Or that when you get a job at a wonderful school you will meet an older colleague and fall in love. But the affair must stay secret; the world won’t have it any other way.
All you have ever wanted is for your heart to be free. But you are living in a time and place where freedoms we now take for granted had the power to destroy.
MY THOUGHTS: Susan Hill, no matter in what genre she is writing, and she is a very versatile author, never fails to inspire me to want to write.
She writes from the heart, so this book is aptly titled. She takes perfectly ordinary situations- friendship, love, birth, death, marriage, second marriages - and explores the emotions of them and the impact on the lives of the characters, the choices they make.
Hill's writing makes me think of friends, of choices I have made, of relationships that have flourished, and those that have failed. She makes me question if I could have done, or indeed could do, better. There is a lot of wisdom in her writing.
Don't expect conventional endings, happy ever afters; you won't get them. You will get an interesting and thought provoking read.
My favorite quote from this book- 'Books had been all to her. They saved her. ...'
Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Chatto and Windus for providing a digital copy of From the Heart by Susan Hill for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
October 1, 2018
A gently written, yet extremely intense story about a young girl who finds herself pregnant and unmarried in the 1960s, as well as developing some difficult feelings for someone at work that shocks the community. Susan Hill has such a great way of writing that I sped through this book in 2 sittings and it took some time to get the plot out of my mind.
December 28, 2016
I love Susan Hill's writing but this book feels very slight and inconsequential: I think I can see what Hill is trying to do, but that kind of exposure of a stilted, repressed world where women's sexuality is foreshortened and circumscribed has been done before and better (McEwan, Drabble come to mind).
Olive is a hard character to spend so much time with: we're told that she feels joy, passion, love desire, but she's so grey and says so little that it's hard to believe. I especially found it difficult to see this mousy woman blossoming in the classroom and turning into a passionately inspirational teacher.
So a book which I really wanted to love, but which only seems to operate on an intellectual level rather than an emotional one.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
Olive is a hard character to spend so much time with: we're told that she feels joy, passion, love desire, but she's so grey and says so little that it's hard to believe. I especially found it difficult to see this mousy woman blossoming in the classroom and turning into a passionately inspirational teacher.
So a book which I really wanted to love, but which only seems to operate on an intellectual level rather than an emotional one.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
March 10, 2017
A gem of a book. Not a spare word, every sentence draws the story along. A thoroughly good read.
April 17, 2018
This slight novel may be quiet and melancholic in tone, but it has a surprisingly large amount to say, and it hit me harder than I thought it would. The book, despite exploring two big social issues, avoids sensationalism or scandal in favour of something decidedly subtler; being in many ways about what is left unsaid. At its heart, however, it's about a life lived under a cloud of oppression.
Olive feels like an everywoman of the 50s; eager to remain unremarkable. Though she has great potential, she becomes a passenger in her own life because of the pressure that society places on her to conform to certain standards. The book itself is written largely using short, punchy sentences, and moves at a swift pace; not in an action-packed sense, but in a way that for me reflected the idea of Olive's life moving too fast, beyond her own control.
I won't say much about the plot; I think it's best to let it unfold in its own way. There is, however, a thread about the power of literature to provide escape, which as a bookworm, I very much enjoyed.
It explores love, betrayals both big and small, and the insular pain of not being true to yourself; all in an intelligent and understated manner. In the hands of another writer, both the subject matter and emotion of the narrative could have seen this novel spun into a needlessly dense, melodramatic tome. Whilst some may feel it's too glacial and doesn't dive deep enough, to me this brevity is to its merit, perfectly capturing a sense of supressed emotion, lost potential and quiet reflection on what could have been.
Olive feels like an everywoman of the 50s; eager to remain unremarkable. Though she has great potential, she becomes a passenger in her own life because of the pressure that society places on her to conform to certain standards. The book itself is written largely using short, punchy sentences, and moves at a swift pace; not in an action-packed sense, but in a way that for me reflected the idea of Olive's life moving too fast, beyond her own control.
I won't say much about the plot; I think it's best to let it unfold in its own way. There is, however, a thread about the power of literature to provide escape, which as a bookworm, I very much enjoyed.
It explores love, betrayals both big and small, and the insular pain of not being true to yourself; all in an intelligent and understated manner. In the hands of another writer, both the subject matter and emotion of the narrative could have seen this novel spun into a needlessly dense, melodramatic tome. Whilst some may feel it's too glacial and doesn't dive deep enough, to me this brevity is to its merit, perfectly capturing a sense of supressed emotion, lost potential and quiet reflection on what could have been.
