Facing the Light

by Adèle Geras

Set in a splendid country house in England, this rich and absorbing novel begins as Leonora, daughter of a famous Edwardian painter, is about to throw herself a huge house party to celebrate her 75th birthday. Guests will include her two grown daughters and their spouses (and lovers), a film crew making a movie about Leonora's father, and numerous family legends. Even happy families have their secrets, and Leonora's stunning revelations make for thrilling reading.

Genres: Fiction, Roman, Novels, Drama, Audiobook

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Adèle Geras FRSL (born 15 March 1944) is an English writer for young children, teens and adults. Her husband was the Marxist academic Norman Geras and their daughter Sophie Hannah is also a novelist and poet.

Geras was born in Jerusalem, British Mandatory Palestine. Her father was in the Colonial Service and she had a varied childhood, living in countries such as Nigeria, Cyprus, Tanzania, Gambia and British North Borneo in a short span of time. She attended Roedean School in Brighton and then graduated from St Hilda's College, Oxford with a degree in Modern Languages. She was known for her stage and vocal talents, but decided instead to become a full-time writer.

Geras's first book was Tea at Mrs Manderby's, which was published in 1976. Her first full-length novel was The Girls in the Velvet Frame. She has written more than 95 books for children, young adults, and adults. Her best-known books are Troy (shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize and Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal) Ithaka, Happy Ever After (previously published as the Egerton Hall Trilogy), Silent Snow, Secret Snow, and A Thousand Yards of Sea.

Her novels for adults include: Facing the Light, Hester's Story, Made in Heaven, and A Hidden Life.

Geras won two prizes in the United States, one the Sydney Taylor Book Award for the My Grandmother's Stories and the National Jewish Book Award for Golden Windows. She has also won prizes for her poetry and was a joint winner of the Smith Doorstop Poetry Pamphlet Award, offered by the publisher of that name.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Joan Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am conflicted about this book. The first half of the book I thought was brilliant. Wonderful characters and a clever way of changing the point of view and the time frame. The author skillfully crafts a complicated group of characters and events over a five-day time frame. The characters are real people with peccadillos and pasts.

But then mid-way through the book every single person suddenly recognizes what is 'wrong' with them and their relationships and seeks to correct that. And all but one couple falls in love again or with someone new or someone who had always been in their circle. And each of the characters lives happily ever after. Except possibly Efe and with a name like that why should he!!

I don't know why the author felt that after drawing all these wonderful characters and authentic family dynamics she had to tie them all up with a pretty pink ribbon. But as I said I am still conflicted because the first half of the book was so enjoyable.

[Denisa Arsene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The characters are so well written, the story is catchy and the then-now transition is on my taste.
I had no intuition about the painter's secret... (I don't want to spoil your reading, so I will not name t!).
But I enjoyed every page, I felt sad and happy, I was angry with some behaviours - really bad, abusive ones and others very compelling.
All in one, I think is a good reading, you'll live through a lot of emotions and you'll find a secret which was hidden for many many years.

[Bookmaniac70 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this novel. The action is set around the extended Walsh family which is gathering together to celebrate the 75th birthday of its matriarch, Leonora, at the family home, Willow Court, home also to the beautiful paintings of Leonora's artist father, Ethan Walsh. But all families have secrets, and the Walshes are no exception--and in the course of the visit, many hidden things will come to light, and darkness lifted from many hearts.

I enjoyed the story and the characters. The novel was very well build,the tension was growing with the development of the story and brought finally a very sensible and conclusive ending.

[Elizabeth Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that make you want to slap someone! The unbelievably disgraceful behaviour of certain parties just drove me crazy. But to have induced that reaction, Adele Geras's writing had to be top notch. Characterisation was perfect, all too believable. I found it hard to take as it was such an emotional rollercoaster, but all power to the author's elbow. Fantastic novel.

[The Bookish Wombat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this hardback book for £1 so I wasn't too fussed about what it was like - if I didn't like it there was very little harm done.

It's a family saga where secrets from past generations come to light when the family gather for the matriarch's birthday.

I quite enjoyed it, despite it being very similar to a number of books I'd read in the recent past, such as The Legacy by Katherine Webb and The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. Even though it was the kind of thing I'd read before it kept me turning the pages till the end.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this story about a family as Leonora celebrates her 75th birthday was really enjoyable to listen to.

