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Miss Gomez and the Brethren
Miss Gomez, a recent convert to the local church, has a feeling that a terrible sex crime will soon take place on Crow Street and warns the residents of that area, yet no one listens to her predictions until a young girl goes missing. Reprint.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
7 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
William Trevor
186 books775 followersWilliam Trevor, KBE grew up in various provincial towns and attended a number of schools, graduating from Trinity College, in Dublin, with a degree in history. He first exercised his artistry as a sculptor, working as a teacher in Northern Ireland and then emigrated to England in search of work when the school went bankrupt. He could have returned to Ireland once he became a successful writer, he said, "but by then I had become a wanderer, and one way and another, I just stayed in England ... I hated leaving Ireland. I was very bitter at the time. But, had it not happened, I think I might never have written at all."
In 1958 Trevor published his first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, to little critical success. Two years later, he abandoned sculpting completely, feeling his work had become too abstract, and found a job writing copy for a London advertising agency. 'This was absurd,' he said. 'They would give me four lines or so to write and four or five days to write it in. It was so boring. But they had given me this typewriter to work on, so I just started writing stories. I sometimes think all the people who were missing in my sculpture gushed out into the stories.' He published several short stories, then his second and third novels, which both won the Hawthornden Prize (established in 1919 by Alice Warrender and named after William Drummond of Hawthornden, the Hawthornden Prize is one of the UK's oldest literary awards). A number of other prizes followed, and Trevor began working full-time as a writer in 1965.
Since then, Trevor has published nearly 40 novels, short story collections, plays, and collections of nonfiction. He has won three Whitbread Awards, a PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 1977 Trevor was appointed an honorary (he holds Irish, not British, citizenship) Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to literature and in 2002 he was elevated to honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). Since he began writing, William Trevor regularly spends half the year in Italy or Switzerland, often visiting Ireland in the other half. He lived in Devon, in South West England, on an old mill surrounded by 40 acres of land.
In 1958 Trevor published his first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, to little critical success. Two years later, he abandoned sculpting completely, feeling his work had become too abstract, and found a job writing copy for a London advertising agency. 'This was absurd,' he said. 'They would give me four lines or so to write and four or five days to write it in. It was so boring. But they had given me this typewriter to work on, so I just started writing stories. I sometimes think all the people who were missing in my sculpture gushed out into the stories.' He published several short stories, then his second and third novels, which both won the Hawthornden Prize (established in 1919 by Alice Warrender and named after William Drummond of Hawthornden, the Hawthornden Prize is one of the UK's oldest literary awards). A number of other prizes followed, and Trevor began working full-time as a writer in 1965.
Since then, Trevor has published nearly 40 novels, short story collections, plays, and collections of nonfiction. He has won three Whitbread Awards, a PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 1977 Trevor was appointed an honorary (he holds Irish, not British, citizenship) Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to literature and in 2002 he was elevated to honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). Since he began writing, William Trevor regularly spends half the year in Italy or Switzerland, often visiting Ireland in the other half. He lived in Devon, in South West England, on an old mill surrounded by 40 acres of land.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 27, 2021
Julie G and William T sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love, then comes obsession,
then all of his books, in my possession.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love, then comes obsession,
then all of his books, in my possession.
November 30, 2017
William Trevor does not have to go all sci-fi to create a dystopia. No, instead he creates Crow Street, which once bustled as a part of London but now, sometime in the 1970s but perhaps today, is largely abandoned. Only a public house and a pet store remain of the many shops. The denizens, too, have withered to a decaying few.
There's not what you would call a plot here, and really only story enough to allow Trevor to craft some marvelous characters.
Mr. Batt provides comic relief. His profound deafness creates wonderful misconceptions.
Inspector Ponsonby has his own misconceptions, solving a crime that never occurred.
It is Beryl Tuke who stars though, in her very deplorable way. Drink has edged her mind to a surreal world, imagining that she swoons in the arms of the doctors in the romance novels she reads, when instead she coarsely beds the filthy clientele of the Crow Street pub.
Mr. Tuke stoically watches. She tells him one night that Prudence is not his daughter.
