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A Sweet Obscurity
A moving and intensely felt examination of the steps to which we will go to seek protection and security in others. Returning to haunted Cornish landscapes familiar from other Gale novels, it is the story of individuals in search of a family. Dido, the nine-year-old heroine and emotional centre of Patrick Gale's latest painful comedy, knows that the adults who surround her, the adults who should know better, depend on her for happiness. So who is she to turn to when her short life turns upside down and tragic family history threatens to repeat itself. Eliza, the clever, depressive aunt who has brought Dido up, and whose brilliant academic career has foundered due to the demands of unlooked-for motherhood, tries and fails to give Dido the happy normal childhood she never had herself. Her ex-husband Giles needs Dido back in his life, feeling it has lost all meaning, all substance, without her. Then there is Pearce, the new love interest in Eliza'a life, desperate to give Eliza and Dido the security and protection they need. But will Eliza let him? Does she love him or is she using him to restart a stalled career?Only Dido, unheard of in the clamour of others' needs, has the power to make or break the happiness of these children in adult clothing.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
45 people are currently reading
387 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Gale
43 books706 followersPatrick was born on 31 January 1962 on the Isle of Wight, where his father was prison governor at Camp Hill, as his grandfather had been at nearby Parkhurst. He was the youngest of four; one sister, two brothers, spread over ten years. The family moved to London, where his father ran Wandsworth Prison, then to Winchester. At eight Patrick began boarding as a Winchester College Quirister at the cathedral choir school, Pilgrim's. At thirteen he went on to Winchester College. He finished his formal education with an English degree from New College, Oxford in 1983.
He has never had a grown-up job. For three years he lived at a succession of addresses, from a Notting Hill bedsit to a crumbling French chateau. While working on his first novels he eked out his slender income with odd jobs; as a typist, a singing waiter, a designer's secretary, a ghost-writer for an encyclopedia of the musical and, increasingly, as a book reviewer.
His first two novels, The Aerodynamics of Pork and Ease were published by Abacus on the same day in June 1986. The following year he moved to Camelford near the north coast of Cornwall and began a love affair with the county that has fed his work ever since.
He now lives in the far west, on a farm near Land's End with his husband, Aidan Hicks. There they raise beef cattle and grow barley. Patrick is obsessed with the garden they have created in what must be one of England's windiest sites and deeply resents the time his writing makes him spend away from working in it. As well as gardening, he plays both the modern and baroque cello. His chief extravagance in life is opera tickets.
He has never had a grown-up job. For three years he lived at a succession of addresses, from a Notting Hill bedsit to a crumbling French chateau. While working on his first novels he eked out his slender income with odd jobs; as a typist, a singing waiter, a designer's secretary, a ghost-writer for an encyclopedia of the musical and, increasingly, as a book reviewer.
His first two novels, The Aerodynamics of Pork and Ease were published by Abacus on the same day in June 1986. The following year he moved to Camelford near the north coast of Cornwall and began a love affair with the county that has fed his work ever since.
He now lives in the far west, on a farm near Land's End with his husband, Aidan Hicks. There they raise beef cattle and grow barley. Patrick is obsessed with the garden they have created in what must be one of England's windiest sites and deeply resents the time his writing makes him spend away from working in it. As well as gardening, he plays both the modern and baroque cello. His chief extravagance in life is opera tickets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
September 7, 2013
Wonderful book especially the detailed woodwork that goes into characterization. Every single character was drawn with such exquisite minutiae that none of them felt lapsing, a loophole romance novels always falls into (based on the observations that authors often place too much emphasis on the 'main' couple of the storyline that unfortunately minor characters are often left behind). "Sweet Obscurity" also presents a height in descriptive writing by drawing readers into a well constructed landscape, a bustling to sometimes oppressive London and contrasting sylvan Cornwall.
October 31, 2016
While there are things that are not perfect about this novel it is, nevertheless, a good example of storytelling. The characters and characterisation, descriptions, situations are engaging and held my attention throughout. This is extremely difficult to do with multiple points of view yet Gale does it effortlessly. It was perhaps a little too long.
