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An Imaginative Experience
by
Mary Wesley
A traveller on an InterCity train returning to London smells the burn of brakes as it hisses to a stop in the middle of the countryside. He sees a white-faced woman leap from the train and race to the aid of a sheep stranded on its back in a field, unable to rise. Righting it, the woman turns, and he sees her face is full of tragedy.
Considering tragedies of his own, he doe...more
Considering tragedies of his own, he doe...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
July 17th 2007
by Vintage Books
(first published 1994)
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356)
Oct 24, 2012
Mark
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Mark by:
Bookclub
Shelves:
bookclub-reads
Well, the first thing to say is that although the novel begins with a couple of deaths off page as it were which could have meant it was going to be another of the direly morose books my Poole bookclub appears to choose, this one managed to veer away from blood, gore, horror, despair and suicide which so many of them appear to champion and sank down into a relatively predictable amble through the woodlands of coincidence, romance, misunderstanding and satisfactory overall resolution in favour of...more
15 likes · like · see review
view all 11 comments
A train is abruptly halted and a woman runs out to rescue a sheep on its back. 2 men watch from the train, one bemused, one eager to find out why she did it and who she is.
The book follows the lives of these 3 individuals, their past and their present. One of the men becomes obsessed with finding out everything about the woman, and doffs an investigative hat as he finds information about her through her mother,neighbors and friends by pretending to be a friend of her ex-husband.
She tries to fo...more
The book follows the lives of these 3 individuals, their past and their present. One of the men becomes obsessed with finding out everything about the woman, and doffs an investigative hat as he finds information about her through her mother,neighbors and friends by pretending to be a friend of her ex-husband.
She tries to fo...more
Aug 25, 2009
Wayne
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
want a breather from serious stuff
Recommended to Wayne by:
Mary's biography
This is an entertaining lightweight piece.
But if you are as close to death as I am ...DON'T!!!
Read it, that is!!!
Colette said that when young you could afford to waste time on a love affair. But when one grew older, it was necessary to make decisions about such things far more quickly and send the intrusion on their way quicksmart.I extend this philosophy to characters/books also.
The heroine who began by being eccentric and interesting and becomes more so...murderous, difficult, thoughtless, but...more
But if you are as close to death as I am ...DON'T!!!
Read it, that is!!!
Colette said that when young you could afford to waste time on a love affair. But when one grew older, it was necessary to make decisions about such things far more quickly and send the intrusion on their way quicksmart.I extend this philosophy to characters/books also.
The heroine who began by being eccentric and interesting and becomes more so...murderous, difficult, thoughtless, but...more
Apr 06, 2010
Susan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
inherited,
cosy-toes-reads
Mary Wesley is a fresh voice in my to-be-read pile. An Imaginative Experience is one of the many books that I've inherited from the recent passing of my mother-in-law.
I enjoyed this story immensely. The opening paragraph begins a strand which runs throughout the entire book. The two primary characters are Julia, a recent widow who is grieving the loss of her little boy and Sylvester, who's in the throes of an unpleasant divorce. And then there's the obnoxious Maurice, a twitcher otherwise known...more
I enjoyed this story immensely. The opening paragraph begins a strand which runs throughout the entire book. The two primary characters are Julia, a recent widow who is grieving the loss of her little boy and Sylvester, who's in the throes of an unpleasant divorce. And then there's the obnoxious Maurice, a twitcher otherwise known...more
I'm particularly intrigued by Ms Wesley's characters crossing social classes. This is the second of her books that had a woman leave her proper social place to accept work as a menial. Ms Wesley reflects the attitudes of the era in some of her characters who believe it would be better to starve than to step down in social rank just to secure work. Julia escaped her situation by becoming a house keeper and befriending other social misfits like the Patels her local shopkeeping friends. Julia's tol...more
I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction because I generally don't like it; bad books get published all the time, and it irritates the hell out of me. I picked this up at the library, and stuck it out. An odd story, but ultimately satisfying. Strange protagonist, sad backstory, intriguing romantic interest, horrid neighbors, and a creepy crawler actually tie well together in the end. Terrible title, though. I couldn't remember what it was about afterward and had to come back to read reviews to...more
What a wonderful find among the books on the shelves of my vacation beach cottage. Wesley is compared to Barbara Pym, but I think her writing is richer and her characters more complex, along with the delightful story's breezy pace. Seems her books are out of print, and after returning home I immediately hit the used book stores to scour up more of her!
