A Long Way from Verona

by Jane Gardam

“Far more than just another coming-of-age story” from the award-winning author of the Old Filth trilogy (Bustle).   Jane Gardam’s marvelous stories of young girls on the threshold of womanhood—God on the Rocks and Crusoe’s Daughter—have delighted fans and critics alike. These “modern classics” are now joined by a novel that is equally fresh and genuine, comic and touching (The Independent).   Jessica Vye introduces herself with an enigmatic “I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal, having had a violent experience at the age of nine.” A revered author has told Jessica that she is, beyond all doubt, a born writer. This proves an accurate prediction of the future, one that indelibly colors her life at school and her perception of the world.   Jessica has always known that her destiny would be shaped by her refusal to conform, her compulsion to tell the absolute truth, and her dedication to observing the strange wartime world that surrounds her. What she doesn’t know, however, is that the experiences and ideas that set her apart will also lead her to a new and wholly unexpected life. Told with grace and inimitable wit, A Long Way from Verona is a wise and vivid portrait of adolescent discovery and impending adulthood.   “A book to be judged by the highest standards.” —The Spectator   “A brilliant, witty, and agonizingly true-to-life novel.” —The Times Literary Supplement   “A fiercely funny and personal book.” —The Economist   “The qualities for which Gardam is cherished (the quirkiness, the bright-eyed wonder at reality) are already apparent in this early work.” —Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, British Literature, Coming Of Age, Historical, Literary Fiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Jane Mary Gardam was an English writer of children's and adult fiction and literary critic. She also penned reviews for The Spectator and The Telegraph, and wrote for BBC Radio. She lived in Kent, Wimbledon, and Yorkshire. She won numerous literary awards, including the Whitbread Award twice. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.

Reviews

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Jessica, almost thirteen and living in England. We follow her several months in 1940 and 1941. We see the war as a child saw it then – the bombing, the evacuees and food shortages. The war is the background; the central focus is a preteen coming of age, a budding writer and an avid reader. She makes a great role-model for other young to-be writers. She is strong and determined, but also grapples with right and wrong, her own aspirations and worth.

I particularly liked what this book has to say about good versus bad teaching methods. Encouragement versus criticism.

This can be read both by adults and preteens, who are I believe the book’s main clientele. There is humor circling around human behavior, literature, religion and socio-political topics, but it is always light.

I did not like the narration by Cassandra Wilson. It is read too fast. Jessica’s mind is alive with thoughts, perceptions and opinions; she rattles them off in a ceaseless stream. Not all of the characters speak with such rapidity, but since the story is told by Jessica, a large part is read too fast. Much is in a shrill, treble tone. If one lowers the speed, the speech becomes distorted. I disliked the dramatization.

I liked this book, but I have liked others by the author much more. Maybe because I am no preteen anymore!

Jane Gardam’s books in order of preference:

Bilgewater (4 stars)
Faith Fox (4 stars)
The Flight of the Maidens (4 stars)
Crusoe's Daughter (4 stars)
Old Filth (4 stars)
The Man in the Wooden Hat ( 4 stars)
God on the Rocks (3 stars)
The Queen of the Tambourine (3 stars)
A Long Way from Verona (3 stars)

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das war ein wirklich unerwartet gutes Buch! Eigentlich ein Zufallskauf, weil ich von der Autorin schon mal gehört hatte, es in einer kleinen Buchhandlung lag, ich dort unbedingt (irgend)etwas kaufen wollte und das Cover so schön ist.
Zum Glück habe ich es dann auch wirklich gleich gelesen, denn sonst wäre mir diese tolle Geschichte entgangen! Ich muss unbedingt mehr von Jane Gardam lesen, weil ich ihren Schreibstil so wunderbar finde.
Insgesamt hat mich die "Handlung" weniger überzeugt als die stimmungsvolle Erzählweise. Es ist einfach ein Buch zum Abtauchen für ein paar Stunden, mit einer interessanten Titelfigur, deren Handlungen und Ansichten ich nicht immer nachvollziehen konnte, aber das muss wohl auch so sein bei einer 13-jährigen Protagonistin.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in 1971, narrated by a 12 going on 13 year old girl in 1940. Guess what? 1940, 1971, or 2018, nothing changes when it comes to navigating school, boys, and family. Humiliations, embarrassment, fear, parents and teachers who just don't get it, it's all the same. Fortunately for us, Jessica Vye is smart and funny, and Jane Gardam's first novel is a lot of fun to read.