Notes From an Exhibition is still my favourite Gale novel but this is also very good.
Notes From an Exhibition is still my favourite Gale novel but this is also very good.
Read
September 3, 2016On the one hand, I loved this. On the other hand, it was very slow and I probably wouldn't have finished it, if I weren't on holiday. The coincidences were a bit much for my logical mind, and I've read rather too many novels based on the 'let's go to Cornwall and sort it all out' trope, but it made me laugh aloud several times—it has an admirable breadth of characterisation and a dark sense of humour.
February 2, 2011
This was certainly not one of my favourite Patrick Gale books, it lacked the depth of other novels I've read by him. I found Dido precocious where I think I was supposed to find her endearing. And I was irritated by Pearce, again I think he was supposed to be loveable. I felt out of step with the characters and possibly the intentions of the author.
July 14, 2020
I couldn't put this book down. I am becoming quite a fan of Patrick Gale. He is a master of human relationships and flawed characters. If you want fast-paced, forget it. The book is revealed as a flower opening its petals in sub-optimal weather, so many layers, so much distress and yet a core of hopefulness.
June 12, 2012
It was an interesting book, but it wasn't my favorite. Not sure what it was about the book though . . . I liked the characters and the writing style, but I think maybe it tried to tell too many stories, insights, and back stories. At the end it felt a little rushed and contrived.
Read
October 31, 2013It took me a long time to read as it has some difficult subject matter. I don't think it's Patrick Gale's best book. Its quite confusing - although I liked the change of perspectives. There's a nice love story and a happy ending.
March 14, 2019
I needed a straight forward book yo get back into a habit of reading. This fitted the bill well initially, however, I lost interest a bit towards the end as I didn't really find I had an interest in many of the characters. I normally enjoy Patrick Gale's books but found this a bit unbelievable.
September 15, 2013
Engaging reading, as are all of Patrick Gale's books. Believable characters, with a measured story line leading to a satisfactory conclusion for all.
May 11, 2021
Ostensibly, A Sweet Obscurity is a love story, or perhaps more precisely, a story about love; the love its characters fall in and out of for each other. But the way the narrative suddenly seem to soar when it finally arrives there, after a rather ponderous and sterile first quarter, tells me that the book a really a love letter from Gale to Cornwall. It is where he lives and he clearly relishes writing about it.
I almost gave up on the book, which feels barren and lacking a sense of direction during those first 150 pages or so. Even if the plot then suddenly becomes almost too obvious, it, at least, provides the reader's interest with something to hold on to.
Although progress proved slow, the book is easy enough to read with its structure of short chapters (59 of them in total) presenting the opposing points of views of the handful of protagonists, none of whom are that lovable, unfortunately. Of the secondary character, Dido in particular, caused my disbelief some troubles. She feels a good five years older than the nine to ten year old she is supposed to be.
Trying too hard is possibly Gale's main problem here. The coincidences are much too neat and unrealistic, and he takes a lot of trouble in his attempt to give each of his characters "interesting" and, too often, troubled back stories, as if he were worried of boring the reader with too much "normality".
Along the way he raises dark and difficult themes (appearance-altering disease, child abuse, paedophilia, bereavement, abandonment), that he never really explores, and that are not only extraneous to the needs of the plot, but clutter it with distracting and unfulfilled narrative possibilities.
In characteristic Gale fashion, the book doesn't reach what could be called a conclusion. The story stops at crossroad but could just as well have carried on, though it feels already long enough as it is.
I didn't dislike the book (I particularly liked the subplot around the madrigal, and would have liked more to be made of it, although I was rather infuriated by how Gale brought it to a close) but the author's intentions passed me by and I wasn't invested in the characters enough to truly enjoy following them in their trials.
PS: Despite what could be expected from this particular author, and a few hints, this is not what could be considered a "gay-interest" book.
I almost gave up on the book, which feels barren and lacking a sense of direction during those first 150 pages or so. Even if the plot then suddenly becomes almost too obvious, it, at least, provides the reader's interest with something to hold on to.