December 5, 2016
I picked Susan Hill's From the Heart up just before bedtime, as I didn't relish the idea of keeping my current read, an enormous Virginia Woolf biography, from doing me some kind of grievous injury as I read in bed. 77% of the book later, and I was finally too tired to read any longer. Evidently, the whole kept me gripped throughout; it was incredibly engrossing, and far more engaging than a lot of Hill's work which I have read to date. The writing feels more mature than in a lot of her ghost stories, and I cannot help but think that realist fiction is something which she should turn her hand to more often in future.
March 4, 2017
Another reviewer called this book “slight and inconsequential” and I couldn’t agree more. I read it some weeks ago and when it came to writing my own review realised I could remember very little of it. A quick skim through brought the details back but I’m pretty sure it’s going to fade again. It’s the story of a young intelligent woman’s journey through life in the years after WWII where many restrictions still pertain but freedom of a kind is within reach. This is well trodden ground and Hill brings nothing new to the table. Olive herself isn’t a particularly memorable character and her problems and dilemmas nothing unusual. A perfectly pleasant read, but instantly forgettable.
March 5, 2017
Review
I am giving this slim novella by Susan Hill four stars because the detached style of the writing is entirely in keeping with the removed state of victims of trauma and Olive the protagonist is a victim of serial trauma.She is also a survivor. Hill as always is thifty with her words and the story moves swiftly with truncated chapters through the early formative years of her womanhood. The tale resonates with loss and a quiet stoicism. Even when at their most depleted human beings have the capacity for giving of themselves. A tale of transformative trauma simply told.
I am giving this slim novella by Susan Hill four stars because the detached style of the writing is entirely in keeping with the removed state of victims of trauma and Olive the protagonist is a victim of serial trauma.She is also a survivor. Hill as always is thifty with her words and the story moves swiftly with truncated chapters through the early formative years of her womanhood. The tale resonates with loss and a quiet stoicism. Even when at their most depleted human beings have the capacity for giving of themselves. A tale of transformative trauma simply told.
April 22, 2018
My first ‘Susan Hill’ read which I enjoyed very much. A beautifully written story which was very moving and sensitive and conveyed the feelings of desolation so poignantly.
March 20, 2017
I pounced on this in the library this morning and have just read it in one sitting and really enjoyed it. It took me back to discovering Susan Hill's books for the first time in the early 1970s and being greatly moved by them, especially In the Springtime of the Year (I encountered her in the lighting department of our local department store one day and so much wanted to tell her how I admired her work but was completely tongue-tied).
The sense of time and place is beautifully conveyed and Olive's sense of not fitting and her affection for her father struck me as very convincing, as is her naivety about relationships. The writing is spare and the pain Olive suffers is mostly implicit, a refreshing change from much of the wordy solipsism of the characters in much recent fiction I've read. The only real flaw I can find is the ending, which seems a little too contrived, almost as if the author wanted the reader to finish on an upbeat note rather than follow more probable but less cheerful developments in Olive's life. But it will make a good ending to the film that someone will no doubt want to make...
The sense of time and place is beautifully conveyed and Olive's sense of not fitting and her affection for her father struck me as very convincing, as is her naivety about relationships. The writing is spare and the pain Olive suffers is mostly implicit, a refreshing change from much of the wordy solipsism of the characters in much recent fiction I've read. The only real flaw I can find is the ending, which seems a little too contrived, almost as if the author wanted the reader to finish on an upbeat note rather than follow more probable but less cheerful developments in Olive's life. But it will make a good ending to the film that someone will no doubt want to make...
April 2, 2019
I enjoyed this book set in the 1950’s probably because that was when I was born and even though I was not an adult until the later 60’s I could still see the way life for a woman was then. Olive is a very reserved sort of character and sometimes comes across as a bit dull and set in her ways. What modern girls don’t realise is that although women were supposedly ‘liberated’ in the early 1960’s it still took a long time for the less brave among them to actually act like it! Girls had been brought up to do as their mothers had and not complain and I wonder if a lot of Olive’s quietness and reserve was due to a sense that it is better to conform than to do what you really want to and rock the boat. There were so many young women like Olive in those days who simply ‘settled’ for what was to be their traditional role in life and who came to resent their decision in the future.
This is a very subtly written story and a lot is left for you to read between the lines but there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
As a fan of Susan Hill I would certainly recommend that readers give this one a go.
This is a very subtly written story and a lot is left for you to read between the lines but there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
As a fan of Susan Hill I would certainly recommend that readers give this one a go.
January 13, 2019
Bought because: It was in a "buy one get one half price" Waterstones deal. And because I enjoyed the dramatization of Woman in Black.