Leonora is having her 75th birthday party and is also having a film made of her father's life and his paintings. In the lead up to the party we have a story of a family, their happy times and their tragedies along the way a lot of things change.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book up until the last few chapters...then all characters have epiphanies that don’t make sense.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce nu știi nu-ți poate face rău, dar ea știe și trebuie să uite ceea ce știe. E secret secret secret. Trebuie să se prefacă a nu ști și a nu a fi știut niciodată, altminteri acest lucru îi va face rău. În casa de acolo sălășluiește secretul și tot ce vrea ea e să nu știe.

Stă la fereastră. Nu se simte nici măcar o adiere de vânt care să miște perdelele albe, și afară iarba s-a uscat sub ultimele raze de soare. E vară, și pe amurgite, iar ea încă nu e în pat. Are aproape opt ani și e prea devreme pentru culcare. Toți fac câte ceva altundeva și nimeni nu se uită la ea. Umbrele copacilor sunt negre pe pajiște și trandafirii târzii au margini aurii. Un petic de apă argintie sclipește printre frunzele de salcie plângătoare. Acela e lacul. Lebede înoată pe lac, și ea ar putea să meargă jos la apă să privească păsările albe. Nu ar ști nimeni și ce nu știi nu-ți poate face rău.

Trebuie să plece, să evadeze, dincolo de covorul țesut cu flori și copaci strâmbi, și apoi ușa se deschide și ea se află pe coridor, și acolo e mereu întuneric, chiar și când afară strălucește soarele, și o liniște densă cuprinde tot spațiul și se întinde pe scări în jos, și ea coboară de pe o treaptă pe cealaltă în vârful picioarelor, ca să nu o deranjeze. Picturile de pe pereți se holbează la ea când trece pe lângă ele. Naturi moarte și peisaje revarsă culori ciudate și propria lumină în tăcere, iar portretele strigă după ea, și ea nu le aude. Podeaua de marmură din hol e ca o tablă de șah cu alb și negru, și ea are grijă să sară peste pătratele negre pentru că, dacă nu o faci, cu siguranță are să se întâmple ceva rău și poate că tocmai a atins un pătrat negru în drum spre grădină, dar asta nu ar conta, nu-i așa?

[Lotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heel romantisch verhaal, heel filmisch. Je ziet het landhuis in Engeland helemaal voor je, het zou zo verfilmd kunnen worden. Iedereen komt met zijn/haar eigen problemen naar het tuinfeest van Leonora. Dit leidt tot allerlei ontknopingen. Tot de laatste pagina’s zitten er verrassingen in.

Je leest het verhaal vooral vanuit Rilla’s oogpunt, maar iedereen komt aan bod. Het vertelperspectief wisselt vrij vaak. Een heerlijk boek voor een zomervakantie.

Wat mij vooral intrigeerde is hoe iedereen anders in het leven staat. Gwen is heel gespannen, perfectionistisch. Chloë kan alles los laten, heeft er schijt aan. Zij wacht liever totdat de problemen zich voordoen dan zich zorgen te maken over mogelijke problemen voordat ze er zijn.

Ook hoe huiselijk geweld wordt ‘doorgegeven’ van Ethan op Efe, en een relatie waarin Fiona zich volledig wegcijfert. Haar gelukt hangt vooral af van glimlachen en blikken van Efe.

[Monica Mangar oprina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ideea romanului este buna, dar mi se pare ca este copiata dupa piesa "Nud cu vioara" de Noel Coward. Si in piesa respectiva un mare pictor profitase de talentul altora pentru a se face remarcat, cunoscut, bogat. Romanul se citeste foarte usor, este scris lejer, intr-un anume fel stie sa te tina cu sufletul la gura pana spre final... desi deznodamantul este destul de usor de dedus.

[Florida Pretashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro molto lento, a tratti abbastanza pesante. Per me che sono anche veloce a leggere è stato davvero difficile arrivare all'ultima pagina. Non mi è dispiaciuto nel suo rappresentare i rapporti e le relazioni familiare, l'ho trovato molto verosimile e le caratterizzazioni ben scritte. Non so dure come mai non mi abbia preso,semplicemente. Sicuramente sconsiglio a chi cerca una lettura veloce e leggera.

[J Barkess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly disapointing. On the whole I enjoyed this and most of the characters were believable but it was predictable and seemed too drawn out.
The ending was much too neat and tidy.
The writing style seemed old fasioned

[Ramune Kaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pačią dailininko paslaptį atspėjau gana greit. Kažkur buvau jau kažką skaičius ar mačius filmą. Gal vietomis per daug dramos ir gerų pabaigų, bet šiaip istorija įdomi, parašyta gerai (kaip ir išversta).

