Thursday 13 May 2010

Afternoon of a good woman (Bawden)


Time for another Nina Bawden, this one being The afternoon of a good woman. I have to say that I think that this is one of her most accomplished novels, being cleverly told, and despite having been written in the 1970s, remarkably undated.

It tells the story of Penelope, a magistrate, on the day that she has decided to leave her husband. Her day presiding over court cases is interspersed with her thoughts about her past, bringing up issues such as sex, marital boredom, families, children, incest. Gradually, the memories piece together to build up a picture of Penelope's life and enable us to see why she has got to the point of deciding to leave her husband.

It's been published in the Green spinal type of Virago edition (at some point I must clarify the different sorts of green editions so that I can be more

Just the Grain of Truth to read and then I'm done with Bawden!

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