What can I say. I cannot stand passive heroines. And Olive Piper is a superbly passive heroine. An unwanted child, who remains likable to everyone else. Olive seems to float through school, float through her mother's death, float through a first romance. Inevitably she floats into a pregnancy, where of course she keeps the child, before it's adopted. Because it's the 1950's and Olive seems to have no agency, no fight, no ambition.
Everything happens to Olive, who simply reacts in a very moderate way.
Olive has no nasty side, no sense of humour, no plan, no flights of imagination, nothing that would make me want to spend much time in her company at all.
What can I say. I cannot stand passive heroines. And Olive Piper is a superbly passive heroine. An unwanted child, who remains likable to everyone else. Olive seems to float through school, float through her mother's death, float through a first romance. Inevitably she floats into a pregnancy, where of course she keeps the child, before it's adopted. Because it's the 1950's and Olive seems to have no agency, no fight, no ambition.
Everything happens to Olive, who simply reacts in a very moderate way.
Olive has no nasty side, no sense of humour, no plan, no flights of imagination, nothing that would make me want to spend much time in her company at all.
March 19, 2017
My god but Susan Hill can write! This is so good - spare, understated and quietly powerful.
Olive is a young woman with a passion for literature - but with little passion for anything else. She doesn't seem to know herself; what she wants, needs and cares about are mysteries she spends this novella unravelling. She has a good brain, a healthy body, reasonable looks and a good friend but tends to drift through her life, letting things happen to her rather than deciding her own direction.
Set in 1950s England, From the Heart is written with such a detached voice that it could be off-putting - but I found her discovery of her true self compelling.
Olive is a young woman with a passion for literature - but with little passion for anything else. She doesn't seem to know herself; what she wants, needs and cares about are mysteries she spends this novella unravelling. She has a good brain, a healthy body, reasonable looks and a good friend but tends to drift through her life, letting things happen to her rather than deciding her own direction.
Set in 1950s England, From the Heart is written with such a detached voice that it could be off-putting - but I found her discovery of her true self compelling.
February 1, 2018
I read this in one sitting. Why is it some writers plod on for 400 odd pages of often inconsequential story lines. From The Heart was 211 pages of heaven - just loved it.
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June 18, 2019I recently read a review of this book in The Guardian. The reviewer did not think it was up to the usual standard of such a talented author. She felt that the themes of illegitimacy and lesbianism in the 1950s could have been dealt with at a much deeper level. I disagree. I thought it was a beautiful, gentle story that vividly showed the awfulness of being a young woman in these situations 60 years ago. I felt the understated way in which it was told added to the feelings of loneliness and despair felt by Olive. It is a book written with the attitudes of the 1950s clearly noted. It reminded me of On Chesil Beach. I was left thinking, If Only. Thankfully, attitudes are gradually becoming more tolerant.
July 10, 2022
A short novella, beautifully written and very different to other works I have read by Susan Hill but I enjoyed it very much
December 28, 2020
SPOILER ALERT - Sadly found this disappointing and a bit predictable. An awful lot in the book about teaching routines which I found boring. For some of the book I felt we were meant to be mind readers, especially regarding the end which felt rushed. What happened with Thea? I felt things came to a very abrupt end with her story line with a vague explanation and she just seemed to vanish. I'm assuming the end of the relationship was down to Sylvia but I really don't know.
Where did Thea go ? What happened to her? This went from a loving relationship to just absence. Thea was a main character and I would have preferred to have known more about how she and Olive parted ways.
The second last page of the book where an upset little boy seemed , all of a sudden to become James just didn't make any sense to me since Olive had not seen James since he was a baby, so how would a strange little boy remind her of him? Fortunately, I have never been in Olive's situation so perhaps I am talking out of turn, I really don't know.
I felt it was as if Miss Hill had difficulty in ending this book and I am sorry to be writing a negative review as I have so much enjoyed her other works. Everyone knows The Woman in Black but I highly recommend The Small Hand and the excellent Printer's Devil Court.
Where did Thea go ? What happened to her? This went from a loving relationship to just absence. Thea was a main character and I would have preferred to have known more about how she and Olive parted ways.
The second last page of the book where an upset little boy seemed , all of a sudden to become James just didn't make any sense to me since Olive had not seen James since he was a baby, so how would a strange little boy remind her of him? Fortunately, I have never been in Olive's situation so perhaps I am talking out of turn, I really don't know.