Sylvester, travelling on a train, is thrown into series of unexpected events. The lives of three people are thereafter bound up due to some rather unlikely circumtances and coincidences. Humorous misunderstandings and deep emotion in this fast-paced book.
Just finishing up this re-read (needed a "comfort book"). I don't necessarily care for all of Wesley's books, but this one is always enjoyable. It's the kind of book where you would like to have some of the characters as friends.
This British author's stories are filled with wit and wisdom. The plots and characters are unique.
This book just made me feel good, in a "reading Jane Austin" kind of way.
This book just made me feel good, in a "reading Jane Austin" kind of way.
Each time I had to put it down I looked forward to returning to the story and characters. Enjoyable and satisfying.
Picked up as part of my avoiding something a little further down my reading list (I'll leave anyone who is interested enough to research that one) and devoured in one go because it was, as anticipated, so easy to read.
A grieving Julia stops a train to rescue a sheep thus unwittingly incurring the sympathy of Sylvester and, as a consequence of that, the animosity of Maurice. The subsequent entangling of their lives and revelations of Julia's troubled past lead to the inevitable happy ending in a...more
A grieving Julia stops a train to rescue a sheep thus unwittingly incurring the sympathy of Sylvester and, as a consequence of that, the animosity of Maurice. The subsequent entangling of their lives and revelations of Julia's troubled past lead to the inevitable happy ending in a...more
Satisfying read. Wanted more of the sweet romance & less of the boorish minor characters.
thanks to my friend kerfe i began my exploration of
mary wesley- well done
mary wesley- well done
I found this on Sandra's bookshelf and liked it.
Wonderful Wesley,Sylvester very Colin Firth !
May 03, 2008
Mary Mccoy
added it
I can only hope that the last copy of this book is the one that ended up in Tonga, as I wouldn't want to curse the rest of the world with it. Characters that are never developed plus plot twists that are never resolved. I only finished it waiting for things to pull together. Avoid this book.
If there is such a thing as "typical" Mary Wesley, this book is. The threads between the protagonists are practically invisible at first, then slowly are woven into a clear and very human pattern. There's a darkness, but also both light and hope.
It's years since I have read any Mary Wesley and there is a similarity with Ian McEwan in this novel - the ramifications of one relatively minor incident on the lives of a number of people.
An enjoyable novel
An enjoyable novel
Interesting, well-plotted and paced, an unusual love story.
I seem to be caught in a British novelist vortex and I'm pretty happy about it. This book was a fun and an easy read, with a predictable outcome, but as an American reader, I found that I needed to sit up and pay attention. I was not disappointed! I LOVE the descriptive language and found myself "there" on every page. This would be a good beach read. (Too bad, this book was purchased off my library discard table...well, good for me, sad for other public library readers.)
Jun 17, 2013
Michael O'Connor
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
modern-fiction
Jun 03, 2013
Molly
marked it as to-read
Jun 02, 2013
Heather Meredith
added it
Jun 01, 2013
Roberta
marked it as to-read
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Mary Wesley, CBE (24 June 1912 – 30 December 2002) was a English novelist. She reportedly worked in MI5 during World War II.[citation needed]During her career, she became one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.
She wrote three children's books, Speaking Terms and The Sixth Seal (both 1969) and...more
More about Mary Wesley...
She wrote three children's books, Speaking Terms and The Sixth Seal (both 1969) and...more
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