So, Prudence too is abandoned. She takes a shine to Alban Roche, who once lingered in a woman's dressing room.
Yes, misconceptions abound in Crow Street. And into it all comes Miss Gomez, orphaned in a fire that somehow spared her. She never quite fit in at the Jamaican orphanage, and never fits in in a London that is puzzled by the color of her skin, her glasses, and her prophecies. The racism is not subtle here.
Before he is done, Trevor will bring a lorry onto Crow Street. A sign on its side reads: Winstanley's Removals All Parts of London. The last two businesses will come down. By Irish labourers who wandered from one demolition to another, dismantling London.
Through Trevor's eyes, this is not entirely dim.
There's not what you would call a plot here, and really only story enough to allow Trevor to craft some marvelous characters.
Mr. Batt provides comic relief. His profound deafness creates wonderful misconceptions.
Inspector Ponsonby has his own misconceptions, solving a crime that never occurred.
It is Beryl Tuke who stars though, in her very deplorable way. Drink has edged her mind to a surreal world, imagining that she swoons in the arms of the doctors in the romance novels she reads, when instead she coarsely beds the filthy clientele of the Crow Street pub.
Mr. Tuke stoically watches. She tells him one night that Prudence is not his daughter.
So, Prudence too is abandoned. She takes a shine to Alban Roche, who once lingered in a woman's dressing room.
Yes, misconceptions abound in Crow Street. And into it all comes Miss Gomez, orphaned in a fire that somehow spared her. She never quite fit in at the Jamaican orphanage, and never fits in in a London that is puzzled by the color of her skin, her glasses, and her prophecies. The racism is not subtle here.
Before he is done, Trevor will bring a lorry onto Crow Street. A sign on its side reads: Winstanley's Removals All Parts of London. The last two businesses will come down. By Irish labourers who wandered from one demolition to another, dismantling London.
Through Trevor's eyes, this is not entirely dim.
November 12, 2021
Wow, what a strange novel! I've read a lot of books and I can say that this is one of the most original and unique storylines I've ever come across!
I've never read anything by William Trevor before, and I'm sorry I haven't. All of the characters in this story were so authentic and true-to-life. The dialogue was completely realistic and unique to each character's voice/style. Mrs. Tuke? Mr. Batt? Atlas Flynn? Truly unforgettable! Even the "B characters" like Mr. Winstanley and his son who didn't enter the story until the end were so incredible and better than many main characters in other novels I've read recently.
The whole thing was an easy, quick, and compelling read. I had no idea at any time what the hell was going to happen! I'm not even quite sure how to classify it. I eventually thought something like a "black comedy"?? There was an ominous feeling about it...murder mystery?? Drama? Tragedy?
I can't believe no one has ever thought to make a movie of this! It feels like something the Coen brothers might take on. "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski" and "No Country for Old Men" - it would fit right in with their quirky, dark/light style! I'm excited to read more by Trevor!
I've never read anything by William Trevor before, and I'm sorry I haven't. All of the characters in this story were so authentic and true-to-life. The dialogue was completely realistic and unique to each character's voice/style. Mrs. Tuke? Mr. Batt? Atlas Flynn? Truly unforgettable! Even the "B characters" like Mr. Winstanley and his son who didn't enter the story until the end were so incredible and better than many main characters in other novels I've read recently.
The whole thing was an easy, quick, and compelling read. I had no idea at any time what the hell was going to happen! I'm not even quite sure how to classify it. I eventually thought something like a "black comedy"?? There was an ominous feeling about it...murder mystery?? Drama? Tragedy?
I can't believe no one has ever thought to make a movie of this! It feels like something the Coen brothers might take on. "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski" and "No Country for Old Men" - it would fit right in with their quirky, dark/light style! I'm excited to read more by Trevor!