I felt it was as if Miss Hill had difficulty in ending this book and I am sorry to be writing a negative review as I have so much enjoyed her other works. Everyone knows The Woman in Black but I highly recommend The Small Hand and the excellent Printer's Devil Court.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2018
Absolutely excellent. Susan Hill is an excellent & versatile writer. She beautifully captures the innocence of 50's Britain where of course there is a very dark side. Sometimes when I used to speak to my Mum I found it heard to believe her innocence, although she was also most wise. It is difficult to understand how prejudiced people could be. The attitude towards women and towards homosexuality seems prehistoric and yet from talking to my parents this was how it was & although these views have been confronted there are those who have not moved from these views.
Hill conveys the feeling of being trapped as well as any author. Her writing conveys great emotion whilst always being precise and controlled.
Olive is a delightful character confused by the events which are often out of her control. A product of her time with the limited choices which must have confounded so many women. I often get totally confused by the world I live in and can feel that time past must have been more straight forward. However reading this reminds me that although one could argue that equality still has a long way to go we do live in very different times.
Hill conveys the feeling of being trapped as well as any author. Her writing conveys great emotion whilst always being precise and controlled.
Olive is a delightful character confused by the events which are often out of her control. A product of her time with the limited choices which must have confounded so many women. I often get totally confused by the world I live in and can feel that time past must have been more straight forward. However reading this reminds me that although one could argue that equality still has a long way to go we do live in very different times.
September 29, 2017
I have loved Susan Hill's writing since having to read one as a set text. I'm glad that as a set text we were made to linger and think about it more than I normally would which has enabled me to spot a very subtle side theme in her writing. I love reading a new book of hers and anticipating how and where the 'tell' will show up. This book contained that tell which is like a little Easter egg. The story itself was wonderful and the synopsis is incredibly good at summing the book up
February 9, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. It was short and easy to read but memorable. I loved the main character, Olive, and could really identify with the way she is swept along to go along with the desires of others without stopping to question her own feelings in the early part of the book. Deals with some big issues of gender inequality, sexuality and birth outside of marriage in the 1950s. The sexism, homophobia and cruelty that she faces are heartbreaking and shocking and reminded me of how far society has come in a relatively short time. The author packs so much in to relatively few pages, which I loved. As she has written so much I can’t believe I haven’t read anything by Susan Hill before. Will definitely be looking to read other books by her in the future.
February 23, 2017
From The Heart has its moments, but from a writer of Susan Hill's quality I found it rather disappointing.
This is the story of Olive, an intelligent young woman in the post war years; it is a character study which examines the effect of the attitudes of the time on her life and its subsequent development. We get accounts of restrictive views of "suitable" careers for women, sex, single parenthood, homosexuality and so on. Hill writes superbly, as always. She creates believable characters and is particularly good at conveying the recognisably subtle emotional nuances which sometimes cause Olive not to stop something she isn’t happy about, or to fail to act when she probably should, and which can have such a profound effect as a result. She is very good, too, at conveying things like the sense of starting in a new college, or joining a school for one's first teaching job.
For me, though, this wasn't quite enough. There was a sense of going over very well-trodden ground, and however well done it was, I didn't think it added much to our insight into or understanding of the age and its effect on women. I came away with the sense of having read a well-written story with a few memorable moments, but nothing much beyond that.
I'm sorry to be critical, but I think Susan Hill can do much better than this (in her brilliant Serrailler series, for example). From The Heart is certainly readable, but I can't recommend it much beyond that.
(I received an ARC from Netgalley.)
This is the story of Olive, an intelligent young woman in the post war years; it is a character study which examines the effect of the attitudes of the time on her life and its subsequent development. We get accounts of restrictive views of "suitable" careers for women, sex, single parenthood, homosexuality and so on. Hill writes superbly, as always. She creates believable characters and is particularly good at conveying the recognisably subtle emotional nuances which sometimes cause Olive not to stop something she isn’t happy about, or to fail to act when she probably should, and which can have such a profound effect as a result. She is very good, too, at conveying things like the sense of starting in a new college, or joining a school for one's first teaching job.
For me, though, this wasn't quite enough. There was a sense of going over very well-trodden ground, and however well done it was, I didn't think it added much to our insight into or understanding of the age and its effect on women. I came away with the sense of having read a well-written story with a few memorable moments, but nothing much beyond that.
I'm sorry to be critical, but I think Susan Hill can do much better than this (in her brilliant Serrailler series, for example). From The Heart is certainly readable, but I can't recommend it much beyond that.
(I received an ARC from Netgalley.)