Although progress proved slow, the book is easy enough to read with its structure of short chapters (59 of them in total) presenting the opposing points of views of the handful of protagonists, none of whom are that lovable, unfortunately. Of the secondary character, Dido in particular, caused my disbelief some troubles. She feels a good five years older than the nine to ten year old she is supposed to be.
Trying too hard is possibly Gale's main problem here. The coincidences are much too neat and unrealistic, and he takes a lot of trouble in his attempt to give each of his characters "interesting" and, too often, troubled back stories, as if he were worried of boring the reader with too much "normality".
Along the way he raises dark and difficult themes (appearance-altering disease, child abuse, paedophilia, bereavement, abandonment), that he never really explores, and that are not only extraneous to the needs of the plot, but clutter it with distracting and unfulfilled narrative possibilities.
In characteristic Gale fashion, the book doesn't reach what could be called a conclusion. The story stops at crossroad but could just as well have carried on, though it feels already long enough as it is.
I didn't dislike the book (I particularly liked the subplot around the madrigal, and would have liked more to be made of it, although I was rather infuriated by how Gale brought it to a close) but the author's intentions passed me by and I wasn't invested in the characters enough to truly enjoy following them in their trials.
PS: Despite what could be expected from this particular author, and a few hints, this is not what could be considered a "gay-interest" book.
January 26, 2019
I have not enjoyed the novels written by Gale before "Notes from an Exhibition", this one disappointing me as well. His choice to structure the narrative from four viewpoints was discussed as central in the Author's Notes at the end of the text. However, the abruptness with which he switched tracks from one character's story to another's, despite there being a link between them, annoyed me. His characters were generally unlikeable, selfish adults, yet they were intriguing; the constant stop-start in recounting their parts in the "madrigal" he created pushed the points of their narcissism too far. Further, I was left wanting more depth and detail in relation to any one of these characters and instead felt that Gale squeezed in unnecessary backstories and contrived links so that they fit together into the whole, revealed at the end of the novel.
The novel needed more stringent editing so that weaker backstories and their details sometimes felt irrelevant to the main focus (finding love, reconciling with our past, finding where we belong). The tedium of Eliza's doctoral research and code-breaking of an unknown manuscript left me often counting pages until the scene shifted. And, yet, Gale seemed to cut short the abruptly introduced, shocking elements of characters' pasts when these interested me the most: re: Giles, re: Eliza's sister, for example (I'm avoiding spoilers). I would have relished a more psychological exploration of these.
In the often confused and selfish lives of the adults, only the nine year old Dido seems mature and insightful enough to make sense of a sometimes dysfunctional life she shares: with her "mother" Eliza (actually, her aunt); with Eliza's former husband, Giles; with Giles's new partner, Julia; and with Eliza's new love interest, Pearce. Gale worked too hard to bring together the connections between their present lives and the pasts that haunt them, especially towards the conclusion of the novel.
I'm not sorry I've read his earlier writing, but rather admire the refined, mature talents evident in his last six works.
The novel needed more stringent editing so that weaker backstories and their details sometimes felt irrelevant to the main focus (finding love, reconciling with our past, finding where we belong). The tedium of Eliza's doctoral research and code-breaking of an unknown manuscript left me often counting pages until the scene shifted. And, yet, Gale seemed to cut short the abruptly introduced, shocking elements of characters' pasts when these interested me the most: re: Giles, re: Eliza's sister, for example (I'm avoiding spoilers). I would have relished a more psychological exploration of these.
In the often confused and selfish lives of the adults, only the nine year old Dido seems mature and insightful enough to make sense of a sometimes dysfunctional life she shares: with her "mother" Eliza (actually, her aunt); with Eliza's former husband, Giles; with Giles's new partner, Julia; and with Eliza's new love interest, Pearce. Gale worked too hard to bring together the connections between their present lives and the pasts that haunt them, especially towards the conclusion of the novel.
I'm not sorry I've read his earlier writing, but rather admire the refined, mature talents evident in his last six works.
