tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post3440331861445010926..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: The Cynical Wives Brigade (A Woman of My Age - Nina Bawden)StuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-39797480585939385522013-06-18T21:13:48.924+01:002013-06-18T21:13:48.924+01:00Simon I finished A Woman of my Age, last night - I...Simon I finished A Woman of my Age, last night - I think I enjoyed it more than maybe you did. I did find there were a few things that jarred slightly - the first few pages I had Elizabeth in her mid fifties then had to re-adjust my thinking. The ending was very unexpected - but as I say in my review it did make a peculiar sense to me too. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-62617425855138817792013-06-08T11:40:23.397+01:002013-06-08T11:40:23.397+01:00Thanks, Agnieszka!Thanks, Agnieszka!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-84171877693739296942013-06-08T11:40:13.724+01:002013-06-08T11:40:13.724+01:00Thanks Kat! I'll certainly give Bawden anothe...Thanks Kat! I'll certainly give Bawden another go - I have a policy of not ruling out well-regarded authors until I've read three duds - but I shan't re-read this.<br /><br />I love a readalong! They're great fun :)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-32397547514885817782013-06-08T11:39:28.930+01:002013-06-08T11:39:28.930+01:00How curious about those remarks not being noticed!...How curious about those remarks not being noticed! I can understand that people didn't realise about the perils of getting drunk during pregnancy, but it seems odd to me that being hit was ever considered acceptable by a woman. Glad times have changed - or at least acceptable opinions have changed.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-83727961622063822292013-06-08T11:38:19.236+01:002013-06-08T11:38:19.236+01:00Excellent summation, Fee! I'll turn to Pepperm...Excellent summation, Fee! I'll turn to Peppermint Pig next time instead ;)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-4307690903170241882013-06-08T11:37:54.285+01:002013-06-08T11:37:54.285+01:00Very good point! If I'd read this first (or an...Very good point! If I'd read this first (or another VMC I loathed more - Tea and Tranquillisers) then I'd have never gone back! Luckily the first VMC I read was the Provincial Lady, so I never looked back...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-76686977912263908782013-06-08T11:36:56.676+01:002013-06-08T11:36:56.676+01:00You sound like you got so much more from this than...You sound like you got so much more from this than I did, Agnieszka, and I'm thrilled!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21375542580846678402013-06-08T11:36:33.210+01:002013-06-08T11:36:33.210+01:00I could have coped (indeed, celebrated) Elizabeth ...I could have coped (indeed, celebrated) Elizabeth if she'd gone to said backwaters and been happy with it - because it's the choice I'd have made in her position - but she just mopes about it! If she'd have been happier doing the exciting things of the 60s, she should have just gone and done them.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-66685007946400342802013-06-08T11:35:29.751+01:002013-06-08T11:35:29.751+01:00Thanks Ali - I'd love to know what you thought...Thanks Ali - I'd love to know what you thought of it!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-90142711820528769292013-05-30T19:29:08.713+01:002013-05-30T19:29:08.713+01:00Great review Simon (I’ve read it now). Thank you f...Great review Simon (I’ve read it now). Thank you for doing this readalong. I really like events like this. It’s great to learn about new books and authors. I haven’t heard of Bawden before. I’d like to think it’s because I’m a foreigner not because I’m ignorant, but it’s probably both ;)<br /><br />Agnieszkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12033810414839540800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-28127740140800507542013-05-29T21:05:37.776+01:002013-05-29T21:05:37.776+01:00Simon, great review!
