Jane Gardam

I had never heard of Raj Orphans before so for me this book was a real discovery in aspects of British culture and history. It is so steeped in a certain culture that I'm sure I missed references and subtleties - because this book is all about precision in what is both said and left unsaid - but I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed this dense and very specific book. It certainly explains a generation where unspoken trauma infused in all aspects of life from lack of intimacy to an unalterable sense of duty.
I'm definitely curious to read the rest of the trilogy.… (more)

First line: Because the baby had come, special attention had to be given to Margaret, who was eight.

Precocious, wise, and innocent, Margaret is allowed to go out on Wednesday afternoons with the maid, Lydia. Her forays into the wider world, away from her severely religious father and acquiescent mother, mark the beginning of the end of her childhood. Over the course of the summer, Margaret sees things she doesn't understand, but which she knows are not right. As she struggles to make sense of this baffling adult world, she impacts those around her in unintended ways.

Like Gardam's novel Crusoe's Daughter, God on the Rocks deals with themes of loss, lonely children, women chaffing at narrow, prescribed lives, the role of religion in controlling women, and the sea as both solace and danger. Gardam's writing is honest and unflinching with as little frivolity as the world she depicts. Although rarely happy, her characters feel fully formed and real. Meticulous in her descriptions, each detail adds to the larger image, as a brushstroke in a painting. Nothing is superfluous. I love opening a Gardam book and knowing exactly the sort of reading experience I have ahead of me.… (more)