Behind the gates of Temple Alice, the aristocratic Anglo-Irish St. Charles family sinks into a state of decaying grace. To Aroon St Charles, large and unlovely daughter of the house, the fierce forces of sex, money, jealousy, and love seem locked out by the ritual patterns of good behavior. But crumbling codes of conduct cannot hope to save the members of the St. Charles family from their own unruly and inadmissible desires.
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"I finished this thinking that the gap of years we are not told about in relation to the beginning of this story may have been similar to Little Edie and Big Edie Beale but with really impeccable manners...." — Marzie (4 out of 5 stars)
"I finished this thinking that the gap of years we are not told about in relation to the beginning of this story may have been similar to Little Edie and Big Edie Beale but with really impeccable manners...."
" A lovely vicious story in which no one behaves well. "
" Ye gads, this was good! "
" very good read. well written, easy to get into. "
" A dark revenge comedy. "
" What a writer..an Irish Downton Abbey...by an author as illuminating as Joyce about our western family psyche. Plain, clever and short! "
" Great read. My heart really ached for Aroon. I'm glad someone loved her in the end. "
" A novel of it's time, the main character is a woman I felt sorry for, especially as her perception of how others see her is so different to the truth. Loved the end. "
" Awesome! A crumbling Irish estate in the 1920s, completely delusional family members who spend their time making each other miserable with cutting remarks and gross food. So dark and funny. Love. "
" A real gem of a book, beautifully written, the gradual development of the storyline and the gradual revelation of Aroon's character is so well dealt with, makes the book a joy to read "
" She is an outstanding writer. "
" Kind of a strange one, but interesting enough that I finished it. Slice of life of rich protestant English bastards in Ireland in the early 1920s. "
" I quite enjoyed part and its humour. Incredibly sad that she loved a man and there was nothing there but how the mind can play tricks and think that there is more. Tis sometimes the perils of life! "
" Dark, depressing, well-written, witty yet ominous. Difficult to read because of the overwhelming sinisterness yet you can't get yourself to stop. Read for my Contemporary British Women Writers class. "
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