[Lisa Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single time I begin a novel by Jane Gardam, I find myself saying the same thing to myself; "This is exactly the sort of book I like." Within pages of A Long Road from Verona I once again found this idea flitting through my brain. I suppose Gardam will fail me someday, perhaps.

I did read other Goodread reviews before beginning mine. I don't often do that. Here are two things I found by doing so. The novel was written for children! Middle grade children. Well, I'll be! The oblique narrative makes me think that children in 1971 must have been much more attune to subtlety than the ones I currently teach. Oh! Wait! I was a child in '71... The other thing I noticed is many, maybe most of the reviews were by men, and they loved this book. What is it about this 12 year old siren that is luring in these gentleman. She isn't sensible. She is not even nice most of the time. She is a bit conceited. She is rather judgmental. It is her faults that make her so delightful, and ultimately lead her to something like wisdom and maturity.

Jessica begins her narrative in the offhand manner of David Copperfield or of Cassandra Mortmain sitting in the kitchen sink. Speaking directly to the reader, Jessica reveals, "I ought to tell you from the beginning that I am not quite normal." Early in childhood a noted writer tells her that she is "without a doubt" a writer. Thus,6 begins her vocation. She does without a doubt have a writerly temperament. Always noticing, reacting, framing scenes as she navigates early adolescence and its many woes. She doesn't manage this with anything akin to grace. In fact she is a mess. She gets on teachers' nerves, and on classmates nerves. And on her own.

Jessica's coming of age plays out against the backdrop of WWII England on the Yorkshire coast. Nights and days are filled with the threat of air raid. The petrol, shipping and steel industry on this bit of the North Sea was especially prone to raids. Her father had late in the day decided to leave teaching to become a curate. The writerly Jessica notes and vividly describes the stodgy, dull seaside towns, her provincial girl's school and the chaotic life in her family's cramped terrace home. When she turns her Dickensian eye on the oddments of humans beings that surround her...she is far from charitable. What she is, is funny and utterly charming.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. I’ve just finished a book that has rocketed to the top of my list, and toppled all the other books nearby. It’s my new Favorite Book of All. And you simply must read it, too. It’s an amazing read, with amazing characters and an amazing little story. It’s very odd, but you’ve probably never heard of it and---even odder---you’ve probably even heard of the author. I just came across it by the unlikeliest of chances. It’s on the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read list, so somebody else must love it, too. Don’t worry about that; it’s not really a just-for-children book. It’s a great book, about families, and friendships, and growing up, and religion (just a bit) and happiness, and finding your calling. Oh, you really must read it. Now. Hope you can find a copy. And remember to thank me when you finally give it a read.

And I’ll be off now to find some more Jane Gardam. I’m afraid nothing can be as good as this delicious novel, but I must try to find a little more and see for myself.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

When she was nine, Jessica Vye was told by an author visiting her school that she WAS AN AUTHOR INDEED." This was after she had run home, gotten everything she had written and caught up with the author before he boarded thetrain. He sent her back that message in the mail, several months later. She of course never forgot it and it shaped her life.

World War ll and the world of ration cards, air raid shelters and gas masks had become part of everyday life in England. Jessica is quirky, she is very head strong and very vocal, unable to keep to her self what she thinks, this has made her popular with some, but unpopular with many. We follow along with her as she experiences her first crush, as she puts herself in danger, luckily living through a bombing. I loved her character and that of Miss Philomen, an elderly teacher who had been published. She was very observant, eccentric and a delight. So much of this coming of age story is.

Another offering from Nancy Pearl on NPR and a re-issue from the publisher. I love this author's writing, she is extremely talented with dialogue, and apparently this was the first book this author wrote. So the maturity of her later novels is missing but I think all the more delightful because of that.

Lastly Jessica Vye reminds me of myself at that age and it was very easy for me to relate to her, especially when I read these lines "I wish I read slower as a matter of fact because I can't get books to last" A girl after my own heart.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully observed portrait of a girl who is declared to be a born writer, living in the north of England during World War Two. No doubt she is to some extent a portrait of the young Jane Gardam.

