Official Review: The Summer House by Alice Thomas Ellis
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Official Review: The Summer House by Alice Thomas Ellis
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Summer House" by Alice Thomas Ellis.]
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Official Review: The Summer House, by Alice Thomas Ellis
The Summer House is actually a trilogy of novellas: The Clothes in the Wardrobe, The Skeleton in the Cupboard, and The Fly in the Ointment. It is the story of an upcoming wedding, where the bride, Margaret, is a young woman who feels obligated to marry Syl, an unpleasant older man, in order to satisfy her mother’s wishes, even though she would really rather become a nun. The trilogy is a comedy of manners about people behaving badly and other individuals who are striving to act well in a fallen world. Alice Thomas Ellis writes with wit and style, with prose so acerbic the ink practically burns holes in the paper.
Each portion of the Summer House trilogy is told by a different narrator. The Clothes in the Wardrobe is narrated by Margaret, who is the least interesting of the three narrators. Slightly wistful with a touch of inspidness, Margaret is a young woman who is still hurting over the pain of a love affair gone wrong. The Skeleton in the Cupboard is told from the perspective of Mrs. Monro, Syl’s mother. While many mothers are overly sympathetic and protective of their sons, Mrs. Monro regards her son with the same level of loathing that a particularly fastidious housekeeper might direct towards a stray dog that wasn’t housetrained in her living room. Finally, Lili, a high-spirited, exuberantly unconventional woman who takes great pleasure in shaking up situations narrates The Fly in the Ointment. The latter two narrators are far more colorful and unique characters than Margaret, though all three women’s perspectives are necessary to understanding the story.
The plotline revolves around the preparations leading up to the wedding, coupled with many people’s realizations that no good can come from this union. Some characters feel helpless to stop this doomed relationship, others try shocking and hilarious solutions in order to solve the situation. In a lesser writer’s hands, this plot would lie limp and dead, with bad jokes and worse taste. Thanks to the great talent of Alice Thomas Ellis, however, the story sparkles with wit and perceptive insights into the human condition.
Alice Thomas Ellis (1932-2005) is the author of numerous novels, some of which were nominated for awards in her native Great Britain. However, despite her literary skills and critical respect, she has never gained much attention in America, though she richly deserves it. Her favorite topics include religion– particularly Catholicism, which she converted to when young, the state of late twentieth-century Britain, and the never-ending battle between the sexes. The Summer House is not Ellis’s greatest work, but it is a gem of a book.
Ellis’s novels are full of bitterness, irascibility, and sarcasm. They are also stuffed with charm, faith, warmth, insight, intelligence, and brilliance. Ellis is a writer who lights dozens of candles while loudly cursing the darkness. The Summer House is a welcome antidote to insipid romantic comedies and is a shining example of rich writing that is both hilariously lively and deathly serious.
I give this book four out of four stars.
***
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-- 22 Dec 2014, 03:38 --
Alice Thomas Ellis is one of my favorite authors, but most of her books are out of print, at least in the U.S. I was thrilled to see that one of her books (or rather, THREE of her books in one collection), are now available as e-books. I'm very happy that I had the chance to review this book.
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The Summer House is actually a trilogy of novellas: The Clothes in the Wardrobe, The Skeleton in the Cupboard, and The Fly in the Ointment. It is the story of an upcoming wedding, where the bride, Margaret, is a young woman who feels obligated to marry Syl, an unpleasant older man, in order to satisfy her mother’s wishes, even though she would really rather become a nun. The trilogy is a comedy of manners about people behaving badly and other individuals who are striving to act well in a fallen world. Alice Thomas Ellis writes with wit and style, with prose so acerbic the ink practically burns holes in the paper.
Each portion of the Summer House trilogy is told by a different narrator. The Clothes in the Wardrobe is narrated by Margaret, who is the least interesting of the three narrators. Slightly wistful with a touch of inspidness, Margaret is a young woman who is still hurting over the pain of a love affair gone wrong. The Skeleton in the Cupboard is told from the perspective of Mrs. Monro, Syl’s mother. While many mothers are overly sympathetic and protective of their sons, Mrs. Monro regards her son with the same level of loathing that a particularly fastidious housekeeper might direct towards a stray dog that wasn’t housetrained in her living room. Finally, Lili, a high-spirited, exuberantly unconventional woman who takes great pleasure in shaking up situations narrates The Fly in the Ointment. The latter two narrators are far more colorful and unique characters than Margaret, though all three women’s perspectives are necessary to understanding the story.
The plotline revolves around the preparations leading up to the wedding, coupled with many people’s realizations that no good can come from this union. Some characters feel helpless to stop this doomed relationship, others try shocking and hilarious solutions in order to solve the situation. In a lesser writer’s hands, this plot would lie limp and dead, with bad jokes and worse taste. Thanks to the great talent of Alice Thomas Ellis, however, the story sparkles with wit and perceptive insights into the human condition.
Alice Thomas Ellis (1932-2005) is the author of numerous novels, some of which were nominated for awards in her native Great Britain. However, despite her literary skills and critical respect, she has never gained much attention in America, though she richly deserves it. Her favorite topics include religion– particularly Catholicism, which she converted to when young, the state of late twentieth-century Britain, and the never-ending battle between the sexes. The Summer House is not Ellis’s greatest work, but it is a gem of a book.
Ellis’s novels are full of bitterness, irascibility, and sarcasm. They are also stuffed with charm, faith, warmth, insight, intelligence, and brilliance. Ellis is a writer who lights dozens of candles while loudly cursing the darkness. The Summer House is a welcome antidote to insipid romantic comedies and is a shining example of rich writing that is both hilariously lively and deathly serious.
I give this book four out of four stars.
***
Buy "The Summer House" on Amazon
Buy "The Summer House" on Barnes and Noble
-- 22 Dec 2014, 03:38 --
Alice Thomas Ellis is one of my favorite authors, but most of her books are out of print, at least in the U.S. I was thrilled to see that one of her books (or rather, THREE of her books in one collection), are now available as e-books. I'm very happy that I had the chance to review this book.
Latest Review: The Silent Shadow by Pat S. Clarke