September 19, 2016
A Goodreads friend is a big fan of this author, so thought I'd try one of his works. Much of his output has been short story, which doesn't interest me particularly. So, I looked through the available novels at my library, and this one jumped out at me. First, we get Miss Gomez' background as an orphan in Jamaica, where she's eventually driven to leave the orphanage due to her behavior problems. Moving to London, she works as a stripper and prostitute - after discovering religion, so quite a combination! Later, she takes a job at a pub in a neighborhood all but demolished (full clearance slated). Her employer, Mrs. Tuke, is a fascinating character in her own right: Sybil Fawlty crossed with Mrs. Elton from Jane Austen's Emma, whose mixture of gin with peppermint cordial made me quesy every time it was mentioned. Their confrontation halfway through made me laugh out loud. Second part is more serious, with repercussions of the sudden disappearance of the Tuke's daughter. Ending I found a bit sad, but not unexpected. Highly recommended with one caveat: dog people need to be forewarned that Mr. Tuke's Alsatian, Rebel, meets a rather grisly end (shocking in my opinion).
August 27, 2022
Like some 1970s Patrick Hamilton, William Trevor casts a forensic eye over the sad and lonely lives of a group of people whose lives revolve around a London pub (The Thistle Arms) and, perhaps more surprisingly, a pet shop. The area is being demolished to make way for new housing; most of it, in fact has already been flattened by a gang of largely Irish labourers who take their lunchtime refreshment in the the pub, leaving it till last for that very reason. Into this collapsing old community comes Miss Gomez, a young Jamaican and recent convert to the Brethren of the Way, a bizarre religious outfit operating out of Tacas, Jamaica. Over the course of a dry, dusty summer, Miss Gomez reveals long-buried truths and provokes discord among the remaining residents of Crow Street. Trevor, as usual, excels in the portrayal of characters whose lives seldom feature in fiction; their inner lives, their fantasies, the way that popular culture provides a way of blocking out reality, limited opportunities and regrets are all compassionately observed.
June 8, 2020
I absolutely loved the way Trevor drew out his characters in this novel, surrounding Miss Gomez with a bunch of misfits and dodgy wastrels wherever she happened to go. The religious angle is very well captured and keeps one hooked all the way through.
March 13, 2017
A fine story, interesting characters.
May 23, 2010
Set in a stylised East End of London and rural Jamaica, Miss Gomez... is another of Trevor's character studies of the marginalised people who hover at the edges of society. The victim of unspeakable violence as an infant, Miss Gomez is raised in an orphage, flees to London to "go on the game", finds salvation through religion, and attempts in her own confused way to spread a message of joy and love among unreceptive Eastenders. All of this only to end in disappointment and regret when she returns to Jamaica and the truth about the Church which came to mean everything to her.
November 11, 2019
A most bizarre story! Miss Gomez, the sole survivor of a huge fire that took the lives of an entire neighborhood, grew up feeling unworthy of being alive, even though she was too young to be aware at the time. Showered with good care and affection in her Jamaican orphanage, she responded in such a negative way that all who knew her thought she was mad. She ran away to London to continue her life in pathetically dissipated ways, until she happened to read about The Church of the Brethren of the Way, that had an address back in Jamaica. She wrote to the place, received inspiring letters in return, and was moved to a new and enlightened path in life.
Of course a red flag pops up in the reader's mind when Miss Gomez is asked to send money, and that niggling thought stays in one's mind throughout the rest of the book.
Her new life in London is populated by more unorthodox characters as she sets off proselytizing to any and all, oblivious to the fact that nobody wants to listen to her.
When she finds a neighborhood that calls to her, it is one that is in the process of being razed for redevelopment, with few residents left. Still, she believes it is her mission to spread the word there of her new-found faith, to a degree that she becomes the source of a huge upheaval that seriously impacts the lives of many locals.
Of course a red flag pops up in the reader's mind when Miss Gomez is asked to send money, and that niggling thought stays in one's mind throughout the rest of the book.
Her new life in London is populated by more unorthodox characters as she sets off proselytizing to any and all, oblivious to the fact that nobody wants to listen to her.
When she finds a neighborhood that calls to her, it is one that is in the process of being razed for redevelopment, with few residents left. Still, she believes it is her mission to spread the word there of her new-found faith, to a degree that she becomes the source of a huge upheaval that seriously impacts the lives of many locals.