March 10, 2025
I enjoyed the alternating chapters about the separated Giles and Eliza. The first lives with his new partner Julia and the latter with her dead sister Hannah's child Dido. These are clever middle class people, although Eliza refuses any support and lives frugally with Dido. We hear all about their backgrounds before another character appears. Pearce is a farmer in Cornwall and it's only when Eliza and Dido share a dilapidated caravan in the wilds outside St Just do the stories come together.
There is one chapter here, when Eliza joins a madrigal group, that her interaction with the singers is truly exceptional. And here is Pearce. Of course having holidayed in Cornwall so many times, there is plenty for me to find interesting. "Their car climbed the downs above Wadebridge", and a visit to St Michael's Mount etc. Giles is, interestingly, a counter tenor who is to rehearse an important performance.
I was not impressed with leaving Hannah's story and the connection with her daughter until very late on. A secondary story about the search involving an ancient madrigal was never fully realised, and the book sort of peters out at the end. But the research on many fronts is impressive. I'm not sure that it warranted 500 pages, I haven't read one that long for ages. But the writing is splendid and there was much to enjoy.
There is one chapter here, when Eliza joins a madrigal group, that her interaction with the singers is truly exceptional. And here is Pearce. Of course having holidayed in Cornwall so many times, there is plenty for me to find interesting. "Their car climbed the downs above Wadebridge", and a visit to St Michael's Mount etc. Giles is, interestingly, a counter tenor who is to rehearse an important performance.
I was not impressed with leaving Hannah's story and the connection with her daughter until very late on. A secondary story about the search involving an ancient madrigal was never fully realised, and the book sort of peters out at the end. But the research on many fronts is impressive. I'm not sure that it warranted 500 pages, I haven't read one that long for ages. But the writing is splendid and there was much to enjoy.
September 19, 2021
This was a delightful, clever book that kept you guessing right until near the end when a painful and devastating truth is revealed, thereby making sense of the actions and behaviours of the main characters.
The narrative is third person Omniscient, but focuses in turn upon a character 's feelings and perceptions. So Eliza sees herself as an untidy plain loser who is unlikely to find a partner. However Giles, her husband, realises she is totally unaware of how attractive she really is. Giles is a very handsome man on the outside but badly damaged by his childhood. Julia is his girlfriend who is highly-strung and struggling to maintain her façade of efficient professional.
But at the heart of this story is 9 year old Dido who Eliza has had to bring up following the death of her real mother, Hannah, Eliza's sister. She is beautifully drawn, as a sensible, solemn little girl who is the bond between Eliza and Giles, after their split. When Eliza and Dido must return to Cornwall their lives are irrevocably changed.
Throughout the book Hannah is described as having "a problem" as a teenager, but nothing will prepare you for what that problem is.
Very clever and very moving. I loved this totally absorbing book.
The narrative is third person Omniscient, but focuses in turn upon a character 's feelings and perceptions. So Eliza sees herself as an untidy plain loser who is unlikely to find a partner. However Giles, her husband, realises she is totally unaware of how attractive she really is. Giles is a very handsome man on the outside but badly damaged by his childhood. Julia is his girlfriend who is highly-strung and struggling to maintain her façade of efficient professional.
But at the heart of this story is 9 year old Dido who Eliza has had to bring up following the death of her real mother, Hannah, Eliza's sister. She is beautifully drawn, as a sensible, solemn little girl who is the bond between Eliza and Giles, after their split. When Eliza and Dido must return to Cornwall their lives are irrevocably changed.
Throughout the book Hannah is described as having "a problem" as a teenager, but nothing will prepare you for what that problem is.
Very clever and very moving. I loved this totally absorbing book.
April 2, 2025
Multi-charactered stories interest but don’t ignite.
I am a huge fan of Patrick Gale, and one can never deny the quality if his writing or indeed his storytelling.
For me though, this novel was a little less engaging than I usually find with him.
Too many characters thrown at me all at once in early chapters, so it was a long time before I could connect with any emotionally.
In one strand of the book Gale tackles a challenging topic intelligently and sensitively.but i found myself stepping back from the story a little due to the subject matter. My favourite books are those in which i am always with the characters not observing them from a safe distance.
The convoluted narrative didn’t gel for me, in that it felt (for a while) a bit like a high quality soap that i had dipped into for a while.
