There are no new stories, only new ways of telling them. This isn't even a new way of telling an old, tired, and frankly quite offensive story. I will not scruple from spoilers from this sentence forward. Stop reading now if you want, despite my urgent advice, to read this tiresome bilge. Another mind-blowing book penned by Tremain is known as ‘The Gustav Sonata’. It was published by Chatto Windus in 2016. This novel features the central characters in the roles of Gustav Perle, Emilie, Anton Zweibel, etc. The setting of the plot is done in Switzerland. Initially, it is depicted that Gustav Perle is brought up in a small town located in Switzerland. World War II horrors can still be witnessed in his village. Gustav is the only child of his parents and resides alone with his mother named Emilie. Gustav adores his mother very much, but she treats with bitterly. As he grows older, Gustav gets acquainted with a Jewish boy named Anton Zweibel and forms a close friendship with him. Anton is mercurial and talented and is an aspiring concert pianist. It's another winner - utterly charming. There are few writers more versatile than Rose Tremain. This enjoyable Restoration farce is - as always - brilliantly written. I am not going to go into a summary of the story because you can get that from the other reviewers. What I will say is that Rose Tremain has a lovely way with words. Some of them were so beautiful that I found myself reading them several times before moving on: All of the characters in “Restoration” have such magnetic chemistry with each other that the story becomes riveting and yet the ratio of coverage each character portrays in relation to others is never overdone. “Restoration” also features unique storytelling where Merivel speaks almost directly to the reader. Although this can be perceived as “cheesy”; it works in “Restoration” (as everything seems to).

Trespass by Rose Tremain | Goodreads Trespass by Rose Tremain | Goodreads

Although subjective, I found the descriptions of Merivel’s dreams/nightmares to be tedious and not necessary to the plot. Not only do these not add depth, but Tremain over utilizes the tactic. Audrun, however, living in her shabby bungalow, can’t bear to leave the land she loves despite the fact that the Mas Lunel holds many bitter memories for her. In fact, possessing the mas is the one thing that keeps Audrun going from day-to-day.It's not helping me that the characters are all of retirement age, I cannot empathise with them, hoping it get's better soon, if I'd not paid good money for this book I'd have given up on it by now. Tremain's extraordinary imagination has produced a powerful, unsettling novel in which two worlds and cultures collide Cath Kidson Magazine

Trespass by Rose Tremain | Waterstones Trespass by Rose Tremain | Waterstones

Although the Mas Lunel can definitely be restored to its former idyllic beauty, Aramon has not kept it up. Tremain writes, "...thousands of Cévenol people had seemed to forget their role as caretakers of the land. Diseases came to the trees. The vine terraces crumbled. The rivers silted up. And nobody seemed to notice or care." No, Aramon doesn’t care. He only cares about getting out. He has no love for the Mas Lunel or the land around it.

The only quibble I have with this book is a maddening habit of Tremain’s to write "and now he, Anthony" or "now that she, Kitty...." when we know who’s being written about. The reference is distracting. Even though grammatically correct, this habit really got on my nerves and it reminded me of something a lesser writer would do, not someone of Tremain’s status. After obtaining her English degree in 1967, author Tremain worked for some time in the British Printing Corporation. She wrote a few nonfiction works based on sufferings of women before releasing her debut novel, the 1976 book called Sadler’s Birthday. In this book, Tremain described the story of an aged butler, who lives a lonely life in the house that his former employers left him. The book not only became successful, but also established the reputation of Tremain as a chronicler of loneliness and despair. In her second book, Tremain has described the life story of a middle-aged woman, who goes through a turmoil and approaches her former teacher for solace. Likewise, Tremain has explored the relationships between an older writer and her interviewing journalist in her third book. The novel is organized by chapters that each end with a revelation and begin with renewed suspense. It's a very literary take on the Victorian serial. All these revelations fall out of the story with the same sort of logic as a sweater unraveling. Each pull leads to another in an unstoppable line. Each one adding just a little more weight, a little more unhappiness, a little more ugliness until the fabric is gone and all is revealed. In another part of the valley live Veronica and her life partner Kitty in a home called Les Glaniques. They are totally and passionately in love. Kitty is a watercolorist of very limited talent and Veronica is writing a book called `Gardening Without Water'. Veronica is originally from England and is very close with her brother, Anthony Verey, who still resides there. Anthony is a narcissistic antiques dealer. He likes to refer to himself as `the Anthoney Verey'. He was once the talk of the town, invited to every party and known by everybody worth knowing. He calls his antiques his `beloveds'. With the downturn in the economy, Anthony is facing an existential crisis. Where once he could fall asleep by counting all those who envied him, he now is selling very little and invited places very infrequently. He and his sister, Veronica, have always been very close though he does not like Kitty. He decides to visit Veronica and stay for an indeterminate length of time. Though Veronica is thrilled about this visit, Kitty has reservations. The book covers a number of interesting themes such as marriage, friendship, definitions of "insanity" and moral duty.

Rose Tremain Books | Waterstones Rose Tremain Books | Waterstones

A criss-crossing, sinuous tale of muted passion and sibling rivarly- and affection- set in the Cevennes. Its peculiar, particular atmosphere is conjured perfectly. Erica Wagner, The Times, Christmas round up From London comes Anthony Verey, a famous antiques dealer in his 60s, suddenly failing to make money from his well-tutored eye for "dead people's" furniture and artefacts. His sister, Veronica, a struggling writer, and her lover, Kitty, an amateur watercolourist, have already emigrated to the Cévenol, and Anthony's arrival brings disruption to the idyll they have found in France. I can never figure out just what it means or what I should expect when reading a book that is either a Pulitzer or Booker winner or nomination. I think it's going to mean that I will just love it because it is so fabulous, but somehow that doesn't seem to be the way it turns out for me and this book is no exception. Unfortunately it’s not. The middle of the book drags when Merivel is sent into exile and he spends his time decorating his house in putrid colors, making ridiculous fur coats and chasing a woman who loathes him.

As you can see, this is a book that is all about its characters, these five predominantly. I believe that one of my texts to my mum when I was about half way through read "What is up with the people in this book?!" Unusually, I managed to enjoy the book despite not identifying with any of the characters or even liking any of them! I wouldn't want to know any of them and I certainly wouldn't want to intrude on their painful world but they are disturbingly captivating. A really enjoyable Restoration farce with a great deal of heart. Robert Merivel is a would be physician and son of a glove-maker to the king. He lives for pleasure and is something of a rake and does not take his medical studies too seriously. He comes to the attention of the king and for a while he is part of the court and plays the fool. The king decides to marry him to one of his mistresses. This involves going to live on an estate in the country and much partying and debauchery ensued. A year after judging the Booker Prize, Rose Tremain was shortlisted for Restoration. She wasn’t done, however, and renewed her acquaintance with the prize in 2010 as a longlistee with Trespass.