A book written for teenage children, and full of wisdom. Jessica must learn to cope with everyday difficulties at school and home, but then comes face to face with death and destruction during a bombing raid. Over the course of a year, her life changes as she learns to cope with fear and loss.

This was Jane Gardam's first novel, and it is very good indeed.

[Buchdoktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Vye ist 13 Jahre alt und weiß immer, was andere Menschen denken. Zusammen mit ihrer entwaffnenden Direktheit ist das eine gefährliche Kombination. Doch wer Jessicas reichlich schlagfertigen Vater erlebt, wundert sich über nichts; bei den Vyes fällt der Apfel offensichtlich nicht weit vom Stamm. Als die Schülerin 9 Jahre alt ist, hält kurz vor Ausbruch des Zweiten Weltkriegs in ihrer Schule ein Schriftsteller namens Hanger einen Vortrag darüber, wie man Autor wird. „Wir alle lieben ihre Bücher“, säuselt die Direktorin, obwohl niemand zuvor von dem Mann gehört hat. Jessica fragt sich, ob ihre Lehrerinnen überhaupt lesen können. Vom Schreiben scheinen sie zumindest keine Ahnung zu haben. Sie hat schon immer geschrieben und für sie öffnet sich mit Hangers Besuch ein Fenster zu einer anderen Welt. Mr Hanger schickt Jessica jedenfalls all ihre Texte zurück, die sie ihm am Bahnhof noch schnell in die Hand gedrückt hatte, und ermuntert sie zum Schreiben.

Als Jessica über ein Ferienerlebnis einen 47 Seiten langen Aufsatz vorlegt, erklärt ihr ihre Lehrerin Mrs Dobbs, sie hätte selbstverliebt einen belanglosen, törichten Text abgeliefert. Eine Schülerin darf offenbar im Aufsatz nichts schreiben, was die Fantasie ihrer Lehrerin übersteigt. Die Auswirkungen des Krieges nehmen die inzwischen 13-jährigen Schülerinnen gleichmütig hin. Auf dem Schulweg haben sie ihre Gasmaske stets dabei und verbringen so manche Nacht im Luftschutzbunker. Nerviger scheint für sie der Terror durch unbequeme Kleider zu sein und der Versuch, die Mädels selbst unter extremen Bedingungen zu echten Ladies zu erziehen. Die Vyes ziehen aus London fort, damit Vater Vye zukünftig als Hilfsgeistlicher arbeiten kann. Erst durch den Ortswechsel erfährt Jessica, dass ihr Vater für seine Artikel im New Statesman bekannt ist und mit dem Kommunismus sympathisiert.

Aus Jessicas Blickwinkel beschreibt Jane Gardam in ihrem bereits 1971 erschienen Coming-of-Age-Roman pointiert das Wesen von Pubertät unter erschwerten Bedingungen mitten im Krieg. Einige Mädchen bleiben ein wenig länger 12 Jahre alt als andere und genau dafür scheint ihre Schulklasse eingerichtet zu sein. Durch die Begegnung mit dem „wundervollen Jungen“ Christian, der schon jetzt wie ein Schriftsteller aussieht, erhält Jessica eine Andeutung, wie es sein könnte, auch die Schwelle zu folgenden Lebensjahren zu überschreiten. Vielleicht ist erst der 14. Geburtstag für eine angehende Autorin entscheidend. Danach darf sie endlich auch offiziell den Bestand für Erwachsene in der Bücherei ausleihen. Neben der keimenden Autorenkarriere ihrer Protagonistin skizziert Jane Gardam so auch meisterhaft den Beginn einer Leserinnenbiografie. Eine hinreißende Icherzählerin, deren Erlebnisse für mich gern noch knapper geschildert sein dürften.

[Leselissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So ein großes Vergnügen! Von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite!
Wie's aussieht, habe ich ein neues Lieblingsbuch und einen neuen Lieblingbuchscharakter. :))

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial reaction: Whoa what did I just read?! So good. Must process!

I've been meaning to read Jane Gardam for ages. Like I've had her books checked out from the library multiple times and always returned them. I'm so grateful to Dominika for catching the Gardam bug because now I've finally read her. This novel is amazing! It's from the perspective of a twelve year old girl named Jessica Vye whose family is settling into a new town and new way of life because her father has left his job as a schoolmaster and has become a curate. Jessica is going to a girls' school in the next town over in a no-longer fashionable Yorkshire spa town called Cleveland Sands. It's the early days of WWII and there is the background threat of bombs and very present every day threat of rationing.