February 18, 2023
SUMMARY - From Moll Flanders to Maude Flanders, Trevor surprises again with an inventive study on loneliness and warped self-actualisation.
_________________
Trevor regularly lavishes attention on those battered by life, living on its margins, and for good or ill wanting to be heard. Miss Gomez is no exception, and she feels as if drawn from a more lurid early seventies tabloid, with the spicing of a latter-day Daniel Defoe or Henry Fielding. We get a sort of latter-day 'saved from Soho' born-again Moll Flanders.
Her career spans righteously cocky backchatting orphan, sex worker and religious convert. Gomez is refreshingly unapologetic in her forthrightness, if not immune to the racial slights that a single black woman faces in bomb-scarred seventies London. It's a picaresque journey that does well not to let all the changes of action derail the central focus on individual vulnerability- something I am coming to see as a leitmotif in Trevor's writing.
Gomez is a sympathetic character, and her overwrought emotions at points seem better grounded and believable than others might have managed (I rarely get through a review without pointing this finger at Iris Murdoch). We may have equivocal feelings about the monomaniacal holy roller, but when made to look closer, are brought to see a survival instinct behind her outwardly odd behaviour. Trevor shows us eccentricity as the manifestation of hurt and confusion.
Occasionally Trevor's humour more ambiguously treads on race. It is the narrator's joke - not his grotesque publicans on Crow Street - that Africans buy clapped out cars to save money, only to reliably break down and hold up lanes of traffic. The talk of black skin is of its time, but will be offensive to some. However, Trevor's jokes are rarely focused on any one group for long, and I think he is generally genially well-intentioned. I would be interested to hear others' readings.
The inventive first half does not necessarily maintain its momentum to the more predictable end, but it was quite a ride, and overall yet another winner from WT.
_________________
Trevor regularly lavishes attention on those battered by life, living on its margins, and for good or ill wanting to be heard. Miss Gomez is no exception, and she feels as if drawn from a more lurid early seventies tabloid, with the spicing of a latter-day Daniel Defoe or Henry Fielding. We get a sort of latter-day 'saved from Soho' born-again Moll Flanders.
Her career spans righteously cocky backchatting orphan, sex worker and religious convert. Gomez is refreshingly unapologetic in her forthrightness, if not immune to the racial slights that a single black woman faces in bomb-scarred seventies London. It's a picaresque journey that does well not to let all the changes of action derail the central focus on individual vulnerability- something I am coming to see as a leitmotif in Trevor's writing.
Gomez is a sympathetic character, and her overwrought emotions at points seem better grounded and believable than others might have managed (I rarely get through a review without pointing this finger at Iris Murdoch). We may have equivocal feelings about the monomaniacal holy roller, but when made to look closer, are brought to see a survival instinct behind her outwardly odd behaviour. Trevor shows us eccentricity as the manifestation of hurt and confusion.
Occasionally Trevor's humour more ambiguously treads on race. It is the narrator's joke - not his grotesque publicans on Crow Street - that Africans buy clapped out cars to save money, only to reliably break down and hold up lanes of traffic. The talk of black skin is of its time, but will be offensive to some. However, Trevor's jokes are rarely focused on any one group for long, and I think he is generally genially well-intentioned. I would be interested to hear others' readings.
The inventive first half does not necessarily maintain its momentum to the more predictable end, but it was quite a ride, and overall yet another winner from WT.
December 19, 2016
Not my favorite of Trevor's novels, but, as always, his masterful writing is soft and subtle with deeply developed characters enduring pain in their quotidian lives. Miss Gomez is a Jamaican black women who ran away from an orphanage where she was placed as the lone survivor of a horrendous fire. As a child, she cannot emotionally bond with others; as she fled the orphanage she was abused sexually several times but doesn't evince the rage such abuse should elicit. She manages to emigrate to England where after a series of unskilled jobs becomes a stripper and then a prostitute, both activities taking her deeper in a gulf of depersonalized human contact.