Multiple things happening for multiple characters who had connections etc, but without ever revealing a singular idea or theme or even a particular point of view of any kind.
The richness of Gales language and the details along the way in any story of his are here and make this a worthwhile read, but for me its one of his lesser novels (which of course still puts it head and shoulders above 99% of all modern novels)!
I am a huge fan of Patrick Gale, and one can never deny the quality if his writing or indeed his storytelling.
For me though, this novel was a little less engaging than I usually find with him.
Too many characters thrown at me all at once in early chapters, so it was a long time before I could connect with any emotionally.
In one strand of the book Gale tackles a challenging topic intelligently and sensitively.but i found myself stepping back from the story a little due to the subject matter. My favourite books are those in which i am always with the characters not observing them from a safe distance.
The convoluted narrative didn’t gel for me, in that it felt (for a while) a bit like a high quality soap that i had dipped into for a while.
Multiple things happening for multiple characters who had connections etc, but without ever revealing a singular idea or theme or even a particular point of view of any kind.
The richness of Gales language and the details along the way in any story of his are here and make this a worthwhile read, but for me its one of his lesser novels (which of course still puts it head and shoulders above 99% of all modern novels)!
August 17, 2025
I don't think this is Patrick Gale's best novel but, as always, you feel very confident in his embrace. He always demonstrates such depth of understanding of humankind ( gay people particularly but also heterosexuals and interestingly and impressively -children) so that the characters ring true. I was interested to read that, if not a writer he would probably want to be a psychotherapist. He certainly hones in on the same interests of a psychotherapist such as sex, childhood, trauma and relationships.
As a Cornishwoman, I can appreciate that Patrick , as a resident, has got under the skin of the two communities of the county - the artistic, but small Festival set and the workers who serve them from their more shabby council-estates and small farms. It is to his credit that he can "do" the latter in his writing, unlike the glossy world of privelige so often dominant in literature of lesser quality.
The plot is quite a web of dysfunctional relationships and personal problems. It makes you wonder how any of us get through our three score year and ten. Perhaps he has overdone it and is seeing complexity that is not needing to be lit in neon. But hey, its fiction.
June 14, 2024
I loved, loved, loved this book.
I am so glad I found this author, and I'm now going to work my through all his oeuvre in my library. Even if this did hint at paedophilia, and the madrigal / operatic stuff didn't engage me.
I am so glad I found this author, and I'm now going to work my through all his oeuvre in my library. Even if this did hint at paedophilia, and the madrigal / operatic stuff didn't engage me.
January 12, 2024
Eliza is an eccentric academic working on a doctoral thesis on obscure madrigals. She fostered her niece after the death of her sister, Hannah. Dido is now 9 years old. She is wise beyond her years and is quite attached to Giles, her step-father and his partner Julia. Giles is a second-tier counter tenor who makes a good living but is resigned to the fact that he will never be top shelf.
There are complicated relationships between Giles and Eliza and Julia and a lot of talk about madrigals. Eliza and Dido make a trip to her family home in Cornwall after the death of her mother and it is there that Eliza meets Pearce and local farmer who goes on to become her new love.
The characters are not gripping ,and the novel is quite slow until the last 50-100 pages where the revelations and resolutions come thick and fast.
There are complicated relationships between Giles and Eliza and Julia and a lot of talk about madrigals. Eliza and Dido make a trip to her family home in Cornwall after the death of her mother and it is there that Eliza meets Pearce and local farmer who goes on to become her new love.
The characters are not gripping ,and the novel is quite slow until the last 50-100 pages where the revelations and resolutions come thick and fast.
January 7, 2020
What I love most about this author is his story-telling ability: he is able to withhold or obfuscate facts in a delicate way so that you are held by a thread and are shocked and amazed at the end of his novels. Well I think so. You have to read carefully and trust the editing. (For example, in 'Rough Music', the mother calls Will her daughter's 'little brother' - and you have to trust that that is not a careless mistake). The books definitely test your delayed gratification! 'A Sweet Obscurity' is set mainly in Cornwall and it shines through how much Gale loves this part of England. Interesting to find out about madrigals and reminds you to enjoy singing for fun once more. I'm not going to go into too much detail what the book is about, just trust me it is an excellent read.