[Okidoki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ljus och skugga, 2003

[April Andruszko · Rating 4 out of 5]

an enjoyable light read with an engaing cast of characters

[Evelyn Pecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

All families have their dark side .... Great beach read.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first three quarters of this book was fantastic....the last bit....not so great. Everything came to a close in an unrealistic fashion.

[Noémie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had some struggles to finish the book, i read really slowly, because the story is kinda ‘heavy’. This is personally one of my favorite books ever just because of how it makes me feel like home.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. Good family saga with mysteries, hidden secrets. Great characters. Once I got to know who was who I couldn't stop reading

[Thalita Ribeiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

O livro começa bom, apresentação dos personagens ok, porém com o passar das páginas começam a aparecer uns diálogos forçado, uns flashback desnecessários e quando você se dá conta o livro já tá tão chato que a ideia de abandoná-lo vem com força total.
Alguns personagens estão ali só de enfeite (Ivan meu filho....) outros só fazem algo mesmo já nas última 50 páginas. E o final: mediano de doer.
O curioso é o ponto positivo: difícil largar o livro. Parece uma ferida aberta, quando começa a ignorá-lo a história volta na sua cabeça e você se vê querendo retomar a leitura. Loucura não???

[Cessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

dieses Buch hat mich total überrascht. Selten habe ich mir so sehr gewünscht dass ein Buch nicht zu Ende gehen soll wie hier.

Leonora feiert ihren 75. Geburtstag und dazu findet sich die ganze große Familie auf dem großen Anwesen Willow Court ein. Jeder hat seine eigene Geschichte und Sorgen und wie in jeder Familie gibt es Probleme und Missverständnisse.
Doch dieses Mal ist es anders. Es kommen Dinge ans Licht die das Leben vieler komplett ändern.
Der Leser taucht ein in die wundervolle Stimmung des Buches und alle Charaktere werden so plastisch und toll beschrieben dass man sich wirklich als Teil des Ganzen fühlt.
Auch wenn ich die Enthüllungen bereits erahnen konnte nahm das dem Buch nichts von seinem Zauber. Man wird durch diese tolle Atmosphäre einfach durch die Geschichte getragen so dass man das Buch wirklich nicht mehr aus der Hand legen will.

von mir also eine absolute Empfehlung!

[Barbara Band · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latest book group offering; took a while to get into it but once the story got going was ok. Ending all a bit too perfect though. Not a bad read if you want something fairly light and easy going.

Story is basically about an extended family who are gathering one weekend to celebrate the 75th birthday of Leonora, the family matriach. She is the daughter of a famous painter whose mother died when she was a child and who was widowed young. As the weekend unfolds, various family secrets (old and new) come to light.

[Deborah Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting is idyllic - the house as beautiful as one in Emma - but the time is 2002 and the occasion the 75th birthday of the family matriarch, Leonora. Like many families when they are under the same roof, this one is a tense, antagonistic and noisy - but there are also ghosts making their presence felt with past mysteries waiting to be unfolded. Only when the words of the dead are understood can the living turn from the darkness of the past and focus on the light. A wonderful read.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good summer read. Borders on the over sentimental at times, and the way everyone came predictably together with the right partner in the end irritated me a bit, but in general a good story about families and their secrets, in an idyllic setting.

[Venuskitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family saga, set around the preparations for Leonora's 75th birthday party at her large country house, Willow Court, which lead to long-buried family secrets being revealed. You might spot the plot twists before they appear, but it's an enjoyable novel, engrossing but not too demanding.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got annoyed early when one of the cats changed from a ginger to a black and white. I thought I had noticed something significant but no it was just poor editing.
The speech patterns of the small children were really sophisticated in one conversation and then much simplier

[Spetty84 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In realtà il voto sarebbe stato 3 1/2, ma non è possibile, quindi ho ridotto a 3..carino come libro, l'ho trovato un po' lento nella prima parte, ma poi il ritmo aumenta e ti tiene letteralmente incollata fino ai colpi di scena finali..nel complesso una buona lettura dai..

[David W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-read. After the first few pages I knew that I had read this years ago, but continued reading.
I am so glad that I did. Quite a lovely book. I seem to be on a roll these days with books that I could not put down. Strongly suggest this for others.

[Oolookitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slight and unsatisfying. One character is SO set up for a comeuppance that never happens, and I was left wondering why I spent all that time reading about these characters. The big revelation is telegraphed from the beginning, and the whole thing feels flat and pointless.

[Emma Ingleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very complex, several stories running alongside one another, amazing characters and a trully memorable read