In the depths of her estrangement from human feelings, Miss Gomez spots an advertisement in a London paper for a church in Jamaica called "Brethren of the Way". The Brethren claim that happiness will come to those who pray for criminals and others who follow evil ways. The church asks its adherents to write to them of people who needs its prayer ministry and to send money to support the church's mission. She falls for this sect in a big way -- she has broken through her detachment from human kind. She zealously seeks converts to her church; at last she has made an emotional connection with others, but, importantly, she never actually meets the church "reverends"; her only ties are through their replies to her letters.
Miss Gomez makes her way to Crow Street, finding employment cleaning a pet store operated by the widow Mrs. Bassett and an adjacent pub run by Mr. and Mrs. Tuke. Crow Street is an eerie devastation zone, nearly entirely demolished to make way for new housing development. The only premises remaining amidst the rubble are the pet store that Mrs. Bassett refuses to sell and the pub whose brewery leaseholder wants to stay open for the trade brought by the laborers on the project.
In rooms above the pub reside Alban Roche who works in the pet store, Mr. Batt, a pensioner who is deaf and contemplating taking his own life, and Prudence, the Tuke's remote and lonely hippy-like daughter. Alban has recently been released from gaol after serving a short sentence having been caught peeping on women who were undressing. He is fixated on the memory of his late devoted mother who he has come to realize he detested. He has taken a great interest in the pets and will inherit the store upon Mrs. Bassett's passing. Mr. Tuke is a milquetoast husband whose sole emotional attachment is to his Alsatian dog. He formerly was very close to his daughter, but they have become distant after he found out that Pru is from a liaison of Mrs. Tuke and other man. Mrs. Tuke is garrulous in her demeanor and garish in her dress, an alcoholic addicted to romance novels which stoke her florid fantasies. She is haughtily dismissive of an Irish laborer who is pursuing her, but without self-acknowledgment that she has willingly consented to sleep with him.
Mrs. Bassett dies in her sleep and Alban inherits the pet store. His plan is to take the developer's offer of compensation and move the store to another location. Pru secretly loves Alban and finally makes him aware of her feelings. Miss Gomez believes that they all are in need of, and will find solace in, as she has, her religion and she ceaselessly proselytizes them to join her church. She has a premonition that Alban will imminently commit a sex crime and she warns everyone of this. When Pru turns up missing all are convinced that she has been murdered by Alban and the police stage an investigation and search that receives national media attention. It turns out that Pru and Alban have located a premise for the store and she has spent hours out of sight working on readying it for the move. The hysteria spurred by Miss Gomez has turned the incident into a farce.
Pru and Alban start a new life together, but there are hints that it may not be permanent. Before the pub is relocated Mr. Tuke's beloved dog is killed by a pack of feral cats living in the ruins of Crow Street. He becomes more withdrawn and he begins to think that the Brethren might be what he needs in his life to offset his estrangement from his wife and daughter. Mr. Batt moves to new lodging and purchases aspirin that he contemplates using to end his life. His chance encounter with Miss Gomez turns around his thinking on this. She believes that her encounter with Mr. Batt has shown that she is an exemplar of fulfilling the Brethren's doctrines and writes to them of this. When after weeks she receives no reply she books a flight to Jamaica to meet the church's leaders in person. Her pilgrimage to the temple of her church ends up with discovery that the church was a scam that defrauded its distant faithful followers of their "tithes". There's a note of hope when she sees a notice for the "Assembly of God" offering services in Kingston.
Some of the novel's scenes are quite comical, especially when Miss Gomez is firing the characters up about the crime she has foretold, but the comedy only serves to underscore an all-pervasive pathos about their lives. Miss Gomez and the others do not perceive that the tragedies of their circumstances are beyond their ability to control. She has latched on to her religion as the means of personal fulfillment; we are certain she will be betrayed by it. The Tuke's think that through the relocation of the pub their status will improve; we know there is nothing about their inner lives that this will change. The metaphor of their ruined neighborhood parallels the desolation of their lives. The deep sadness Trevor leaves with the reader derives from the hopelessness that the characters can control the circumstances of their lives that bar their happiness, a sadness more profound because they are unaware of it. Think of the dog's fate for a moment. This powerful animal began to show fear about the feral cats and in the end he was killed by them, not even showing a fight. Are not these characters equally unable to master the forces beset them in their lives? Are any humans?