January 18, 2018
As I expected from a writer of the calibre of Susan Hill this was a well written novella. So much of what Olive Piper experienced resonated with me as our backgrounds were similar. Although I was born later than Olive much of what she faced was similar to when I grew up. I too came from a ‘safe middle class’ background, I went to a school where the education was solid rather than challenging, we were sheltered from the real world and women were expected to follow a certain course. Like Olive I always felt I wanted more. However, there the similarities end! I think Susan Hill portrayed this period of time extremely well, the attitudes that society held are very different to today as Olive discovered to her cost. Olive was scarred by her experiences although the scars were not visible and it is through a love of books that she is ‘saved’. I can empathise with that having had a nose in a book ever since I learned to read!! Olive faced loss, rejection and betrayal but ultimately found happiness in the beauty of Cumbria and a job she enjoyed and so the book ended on a positive note.
April 26, 2018
Setting: UK; 1950s. This is a short book but has all the elements of a longer story - main character Olive grows up with her disappointed mother and devoted father and lives a somewhat sheltered existence, although perhaps that is typical of the time. Intelligent but unprepossessing, she earns a place at university to study her passion - literature; but her life there is so different to that to which she has become accustomed and, having had no contact with men before, she soon finds herself strangely attracted to the first boy who shows an interest in her. This leads Olive along a path she didn't totally expect or plan for....
Well-written, as i have come to expect from this author, and it amazes me that she can turn her hand so well to different genres, such as the Simon Serailler series, horror stories like The Woman in Black and books like this one. I read this book easily in a day and enjoyed it overall but was a bit disappointed about the lack of clarity regarding the outcome of the situation with Thea - 8/10.
Well-written, as i have come to expect from this author, and it amazes me that she can turn her hand so well to different genres, such as the Simon Serailler series, horror stories like The Woman in Black and books like this one. I read this book easily in a day and enjoyed it overall but was a bit disappointed about the lack of clarity regarding the outcome of the situation with Thea - 8/10.
March 23, 2017
An odd, short novel. The heroine, Olive, is a cold fish and it's difficult to feel much for her (I felt rather more sorry for her nice-but-dull boyfriend, if that's what you can call him - the tables are turned on the usual unwanted pregnancy scenario when she dumps him without fuss, goes off and has his baby and gives it up for adoption without his having any say in the matter or even being heard of again). All a bit chilly, even her later lesbian affair and betrayal. It's good on the period atmosphere though (late 1950s/early 1960s).
February 1, 2018
The book is written in the third person entirely from the point of view of Olive. An only child who has lost her mother; who she had never really bonded with, she lives with her loving father only to ‘lose’ him, to a certain extent, when he remarried.
Her love of reading gets her a place in London University where she is a happy scholar. But a mistake interrupts her education and casts a shadow over her life. Later, she becomes a good enthusiastic teacher but loses her heart to someone she cannot ultimately love. A very readable but sad novel. I am glad times have changed.
Her love of reading gets her a place in London University where she is a happy scholar. But a mistake interrupts her education and casts a shadow over her life. Later, she becomes a good enthusiastic teacher but loses her heart to someone she cannot ultimately love. A very readable but sad novel. I am glad times have changed.
March 14, 2018
Short but so accomplished and skilfully written. Hill wastes not one word. Protagonist Olive is a disappointment to her mother, and knows it. She excels at uni (Eng Lit) and has an affair with well-heeled, respectable Martin. But there are awful consequences for her. Another affair follows later but that too cannot bring happiness. And yet Olive can love deeply and passionately and truly, but that very special love will not be sanctioned in her repressed, 'respectable' world of the 1950s.
March 30, 2018
Not the best
I am a great fan of Susan Hill, but this book was a disappointment. Mostly because I didn't feel much empathy for Olive,the main character. I chose the book because it was set in the 50s, and although it was true to the period it didn't mean a lot,except that the narrow ness of the period was central to the story. However, it was quite a compelling read. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I expected.
I am a great fan of Susan Hill, but this book was a disappointment. Mostly because I didn't feel much empathy for Olive,the main character. I chose the book because it was set in the 50s, and although it was true to the period it didn't mean a lot,except that the narrow ness of the period was central to the story. However, it was quite a compelling read. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I expected.
March 19, 2017
Superbly understated.
A very touching story, written with sensitivity and understanding. It is always a pleasure to find a new Susan Hill.
A very touching story, written with sensitivity and understanding. It is always a pleasure to find a new Susan Hill.
March 21, 2017
What a beautiful novel! Can't believe I've never even heard of this author before - I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out for more of her work. Heart wrenching and remarkable story.
August 14, 2020
⭐ - Unfortunately, I finished this book and I could not tell you what it was really about. I failed to engage with this book and I only finished as I hate leaving a book unread.
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