by R C Sherriff
Downloaded on Kindle on impulse after reading Booker Talk’s review of it in a list of her 2022 reads. It’s a short book which I’ve enjoyed over a few short days – but really enjoyed.
The Stevens family lives in South London and takes their family holiday for two weeks every September in Bognor. The course of their holiday in one particular summer – perhaps their last all together as a family? – is imagined in great detail in this charming book. The details of their home environment described so that the reader can really imagine the house on Corunna Road, the neighbours, the garden with its tidy toolshed, even the cat and canary. We observe the Stevens as they prepare for their two weeks away. Will Ernie be allowed to bring his toy yacht? Will the neighbour charged with feeding the cat actually feed the ‘bloaters’ to Puss, or consume them herself? The pre-holiday tasks are checked off a list prepared for previous years by Mr Stevens.
By the time the family alights from the train in Bognor – complete with meticulously-packed luggage, transported to the station on foot by a porter booked in advance – the reader is already a third of the way into the book. WE learn about their reactions to their fellow travellers. Their relief when the baby who has been grabbing at Mr Stevens’ hat-brim finally alights with its mother. The conversation that eventually starts up with a fellow traveller, only when they are nearing their destination (and how often have I experienced this when travelling in close quarters such as on an aircraft?).
Each member of the family, with the possible exception of the youngest, Ernie, has his or her own individual pleasures in the holiday. And each also has their own challenges, fears and concerns.
I could go on … but really, this was such a joy to read and I can imagine I may come back to it. Thank you Karen of Booker Talk, for recommending this exquisite book!
Postscript: Did British schools in the 1920s/30s really allow pupils two weeks off in early September? Or are Mr and Mrs Stevens prepared to take Ernie out of school – which was allowed as late as the 1990s – at the crucial start of the autumn term? I have tried researching this online, but haven’t yet found a satisfactory answer.
A rug and a book 