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So happy to have finally read one of Fitzgerald‘s books - I love her writing style and this story felt oddly comforting to me (a testament to how terrible things are these days perhaps). Her writing feels like something from another era. I‘ll be reading more of her for sure.

‘Are we to gather that Dreadnought is asking us all to do something dishonest?‘ Richard asked.

Apparently it‘s unusual to open a novel with dialogue.
#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

Slim novel which felt understandably dated, especially in sexist attitudes.
The characters were well developed and I liked the ways they interacted.

Late night photo of latest read which I picked up in the bookshop at Stourhead.
I've read a couple by her.
This feels a little dated but hopefully not cringily so...

Note to self: read more Penelope Fitzgerald. 🙂 Recommendations welcome! There only other I've read is Human Voices.

This is a well crafted book with fully formed characters. It‘s about liminality: the characters are all in their own way in between. In between love and hate, life and death, childhood and adulthood, marriage and singledom and the deprivation of war and prosperity of peace. And this is all symbolised by the eccentric barge dwellers at the beginning of the sixties. A book that impressed with its skill and economy rather than one I loved

A group of odd people live on houseboats on the tidal Thames in London. Not much happens until the end, when the whole world of each protagonist changes irrevocably. The set-up was good but I had a hard time comprehending what was happening and caring for what was. I think I just wasn‘t in the mood and that it deserves another read and a better appreciation. #ManBookerPrize

"It's right for us to live where we do, between land and water. You, my dear, you're half in love with your husband, then there's Martha who is half a child and half a girl, Richard who can't give up being half in the Navy, Willis who is half an artist and half a longshoreman, a cat who is half alive and half dead..."

A short, poignant novel about a group of neighbours living on houseboats at Battersea Reach in the 60s.

Recommended ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I kept hearing Penelope Fitzgerald‘s name and hadn‘t read anything by her so I tried this one. It‘s such a delight. A group of people living on barges on the side of the Thames, each life in some kind of peril or at a crossroads. And two of the most delightful children! It‘s only 141 pages, so just a peek at their lives at a key moment - but beautifully told. Have to read more by her now!

Reading Envy Podcast 091: Watching Our Stories with returning guest Tracy. Summer reads, HEAs, & an accidental water theme. http://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy091 #podcast #romantsy #tournamentofbooks #swordandlaser

This slim novel took me longer to read than I expected but I love the cast of characters living in the houseboat community on the Thames on Battersea Reach. Winner of the Man Booker Prize in 1979.

A little masterpiece. Economical but gorgeous prose, wonderful sense of place and character. Fitzgerald has enviable control of her writing and it's a delight to be swept up in her skill. #TacklingTheTBR

I'm a bit of a snack the fiend when I'm reading so this #bookandmyfavesnack is embarrassingly accurate. Pistachios, black grapes and dark chocolate. Oh and tea, always tea. This is Blue Flower Earl Grey from my favourite tea shop. #ReadJanuary

What a delightfully quirky little novel about a bunch of odd folks living on houseboats on the Thames in London. With her unusual descriptions and withholdings, Fitzgerald keeps you guessing in the most enigmatic of ways. These characters are ambivalent, indecisive, in-between, and unforgettable. It was my first by her; based on a chapter of her own life, and apparently one of her best (it won the Booker in 1979), it completely charmed me.

My first Penelope Fitzgerald!

Really enjoying this book. I can definitely see why it won the Booker.

My dear friend just loaned this to me today. I think it will be my next pleasure read. I have to take a break from research sometimes, right?