In the depths of her estrangement from human feelings, Miss Gomez spots an advertisement in a London paper for a church in Jamaica called "Brethren of the Way". The Brethren claim that happiness will come to those who pray for criminals and others who follow evil ways. The church asks its adherents to write to them of people who needs its prayer ministry and to send money to support the church's mission. She falls for this sect in a big way -- she has broken through her detachment from human kind. She zealously seeks converts to her church; at last she has made an emotional connection with others, but, importantly, she never actually meets the church "reverends"; her only ties are through their replies to her letters.
Miss Gomez makes her way to Crow Street, finding employment cleaning a pet store operated by the widow Mrs. Bassett and an adjacent pub run by Mr. and Mrs. Tuke. Crow Street is an eerie devastation zone, nearly entirely demolished to make way for new housing development. The only premises remaining amidst the rubble are the pet store that Mrs. Bassett refuses to sell and the pub whose brewery leaseholder wants to stay open for the trade brought by the laborers on the project.
In rooms above the pub reside Alban Roche who works in the pet store, Mr. Batt, a pensioner who is deaf and contemplating taking his own life, and Prudence, the Tuke's remote and lonely hippy-like daughter. Alban has recently been released from gaol after serving a short sentence having been caught peeping on women who were undressing. He is fixated on the memory of his late devoted mother who he has come to realize he detested. He has taken a great interest in the pets and will inherit the store upon Mrs. Bassett's passing. Mr. Tuke is a milquetoast husband whose sole emotional attachment is to his Alsatian dog. He formerly was very close to his daughter, but they have become distant after he found out that Pru is from a liaison of Mrs. Tuke and other man. Mrs. Tuke is garrulous in her demeanor and garish in her dress, an alcoholic addicted to romance novels which stoke her florid fantasies. She is haughtily dismissive of an Irish laborer who is pursuing her, but without self-acknowledgment that she has willingly consented to sleep with him.
Mrs. Bassett dies in her sleep and Alban inherits the pet store. His plan is to take the developer's offer of compensation and move the store to another location. Pru secretly loves Alban and finally makes him aware of her feelings. Miss Gomez believes that they all are in need of, and will find solace in, as she has, her religion and she ceaselessly proselytizes them to join her church. She has a premonition that Alban will imminently commit a sex crime and she warns everyone of this. When Pru turns up missing all are convinced that she has been murdered by Alban and the police stage an investigation and search that receives national media attention. It turns out that Pru and Alban have located a premise for the store and she has spent hours out of sight working on readying it for the move. The hysteria spurred by Miss Gomez has turned the incident into a farce.
Pru and Alban start a new life together, but there are hints that it may not be permanent. Before the pub is relocated Mr. Tuke's beloved dog is killed by a pack of feral cats living in the ruins of Crow Street. He becomes more withdrawn and he begins to think that the Brethren might be what he needs in his life to offset his estrangement from his wife and daughter. Mr. Batt moves to new lodging and purchases aspirin that he contemplates using to end his life. His chance encounter with Miss Gomez turns around his thinking on this. She believes that her encounter with Mr. Batt has shown that she is an exemplar of fulfilling the Brethren's doctrines and writes to them of this. When after weeks she receives no reply she books a flight to Jamaica to meet the church's leaders in person. Her pilgrimage to the temple of her church ends up with discovery that the church was a scam that defrauded its distant faithful followers of their "tithes". There's a note of hope when she sees a notice for the "Assembly of God" offering services in Kingston.
