132,602
edits
Changes
Shadowstory by Jennifer Johnston (view source)
Revision as of 10:12, 31 March 2018
, 10:12, 31 March 2018no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Shadowstory
|author=Jennifer Johnston
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978755383474
|pages=233
|publisher=Headline Review
|date=November 2011
|summary=Polly grows up in an Anglo-Irish family after the Second World War, in this atmospheric, evocative novel with several memorable characters.
|cover=0755383494
|aznuk=0755383494
|aznus=0755383478
}}
Johnston builds up a portrait of family dynamics through lots of little incidents. The family loves to tell stories of the past and she has learned about those who died. However, I also felt Polly's sadness and discomfort as she discovers some painful truths from conversations between people who don't realise that their comments are heard. Kildarragh is a refuge for Polly but she isn't always sure that she belongs there.
I found the characters in this story very real and convincing, the living and the dead. One of the most interesting, and sometimes disturbing, is Polly's Uncle Sam, her dad's youngest brother, only 5 years older than Polly herself. At different points I found him attractive and irritating. He is sharply critical of his family for sending him off to school for a ""''bourgeois education"" '' and runs away from home, and will not tell his parents where he has gone. While I liked his idealism, and was interested in his plans to go to Cuba to support the revolution, I thought his attitude to his parents was very selfish. I was uncomfortable, as I assume the author intended, with his attitude to Polly, burdening her with secrets but also with a rather incestuous and exploitative streak. This is never spelled out. It is possible to interpret Johnston's presentation of this story as failing to be critical of his incestuous overtures, but I preferred the ambiguity, the chance to read between the lines.
Shadowstory is an atmospheric, evocative novel with some strong, memorable characters. It is a novel for readers who like stories of thoughts and feelings rather than fast paced action, and I would recommend it to such readers. Thank you to Headline Review for sending the Bookbag a copy of Shadowstory.
Bookbag reviews also liked [[Truth or Fiction by Jennifer Johnston]] and [[Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden]]
{{amazontext|amazon=07553834780755383494}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=85688470755383494}}
{{commenthead}}