We All Ran Into the Sunlight

by Natalie Young

Set in the shimmering landscape of the southern Cevennes, Natalie Young's novel alternates between the years immediately after the Second World War and the present day to explore a dark family secret and its ripple effect on people's lives."

Genres: Fiction

315 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Anne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so wanted to like this one - the book jacket write-up sounded quite perfect, and the cover alone made me smile. But it was a real disappointment and I must admit I was quite reluctant at times to carry on reading. The modern story was really un-engaging for me - him with his wine-buying trips and her mooning around the chateau. 1940s Lucie was good - excellent creation of her small world and her solitude, beautifully done. But we waited all the way through for the reappearance of Daniel, and he was such a disappointment - never really lived on the page, just an over-sized petulant child really. I did like the character of Sylvie - some of the scenes with her mother were some of the best in the book. But I needed a crisper narrative drive - hints and lyrical bits just left me finding the whole thing a little limp, and a bit of a wasted opportunity really. There was a good book in there somewhere....

[Bernadet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nederlandse vertaling: Verblind door de zon

[toria (vikz writes) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple, Kate and Stephen Glover, rent a house in a rural French Village, hoping to recover from their stressful jobs and refresh their marriage. The peaceful setting affects the couple in very different ways. Kate’s emotional well being is enhanced by the peaceful location. However, Stephen is bored by the village setting and challenged by the unfriendliness of the village’s inhabitants. The villagers seem uncultured and emotionally inhibited. They soon learn that the inhabitants of this community have a history that they dare not explore. On the surface, the historic French village, at the heart of this novel, looks at peace with itself and its past. But, it has a rotten secret at its core. That secret is embodied by a decaying building which casts a shadow over the whole community. Gradually, Kate is drawn to the building. It seems to have a hypnotic effect on her. She is told that the building has had a long history of pain and suffering. The building has pain and death built into its very structure. She is shown the tombstone of a person who died a tragic death in the grounds of the building. The building seems to be absorbed by pain and that pain seems to cast a shadow on the village.

This book works well as both: a piece of weird fiction, reminding me of Shirley Jackson; and as a piece of historical/generational writing. The darkness within the text mirrors the darkness of the setting. I have only one reservation concerning this work. I question the need of the epilogue. The story seems to end well in the final chapter, leaving enough room for the reader to form their own opinions concerning the fate of the house. It does not need the epilogue with its attempts to tie up the loose ends.

This book is a history of a house, a house that is saturated with sorrow and that overwhelms those who live in its shadow. It explores the way that history can, and does, cast a cloud over the lives of human beings. The book will live with you for a long time. http://literarystuff.wordpress.com/20...

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully presented book, the cover is antique in style, representing the story inside.
A story of love and family breakdowns that centres on a Chateau in a small town in the French Cevanne region, this is told in three time-scales.
Opening with the prologue in 1985 and celebrating the 60th birthday of Lucie Borja with a party in the grounds of the Chateau. What starts out as a joyous family occasion ends with a tragedy that deeply affects future generations of the family.
The story moves on 20 years to find English couple Kate and Stephen who have taken a sabbatical from their busy city lives to spend time with each other in the rural French countryside. Stephen is bored and Kate becomes obsessed with the crumbling remains of the Chateau and the story that she knows must be behind it’s locked gates.
And then, to 1946 and newly-wed Lucie and Arnaud arrive at the Chateau to start married life. Lucie is a Paris girl and finds it difficult to make friends with the women in the small town, she welcomes an Algerian couple into her home, and finds her first real friend in Fatima.
I must admit that I found Kate and Stephen’ s part of the story quite difficult at times and still wonder quite why it was such a large part of the story. However, I was entranced by the 1940s Lucie, the story of her unhappiness and what would be classed as depression nowadays. Her reaction to people and her behaviours and actions that had massive consequences for future generations of the family and for the townspeople.
This is a strange story, but a compelling and intriguing one. The characters of small town France are captured beautifully, the scenery and the weather captured in great detail.
I enjoyed this novel very much and think that Natalie Young is an author to watch closely.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully presented book with a delightful cover and a story as dark and brooding as the area in which it is set. When Kate and Stephen Glover arrive at the village of Canas, in the Cevennes district of south-central France, they are gradually affected by life in this apparently sleepy village. But as the area starts to influence them, they are overpowered by secrets which unfold, and of past lives ruined by obsession and deceit.
On the whole, I thought this was a promising debut novel, with an interesting story. There were some beautifully descriptive scenes, and the small town feeling of rural France is captured very well. My main criticism is that the initial part of the book was uninspiring, and I didn’t really warm to either Kate or Stephen. I found parts of the early narrative quite slow and at times wanted more substance to the text. My main enjoyment of the book came from reading the section which was set in the 1940’s, where the narrative livened up, and the characters seem to have more substance.
Overall, it’s a promising debut book, and I look forward to reading more by this talented author.