I enjoyed this much more t...Simon, great review! <br /><br />I enjoyed this much more than you did, but not enough to reread it.As I told Kaggy, meant to read along, because I'm a fan of Bawden, but somehow I never DO read along. (I read my Muriel Spark only after you were done with it.) <br /><br />But I WILL read some Bawden later this year in honor of your readalong. Probably something I haven't read.<br /><br />It's wonderful that you sponsor these readalongs.<br />Kathttp://mirabiledictu.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-90678196643169336822013-05-29T01:47:05.885+01:002013-05-29T01:47:05.885+01:00Doesn't sound like my kind of book, but in ans...Doesn't sound like my kind of book, but in answer to your question about 1960s attitudes (as someone who grew up in the 60s, I'm always being asked about these things by my much-younger co-workers who watch "Mad Men"), yes, neither remark would have raised an eyebrow in the 60s - it was a different world for women then, with people holding much different opinions and attitudes then (in the US anyway) than they do now. What you see as the parents' indifference toward children is also very much of its time. Children did not hold the central position in family life that they seem to now. There were no "helicopter" parents hovering over us; whether that is a good or bad thing will probably be debated for years!<br /><br />Life and Dreaminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009082583917609899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21319607978878120622013-05-28T13:46:55.717+01:002013-05-28T13:46:55.717+01:00One to avoid for me, having read both reviews! I t...One to avoid for me, having read both reviews! I think it may reflect that curious moment, the mid 60's, when my own mother was in her late 30's, and part of womanhood was experiencing sexual revolution, yet a whole other experience awaited this class of female, and I say 'awaited' in the sense that they felt no empowerment to change. I have read and loved 'The Peppermint Pig' but this is currently the sum total of my Bawden!<br />FeeFeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00166397248007309952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-6070750447766043712013-05-28T06:49:20.678+01:002013-05-28T06:49:20.678+01:00This sounds like the sort of book that scared me o...This sounds like the sort of book that scared me off of Virago completely for far too many years, afraid that all they had to offer were frustrated housewives who I was meant to sympathize with when all I really wanted to do was smack some sense into them!Claire (The Captive Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07430380065718826213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-38931727362072637032013-05-28T00:09:14.164+01:002013-05-28T00:09:14.164+01:00Addendum: well, maybe I shouldn't be so dismi...Addendum: well, maybe I shouldn't be so dismissive. It was the idea of reading self-pitying moping and cynicism that tripped me up. I might read it after I've read all the books sitting here. (elbow to ribs, wink, wink)Tiffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13778085151055551720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-75421540133304404152013-05-27T22:51:28.749+01:002013-05-27T22:51:28.749+01:00I started reading your review Simon, but then, fol...I started reading your review Simon, but then, following your example, I decided to write my comment about the book before reading the whole post. <br />First of all, I’ve never heard about “A woman of my age”, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise and I’m so grateful I can learn about all those books I’ve never known before.<br />Ok, about the book...<br />Elizabeth and I couldn’t be more different. I’m not married, don’t have children, hate politics but after reading: “The important thing is that I am in the middle of my life and I feel as I did when I was adolescent, that I do not know where to go from here” I somehow thought that we have more in common than I probably want to admit. I felt some kind of solidarity with Elizabeth. Although I occasionally didn’t agree with her I desperately wanted her to be happy. I knew Richard wasn’t faithful far before he was caught in flagrante, so when she finally discovered the truth I “said” to her: “For God’s sake, run away and live your life”. And she did run away. As weird as it sounds, I was really happy. I had in my mind a perfect ending of this book: Elizabeth leaving her husband, finding a great job where she is appreciated, marrying Adam, staying friends with the Hobbs and all those sugary things. Ok, it’s too sweet, but I really wanted this book to finish like that. It would be so uplifting. <br />So when I actually finished “A woman of my age” I was angry. I’m still angry. What on earth was that???? I thought it was going so well. Hmm.... apparently not. <br />Still, I enjoyed the book. Enjoyed the writing, I underlined so many sentences I loved, like this one: <br />“You look out of your window and then the wind blows and the next time you look it’s all different. It made me feel funny. As if I suddenly knew I couldn’t be sure of anything any more”. <br />It's just brilliant! I could read it over and over again. <br />(But I still can’t get over the ending.)<br />Agnieszkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12033810414839540800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-9031888221407672042013-05-27T15:04:49.118+01:002013-05-27T15:04:49.118+01:00Having lived and spread my fledgling wings in the ...Having lived and spread my fledgling wings in the 60s, I have little desire to spend precious reading time with a character of Elizabeth's ilk. Our parents had made it through WWII and were too bruised and grateful to do much more than get on with the business of living, few taking time to question the values and mores of their parents, the Victorians. It was left to us to do that and so we did, marching with Dr. King or protesting the Vietnam war. Women could vote, yes, but glass ceilings abounded. These Elizabeths who drifted off into supposedly safe backwaters missed the very heart of the 60s: its excitement, energy, and intense aliveness. I'll give this Virago a miss...thanks, Simon!Tiffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13778085151055551720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-5776944496511766932013-05-27T14:49:39.184+01:002013-05-27T14:49:39.184+01:00Fabulous review - I now have this book as I was se...Fabulous review - I now have this book as I was sent a copy by lovely Elaine from librarything. I will try to read it very soon - as I have enjoyed the couple of other Bawden novels I read, and your review has intrigued me further.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-43083126532164411912013-05-27T14:27:29.412+01:002013-05-27T14:27:29.412+01:00:)) I know exactly what you mean - 1960s attitudes...:)) I know exactly what you mean - 1960s attitudes seem almost quaint!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-3144662554460741452013-05-27T14:20:54.793+01:002013-05-27T14:20:54.793+01:00It's odd that I find 1930s novels so much *les...It's odd that I find 1930s novels so much *less* dated than 1960s ones! StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-6643273645426550592013-05-27T14:19:06.952+01:002013-05-27T14:19:06.952+01:00Nice review Simon! Yes, I think this book is very ...Nice review Simon! Yes, I think this book is very much stuck in the time it was written and that *does* very much affect the attitudes of the characters and the events. Oddly enough, Elizabeth's self-centredness reminds me a little of Wilmet in Pym's "Glass of Blessings" which I just finished. It's a shame that Bawden's writing is wasted on characters and a plot that end up being not terribly inspiring!QAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com