Gardam stays so true to the voice of a 12/13 year old girl as the story progresses. It's remarkable. The view we get of her parents, for example, is fragmented because Jessica sees them only to the limits of her own understanding and experience. She knows her father is highly regarded as an intellect and preacher, but she tells us more about his amusing idiosyncracies and habits. It becomes clear that her mother isn't the best 'manager' of the household, but this often allows Jessica to go her own way so she doesn't much mind. She feels like she doesn't fit in well at school and seems to be constantly getting in trouble with the well-meaning teachers. She finally happens to become acquainted with a teacher in the Senior School, Miss Philemon, who has a refreshingly original outlook and doesn't seem at all bothered by Jessica's oddities and awkwardly but earnestly growing mind and heart.

The story is quite an every day story with lots of humor and ordinary school days but every day stories also have their high points and low points and moments of grappling with what it means to exist, even in a 12/13 year old mind. Grief enters in, a boy enters in, a bomb crashes in. Jessica wrestles with the meaning of life--can it really be good?--after reading Jude the Obscure and comes to a decisive answer.

Highly recommend. As usual, my review lamentably fails to capture how wonderful this book is...but at least it's a start.

[JacquiWine · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 Stars)

This is a really lovely book, a thoroughly engaging coming-of-age story in the style of Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle – maybe with a hint of Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle in the mix for good measure. I read it at the crossover point between 2021 and 2022, making it a delightful way to start the new year with an author I’ve long wanted to try.

First published in 1971, A Long Way from Verona was Jane Gardam’s debut novel – a book the author originally intended for children. But like the Dodie Smith, Verona can be enjoyed just as much, if not more, by adults – partly for the quality of the writing and partly for the sheer entertainment value.

Set in a coastal town in North Yorkshire in the early years of the Second World War, Verona is narrated by Jessica Vye, a precocious schoolgirl with an utterly captivating voice.

I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal, having had a violent experience at the age of nine. I will make this clear at once because I have noticed that if things seep out slowly through a book the reader is apt to feel let down or tricked in some way when he eventually gets the point. (p. 3)

When Jessica is nine, the author Arthur Hanger comes to her school to give a talk on how to become a writer, should any of the pupils be harbouring such ambitions. Jessica, who has been writing things down for as long as she can remember, is inspired by the session – so much so that she thrusts all of her writings at Mr Hanger, just as his train is leaving the station. Mr Hanger agrees to read them, and several months later he comes good on his word, returning the texts to Jessica with an encouraging note:

JESSICA VYE YOU ARE A WRITER
BEYOND ALL POSSIBLE DOUBT! (p. 9)

By this point, it is clear to the reader that Jessica is a born writer. Possibly a semi-fictionalised version of Gardam herself, she is bright, knowing and outspoken – a marvellously forthright companion who feels fully-formed on the page.

To read the rest of my review, please visit:

https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2022...

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 2025: This book holds up very well to a second reading!

Jessica Vye is "a writer beyond all possible doubt" -- or so she is told by an author she meets in her school. This little book captures her early adolescence during the first years of the Second World War. My edition of this book is a Puffin, but later editions were published for adults. I can see why there might be some confusion -- the narrator is 13, and there is nothing overtly adult in content in the novel -- no sex, nudity or swearing -- but the emotions and ideas are very mature and complex. It's a bildungsroman, a study of a moment in British history, and a novel about writing and reading, as well as a portrait of Jessica Vye. Jessica's father was a teacher but has become a curate and the family move to a small house in a coastal city somewhere near Liverpool. Jessica is a day-student at the local school, and finds little room to write creatively, to read, or to express herself. Meanwhile, the trauma of the war looms: days and nights are punctuated by air-raid sirens, and there's a constant sense of loss. Jessica is often mean, angry and self-centred, and her character and voice are very convincing. She captures the agony of being 13, and also the joy and passion. It's a subtle, funny and moving book, which I enjoyed immensely. Published in 1971, it feels utterly different from most children's books of this period, and extremely vivid and relevant today.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Jessica Vye narrates this engrossing coming-of-age novel from English author Jane Gardam, declaring at the outset that she is "not quite normal," and informing the reader that she is rather unpopular. Set in World War II-era Britain, the story centers around Jessica's discovery that she is and is meant to be a writer, and her experiences at school and outside it, including a disturbing encounter with an escaped prisoner of war, a brief infatuation with a young boy, and an episode in which she is caught up in an air raid. Throughout it all, she observes and comments on those about her with a merciless truth-telling. Or so she imagines...

Published in 1971, A Long Way from Verona was Gardam's debut, and although she wrote for both adults and children, was published as a young adult novel. I have seen some express some doubts as to this latter, despite the young heroine, but for my part, although I don't see this being published in the current young adult market—much to our detriment—can see it having been published for it in the early 70s. I myself first became aware of it some years ago, after seeing it referenced in Sue Sims and Hilary Clare's The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories , due to its partial school setting, although it is not really a school story, as such. In any case, leaving aside issues of audience and genre, I read this as part of a group read with friends, and found it immensely involving. Gardam writes wonderfully well, and Jessica truly comes alive as a character and narrator. She is not a particularly pleasant character, and as I read I could see very well why she wasn't popular, as she showed little regard, or indeed interest, in the feelings of others, throughout the book. That said, she was a very interesting character, one who really observed and thought about the people and events in her life. I'm not sure she saw them as clearly as she believed—indeed, the discovery that perhaps her perception was not as fine-tuned as she believed it to be, was an important moment toward the end of the book—but the depiction of a young person so fiercely devoted to understanding the world around her gave this book some power. Although not destined to become a favorite—I don't think I'll ever reread it—I am very glad to have read this one, and hope to read more from Gardam. Recommended to those seeking young adult fare on the more cerebral side.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't know if you've noticed but if you want to become one of the English Classics it's a good idea to be up in the top half of the alphabet. There are a tremendous lot of As and Bs and Ds and - down to about H."
Jessica Vye is the English equivalent of Harriet M. Welsh. Smart, blunt, and confident, until she's faced with social situations that she can't quite get a handle on. She's far from perfect, but always true to herself. Gardam's writing is so honest and her characters are so true-to-life, but there's always a layer of surrealism that gets mixed in somehow. She ties things up, but leaves just a few threads hanging to give you something to wonder about.

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read in ages BEYOND ALL POSSIBLE DOUBT. Loved it with all my heart.

[Claire Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to all of this on a long car journey, and it was really enjoyable (I really liked the narration). I absolutely loved Jessica's voice. She's 13 in 1940 / 41 and looking back first to when she was 9 and met a famous writer. Then we follow her through school where she writes a poem and has various escapades, and is finally disillusioned about the famous writer, but finds her own way. It's charming and sweet, but the story meanders. If you like I Capture the Castle you'll love this.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

[Marcus Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed and curious, this book is really more amazing than four stars. How I got sucked into reading about a 12 year old girl during the war in England would normally be a mystery but the character and writing are so compelling it just happened and now I'm sad the book is over.

[Loes Dissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Gardam's first novel, published in 1971. Charming, warm and witty.

[Roger Brunyate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Writer Beyond All Possible Doubt

I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal, having had a violent experience at the age of nine. I will make this clear at once because I have noticed that if things seep out slowly through a book the reader is apt to feel let down or tricked in some way when he eventually gets the point.

What a marvelous opening! Jessica Vye is only twelve or thirteen while she is writing, but it is clear that she has read enough books to have formed firm ideas about how to construct one. This, Jane Gardam's first novel (published in 1971), is pretty clearly a fictionalized memoir about growing up as a writer. She hardly needs the confirmation of a visiting author giving a talk at her school, who sends back the pages she has pressed upon him with the note: "Jessica Vye, you are a writer beyond all possible doubt!" It is clear (to us if not always to her) in just about every sentence she writes, and in her precociously knowing voice. Listen:

It takes them ages to get on and do anything. There is a lot of Danish blood on this part of the coast my father says, and the Danes tend to stand about rather. After all, look at Hamlet.