June 13, 2018
An enjoyable book with well drawn characters that draw you into their complex interwoven lives. Takes you from Oxford to London to Cornwall, with a tragedy at the heart of it which overshadows the present and is very slowly revealed. Touches on depression, anxiety and insecurities well. Interesting academic research which may have ended up all too convenient had there not been an abrupt ‘disaster’ (which I felt was more than a little frustrating but also not reacted to enough by the character!). All in all a very enjoyable read.
June 18, 2023
As others have said - not Patrick Gale's best book for me. I found the start fragmented and a little confusing. That got better. However there are essentially 2 overarching threads in this. There's Eliza's and Dido's stories - Dido is Eliza's adopted daughter. She was born to Eliza's sister who died not long after the birth. This thread was perfectly readable and quite entertaining. The other thread is about Giles - Eliza's husband though she no longer lives with him. His character did nothing for me other than irritate from time to time! Readable but not great - 3.5/5
August 28, 2020
I'm a huge fan of this author's writing and although I'd read this story when it was first published, I couldn't resist buying the copy I found in a charity shop! I loved being reminded of the quality of his evocations of character and landscape and feeling totally drawn into both. Although there are some of his other novels I've enjoyed more, this was a wonderfully engrossing 'comfort' read - and a reminder of how good a storyteller Patrick Gale is.
July 24, 2025
The critics review lead me to expect a different kind of story. After reading the book I wondered , if the critics had actually read the book. I felt the subject of cherubism was not explored particularly well. I liked the mystery of the composer. I liked the writing style which helped to make me finished the book, even though I found some parts confusing, and slow. I don't know if I'd read any more of his books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2019
Classical singer Giles lives with his agent, and looks after his impoverished ex-wife’s adopted precocious daughter, Dido, some weekends.
The characters weren’t likeable, but Gale’s writing style, concentrating on fine detail, draws the reader in, to follow these various characters as they move between London and a very welcoming Cornwall.
The characters weren’t likeable, but Gale’s writing style, concentrating on fine detail, draws the reader in, to follow these various characters as they move between London and a very welcoming Cornwall.
October 20, 2021
Very enjoyable. I love Patrick Gale's writing and usually like his characters. There's some far-fetched stuff here but also some beautifully evoked snapshots of the classical music world. Two slightly spoilerish comments: I felt Giles was 'unfinished' in his story. And coming from the information profession *that* detail was impossible to read no matter how much it helped the characters.
September 1, 2017
Uneven
I've been enjoying reading Gale's work but did not like this as much. The different viewpoints seemed too extreme and sometimes confusing. Unlike his other work I only really got into this half way through and then still felt unhappy with some of the plot twists.
I've been enjoying reading Gale's work but did not like this as much. The different viewpoints seemed too extreme and sometimes confusing. Unlike his other work I only really got into this half way through and then still felt unhappy with some of the plot twists.
November 23, 2017
Hmmm. 471 pages and I only started to get interested in the lives of these characters at P416, and then the promising lead fizzled out without a satisfactory conclusion. so this definitely wasn't a book for me. In spite of it being set in Cornwall where I grew up.
December 15, 2019
I'm so pleased that I picked this up in my local Oxfam! It's turned out to be a thoroughly engrossing and charming read. Found myself genuinely caring about the main characters and identifying with some of the realities of rural life. A firm favourite author for me and this for me, his finest.
July 5, 2020
An early Patrick Gale novel set between London and Cornwall. Complicated relationships with a musical background, the central story revolves round Eliza and her niece Dido. Covers lots of issues, interesting characters and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
February 3, 2024
A good novel and it, mostly, held my attention. Overall I felt it was a bit long.
Really enjoy PG's style of writing - well rounded believable characters, descriptive writing and a "not bad" plot.
Really enjoy PG's style of writing - well rounded believable characters, descriptive writing and a "not bad" plot.
January 25, 2019
Rambles on a bit but it’s a good story, subtle rather than page-turning. Very enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews