This was the sixth short book by Penelope Fitzgerald that I have read and unfortunately it wasn't the best. Her experiences of teaching at a theatrical school obviously prompted her to write this novel but the story is fairly weak. We still get the Fitzgerald trademark wit and there are times it is very funny: "I'm considerably younger than you are. I always have been". The language is as always exquisitely quirky: "All the common sense was on his side, as the frayed furniture bore witness". Just don't expect any plot.
Not normally a fan of thrillers, I was impressed by the absence of descriptive violence and nerve shredding excitement. Instead we get an original plot, great writing, interesting characters and Texas. Packed full of modern culture, food, clothes etc.: "My lips are glued to the pin stripe straw of a Dairy Queen Doctor Pepper". There were many bits of Americana that I didn't understand, but they created the right kind of atmosphere. What are lima beans?
The story is more the legacy of a crime. Tessie/ Tessa is a victim who has extravagantly vivid imaginings of what might have happened. She is so lucky to have a daughter like Charlie, such a brilliantly described teenager. I guess we had to have a heart pounding ending but it was thankfully soon over.
I'm giving up on Ali Smith. She was one of my favourite authors until "How to be both" which I hated. Unfortunately this was no aberration if her latest set of eight disappointing short stories (at which she previously excelled) is anything to go by. There were two I liked: "Last" and "The Ex-Wife" but the others seemed just to be musings on a theme. To write down lots of facts, probably gained from the internet, is just lazy and boring. Is it just me?
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