Jessica grows up as a curate's daughter in a seedy seaside resort on the Yorkshire coast during the Second World War—a background that speaks especially to me since, though a decade younger, I also grew up in a similar household in a similar northern resort in the same war. Her father is a late recruit to the clergy, but already established as a left-wing writer; one of the pleasures of the novel is watching Jessica slowly discover how respected her father is. She commutes by train to the local school, for girls only, where she feels she is disliked by most of the pupils and suspected by many of the teachers of getting above herself. But a lot of this is her own insecurity and her budding writer's feeling that she knows what everyone is thinking, whether they actually are or not. And we do feel for her; one scene where she arrives at a sleepover party having brought the wrong clothes is excruciatingly familiar. Yet there are a few exceptions, sensible adults who really understand her; when we meet them, they warm the heart.

Looking Gardam up on Wikipedia, I was amazed to see that this first novel was published as a children's book, and indeed won a children's literature prize. It does explain why, in the adult sense, so little actually happens—an encounter with an escaped prisoner, a surprise bombing raid, an unexpected success—yet all are big events for children. So would it appeal to young people today? It is set so specifically in its vanished place and time, with the effortless eye for detail that sees no need to contextualize it for later audiences; Gardam writes for people who would simply have recognized that this is how it was. But such readers are grown up now; their childhood world seems as distant as Alice or Peter Pan. Yet, as with those classics, you can still go back in the imagination. Gardam's feel for the texture of childhood life is pitch-perfect, and this debut novel is a little miracle.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It is quirky and lovely. The heroine, Jessica Vye, is believable and interesting, and her life as a writer in wartime England drew me in from the ver first paragraph. There are some good laughs, but also some good ideas, and it never feels like the author is taking the predictable route. OK, so it's a children's book, but I don't let that sort of thing put me off.

[yexxo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bücher liest man ja mit den unterschiedlichsten Erwartungen. Sie sollen einem Gefühle vermitteln, Spannung, Lehrreiches und/oder schlicht die Zeit vertreiben. Dieses Buch entspricht wohl mehr dem Letzteren, wobei es jedoch unfair wäre, es als 'bloße' Unterhaltungsliteratur abzutun, denn dafür ist es viel zu schön geschrieben. Vielleicht ist es eher ein Jugendbuch, denn eine 13jährige erzählt hier von ihrem Leben in England während des II. Weltkrieges. Und das so unglaublich schnodderig und altklug, wie 13jährige halt mal so sind - offenbar nicht allzu viel anders als heutzutage.
Die 13jährige Jessica lebt mit ihren eher unkonventionellen Eltern in einem kleinen Ort an der Küste, wo sie ein Leben führt wie vermutlich viele andere 13jährige auch. Doch sie ist anders als die meisten ihrer gleichaltrigen Schulkameradinnen. Zum einen weiß sie stets, wann jemand lügt, zum andern muss sie immer die Wahrheit sagen - nicht unbedingt zur Freude aller Anwesenden. Doch das stört Jessica nicht, denn sie hat eine unglaubliche Abneigung gegen jede Form der Anpassung. Eine ungemein sympathische 'Heldin' - unerschrocken und neugierig, die selbst in den brenzligsten Situationen (wie beispielsweise einem Bombenangriff) nicht den Kopf verliert.
Jane Gardam trifft den Ton dieses jungen Mädchens so überzeugend, dass ich keine Minute daran zweifelte, ihr persönlich zuzuhören. Wunderbar zu lesen, auch wenn es keine großartigen Höhepunkte gibt, wie Manche bemängeln. Einfach eine schöne Geschichte!

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun. The world through the eyes of a thirteen year old girl living on the north coast of England during WWII. It's a sweet story, often very funny, and full of eccentricities which is what I love about Jane Gardam. It took me a while to figure out the title but that's part of the experience. I don't think this is a children's or a young adult's novel (re other reviewers). I think it was written for adults to remind them of the torture of being in your early teens. Or is that just me?

[Miss Dandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Wirklich überzeugt hat mich dieses Buch nicht. Es war schräg, aber nicht unbedingt auf gute Art und Weise. Bis auf die letzten 30 Seiten wollte ich erst nur 2 Sterne vergeben, jetzt wären es eher so 2,5. Starker Anfang, starkes Ende, für mich persönlich war aber zu wenig Gutes dazwischen.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irgendwie hallt das Buch noch länger in mir nach, als ich gedacht hätte, daher 3,5 Sterne⭐

[Hella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik lees dat dit Gardam's eerste boek was. Nou, toen kon ze het ook al. En de eerste regels zijn mij uit het hart gegrepen!
"I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal, having had a violent experience at the age of nine. I will make this clear at once because I have noticed that if things seep out slowly through a book the reader is apt to feel let down or tricked in some way when he eventually gets the point."

[Vonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sad thing is that this is my very first Gardam novel. I guess we shall see, but this has left me with a less than ideal first impression. Jessica Vye, our "heroine"/narrator is not likable at all to me. I saw her as pretentious, trying all the while to seem the exact opposite. Not that she is not a good, kind, intelligent person. But she is only eleven to thirteen, trying to operate much like in her early twenties. She states that she can only ever be honest, that she can read what people are thinking (the gift she has), that she is unpopular... Anyways, her story begins with her dramatic statement that at the age of nine she had "a violent experience". This "experience" she refers to is a lauded author telling her that "You are a writer beyond all possible doubt". Now, suspension of belief aside here, this one letter, yes, personally written from a renown writer of the times, sets the course of the next few years.

Now, I hesitate to say this because of the opposite reaction I am sure to garner, but this really reminds me of a sad British attempt at Salinger's Catcher In The Rye. With, admittedly, an appreciative inclusion of World War II time era information... But, still... I do not even like Catcher In The Rye. Everything, anything good in that novel was missing here, but many negative things were quite similar. The useless vignettes that left me feeling lost, the runaway characters, the coming of age I-wanna-be-a-writer-so-with-this-cool-old-mentor-of-mine-that-tells-me-I-have-good-ideas-I-totally-can. Although in different ways, Holden Caufield was also not a very lovable protagonist.

The other characters are so undeveloped, I barely have anything to say about them, although I have affinity for her mentor Miss Philemon. Her brother seems like a complex character; if only he had been explored some more. Even her "friends" are only vaguely described, as well as her family and/or parents, whom I never really felt I knew. Probably the most explored character other than her was Christian, her brief boyfriend... Interesting, to say the least, but also left a little confusing.

Anyhow, despite all of this, there were some engaging passages/vignettes, the overall story was readable. I may try another Gardam sometime to see whether it is only my choice of work this time that has me unimpressed...

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1971, “A Long Way from Verona” is Jane Gardam’s first novel (of over 20 novels.) While her audience was intended to be middle school readers, the novel can certainly be appreciated by adults. Jessica Vye, the central character, is a thirteen year old aspiring wrier in a small, coastal English town during World War II. At the age of nine, a visiting author at her otherwise boring, never-anything-happening-out-of-the-ordinary school excites her author’s heart…”to hell with school. English is what matters. ENGLISH IS LIFE!” Taking a chance, she thrusts all that she has written in her young life at Mr. Arnold Hanger as he boards a train, imploring him to read and respond. He does and in one of the many moments during the novel in which an adult respectfully connects and communicates with a child, he returns her work, acknowledging she is “a born writer.”

Amidst the perils of the war, annoyance with her parents, concerns about her appearance and acceptance among peers, and complaints about school, Jessica is a typical adolescent. What sets her apart from her peers, however, is where the validation received from Mr. Hanger takes her. Understanding that the interior life she leads and experiences is valuable and necessary, she embraces small opportunities to step out of the ordinary and parses and revels and marvels and dismisses these experiences through her writer’s lens. Told in three parts (The Maniac, The Boy, and The Poem) by a first person narrator, Jessica’s voice is disarmingly honest, capturing what haunts and inspires young women at this age.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this TBR for so long, it was certainly time I got round to reading it. Why I left it so long I have no idea, it's lovely!! This is such a charming little book. The narrator is a young girl, who is convinced she is a writer. She is a wonderfully eccentric character, full of life, wit and enthusiasm. Hampered by an unimmaginative teacher, war time and the constraits of a curate's chaotic household, Jessica begins to grow and move toward her ultimate goal. Often hilarious, it is a small gem.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es war vorher schon klar, dass es nach Han Kangs "Die Vegetarierin" und vor allem "Menschenwerk" jedes Buch bei mir schwer haben würde.
Ich finde es belanglos und auch die Figur "Jessica" eher anstrengend als witzig.
Gardams "Old Filth" hat mir viel besser gefallen.

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️