Monday, June 17, 2013

The Witch of Exmoor by Margaret Drabble



I have not read anything by British author Margaret Drabble so when I saw her book The Witch of Exmoor at The Village Bookstore I thought, well, why not give her a try.

I have read about 50 pages and so far it appears to be the type of story where people sit around the dinner table discussing things. I have already attended two dinners. The main topic of discussion is Mom. Her three children and their spouses are all wondering why, in her sixties, Frieda decided to sell the family home and buy an isolated, crumbling castle at the edge of the sea. (After listening to her children prattle on, I can make a good guess...)

Anyway, is she going a bit mad or has she just become even more eccentric, they wonder. And what is going to happen to her money? When she dies, will there be enough left to leave her already successful children and their families?

I need a bit more action and fewer psychological musings. Ms. Drabble does offer some smart, caustic observations about Britain's middle class (or so the dust cover tells me) so I may sit through one more dinner.

I was hoping for more 'witching' and less 'bitching'. And I don't mean magic, but more about Frieda, retired writer, and less about her self-satisfied, selfish children.

2 comments:

  1. I love Drabble, but must admit this isn't one I've reread (though maybe I should). Her '60s comedies are light and charming, and maybe one of those would be a good place to start. Many of us also like The Realms of Gold, about an archaelogist, her family, and, get this, the psychological/socilological structure of the 1970s.

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    1. Kat, I seem to have picked up not-the-best-books by authors I wanted to try - Maeve Binchy and Ms. Drabble - on my book-buying jaunt in Missouri. Maybe that is why they were on the used bookstore's shelves. I am glad for the recommendation of another of Ms. D's books. Thanks. I am a big fan of light and charming comedies!

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