[Vulpecula Borealis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a book that promised so much, but for me delivered a vacuum. 40% through the book I was going to give up (something I rarely do) but then I discovered a half decent, and the first interesting, character. I soldiered on but the interest faded quickly when we switched point of view again. The writing was, for me, far too detached from the characters which meant I didn't really get to know for them, or more importantly care for them. The story was flat, and just felt uncomfortably wrong. The book left me empty wishing I'd never started the book, let alone listened to my instinct to give up. Pointless, flat, dead. Don't be fooled that the story was about the English couple, and there is a mystery told through them. The English couple seemed rather redundant to the story for me. I'm not sure they even got to the bottom of the "mystery of the chateau". If you can call it that. Never has a book left me with such a void. Sorry this just wasn't for me in such a big way.

[Katherine Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The build up was great, but the ending very disappointing.
A great story about an old Frech house, flitting between two time zones. One family moving in, starting up their own vineyard, struggling with infertility. the nice twist was trhe workers sister giving birth, then more babies from other family members. Twisted.
In the here and now, it's a conflict between two of the children (now grown up), and a new couple and their issues.
I expected more of an exciting ending. Instead, it's like the authoress got bored or distracted, and just wrote anything. Half of the last few pages didn't even make sense!
not one i'd run out and recommed

[Helen Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought it was a promising first novel. At times, I found it a bit pretentious but very often I really enjoyed her characterisation and her descriptions of the villagers - the slyness, the subtle marking out of who belongs and who never will is cleverly done.
I was actually impressed by the secret which slowly unravels and weaves in and out of the story - you do believe it could tear all of these characters lives, if not apart, then into different sized shreds.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sort of liked this book but it wasn't very memorable - I finished reading it two months ago and had to go back and look at it again before reviewing it. What I do remember most about it were the descriptions of southern France which were very evocative. however, I did not find the characters in the book very credible and didn't really care about them. A good read for the beach though.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of a French chateau and a family that zaps back and forth in time and takes turns with various characters. Lots to like about it and I enjoyed the read. I was mildly worried because I'd read reviews saying that the ending was a bit anti-climatic, but, perhaps because I'd read those reviews, I didn't mind the ending at all.

[Judith Yeabsley · Rating 1 out of 5]

BORING. I almost gave up as it kept hinting at the secrets that were obviously to be revealed and that were the only thing that may keep the story alive but came way too late in the book. I was half way through before the secrets began to be unravelled but neither them nor the characters were enough to have made the book worth reading. I wish I hadn't bothered finishing .....

[Stantontas]

Starts well, atmospheric, then either me or the book lost interest three-quarters of the way through and the end was unsatisfying. Not really sure what happened, I think that the actions of Daniel didn't have enough impact, maybe compared with the earlier revelations there's not so much that can be done.

[Maisie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old chateau in rural France holds secrets from the past and present. Alternating between the two the characters reveal the story and the parallels in their lives. Great potential but the storyline was slow. Unfortunately I was not gripped by this book which left me thinking I'd missed something and required perseverance to complete it.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far I'm really struggling to get into this book and I'm almost a third of the way through it. It is a depressing novel.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really weird book, I'm honestly not sure what I thought of this. It had so many different twists and turns and I kept forgetting who all the characters were and how they were all related!

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to start, but I became intrigued and wound up enjoying it.

[Erssie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad....but rubbish ending.