Some of the novel's scenes are quite comical, especially when Miss Gomez is firing the characters up about the crime she has foretold, but the comedy only serves to underscore an all-pervasive pathos about their lives. Miss Gomez and the others do not perceive that the tragedies of their circumstances are beyond their ability to control. She has latched on to her religion as the means of personal fulfillment; we are certain she will be betrayed by it. The Tuke's think that through the relocation of the pub their status will improve; we know there is nothing about their inner lives that this will change. The metaphor of their ruined neighborhood parallels the desolation of their lives. The deep sadness Trevor leaves with the reader derives from the hopelessness that the characters can control the circumstances of their lives that bar their happiness, a sadness more profound because they are unaware of it. Think of the dog's fate for a moment. This powerful animal began to show fear about the feral cats and in the end he was killed by them, not even showing a fight. Are not these characters equally unable to master the forces beset them in their lives? Are any humans?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2024
A very interesting story, somewhat hard to describ e, sort of a sociel commentary/balck comedy with interesting characters. Sometimes the scenes read like caricatures but they're also realistic - the comedy of Mrs Tuke going on about her romance books reminds me of the scenes in Jane Austen where Mr and Mrs Bennett banter - comedic silliness yet you can very much imagine it.
The sad part is that I do know some people carried away by religion like Miss Gomez and the ending of this book was particularly poignant. Lots of writers can't write good endings but I found this one worked extremely well.
I liked its uniqueness, the comedy and the way the religion theme was tackled. The way the people reacted to Miss Gomez was extremely realistic. This wasn't an "exciting" book but it was provocative and it made me want to read more from the author and think about the themes within. I did so feel for Miss Gomez afterwards.
The sad part is that I do know some people carried away by religion like Miss Gomez and the ending of this book was particularly poignant. Lots of writers can't write good endings but I found this one worked extremely well.
I liked its uniqueness, the comedy and the way the religion theme was tackled. The way the people reacted to Miss Gomez was extremely realistic. This wasn't an "exciting" book but it was provocative and it made me want to read more from the author and think about the themes within. I did so feel for Miss Gomez afterwards.
December 4, 2020
Mysterious Ways
Miss Gomez, a Jamaican orphan, travels to 1970s London. She becomes first a stripper, then a prostitute, then finds Jesus through a magazine advertisement for the Church of the Brethren of the Way. Miss Gomez makes her way to the semi-derelict Crow Street where she predicts an awful sex crime involving the daughter of the local pub landlady. No-one believes her. Disaster looms.
London is at first shabby, then seedy, then sordid and sinister. Racism is rife. A crime is suspected and investigated. Suspicion falls on a young pet shop attendant, recently imprisoned for voyeurism.
But God moves in mysterious ways. Nothing is as it seems in Trevor's novel; expectation is subverted at every turn. Good can result from wrong. Humour can arise from the most unexpected circumstances. In the midst of bleakness and despair there is still hope.
Miss Gomez, a Jamaican orphan, travels to 1970s London. She becomes first a stripper, then a prostitute, then finds Jesus through a magazine advertisement for the Church of the Brethren of the Way. Miss Gomez makes her way to the semi-derelict Crow Street where she predicts an awful sex crime involving the daughter of the local pub landlady. No-one believes her. Disaster looms.
London is at first shabby, then seedy, then sordid and sinister. Racism is rife. A crime is suspected and investigated. Suspicion falls on a young pet shop attendant, recently imprisoned for voyeurism.
But God moves in mysterious ways. Nothing is as it seems in Trevor's novel; expectation is subverted at every turn. Good can result from wrong. Humour can arise from the most unexpected circumstances. In the midst of bleakness and despair there is still hope.
Read
March 29, 2021I am a great fan of William Trevor and I found this book was not his best. I rather strange story of the life of an immigrant from the West Indies who becomes an evangelical Christian, living in the slum clearance area of London. Also, I felt the writing was not up to Trevor's usual standard. Some might object to the racism shown to Miss Gomez.
November 2, 2017
Less creepy than Children of Dynmouth, but both crueler and kinder in the end. Funnier too, oddly.
Trevor eviscerates myths of family, religion, occupation and even war via his very human and very flawed characters.
Trevor eviscerates myths of family, religion, occupation and even war via his very human and very flawed characters.
June 3, 2020
This book is gloomy but reveals much about human nature. The characters each carry their own baggage.
November 18, 2012
I really tried to enjoy this book, but wound up skimming to the end. I love the subject matter, but couldn't get into the narrative style.
July 13, 2021
Well written, but dated.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews