My friend the swallow

My Friends #16

by Jane Duncan

Book by Duncan, Jane

Genres: Fiction

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Jane Duncan was the pseudonym of Scottish writer Elizabeth Jane Cameron, best-known for her My Friends series of semi-autobiographical novels. She also wrote four novels under the name of her principal heroine Janet Sandison, and some children's books. She was born in Renton, West Dunbartonshire and brought up in the Scottish Lowlands where her father was a police officer, but much of her childhood was spent in the Highlands on the Black Isle in Easter Ross, on her grandparents' croft "The Colony", the "Reachfar" of her novels. She graduated in English from the University of Glasgow and did various secretarial jobs before serving as a Flight Officer (Intelligence), WAAF during World War II. Afterward, she lived in Jamaica for ten years, returning to Jemimaville, near "The Colony", in 1958 as a widow. In 1959 Duncan became something of a publishing sensation when Macmillan Publishers announced that it would be publishing seven of her manuscripts. The "Reachfar" (My Friends) series is narrated by Janet Sandison and follows her life (which in outline parallels that of the author) from the World War I period through to the 1960s, depicting the people she encounters and showing how her crofting upbringing influences her in whatever society and geographical location she finds herself.

Reviews

[Ika Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sixteenth volume of a 19-book series which I think of as a single, serial, work. I've written longer reviews of Book 13, My Friend My Father (here: no spoilers for the series), and Book 19, My Friends George and Tom (a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... masses and masses of spoilers), as well as some brief reflections about Book 18, My Friends The Misses Kindness (a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... again, massive spoilers for the series).

Obviously I don't have the capacity to write a review of this book, but I do want to use this space to say that one of the many, many things made possible by the sprawling seriality of the My Friends books is the representation of a long-term relationship.

This harks back to conversations I was having at slash conventions in the early 00s, when the husband of one of the women would say to us: Why do you keep writing first time stories, as if those were the only stories where the stakes are high? Every day in my marriage,* I feel tension and suspense and a fear of losing my person, but I never get to read stories about what it's like to be in a long-term relationship; only ever stories about the beginnings.

I've gone on thinking about this ever since,** and about how the narrative conventions of romance centre on the getting-together. I think Sue Miller's Monogamy does a fantastic job of writing about a relationship that lasts (and of course changes) for decades, but (a) it has to use an adultery plotline, and (b) because it's a standalone book, it becomes about the relationship in a way that can't help but decontextualise it, turning it into the frame or the lens which shapes the way we see the couple's lives, rather than showing the relationship as its own thread that's woven through everything else that happens to the characters. That's what the serial form lets Jane Duncan do for Janet and Twice, who are one of the great couples of literature of all time. We see how they shape and are shaped by each other, how their lives are intertwined, and it's a beautiful thing.

*and this was a solid marriage!

**on and off, obviously

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally getting started after reading a few pages at a time along with another book. I loved the 'My Friend...' books many years ago when the library still had them on its shelves, so I was happy to find this one, new to me. It's quite far into the series (#16) so it was a stretch of my memory to remember what had gone before. Luckily there is enough backstory tucked in here and there to remind me.

Enjoyed the book very much, despite the rather sad ending. It reminded me of how much I loved reading these years ago. I wish I could find more of these books, but they are very expensive to buy!

[Lucina · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this was a return to Jane Duncan's books after a break of a couple of years. I had been reading them in sequence but, for some reason, I didn't enjoy The Hungry Generation as much as the others and this made me leave them for a while. Now, resuming with MF the Swallow, I was very pleased to find that I found it deeply enjoyable - if "enjoyable" is the right word, as it is basically a sad book, at least at the end.

Janet has just returned from a trip home to Scotland. Twice is twice (sorry) the man he was when she left, having regained his health in her absence and Janet is puzzled by the changed and sycophantic attitude towards her demonstrated by the Plantation wives gathered at the Peak Hotel. She soon learns the reason for this and the indefatigable Sashie tips ice down a gossiping woman's back. There is plenty of St Jago atmosphere in this book: we have the larger-than-life Madame and Sir Ian at the Great House, the wonderful Sashie, the factory going into Crop, the cool, guitar- playing Caleb, Mackie the new Chief Engineer and of course, a new Friend, Percy the Swallow - who is neither a man nor a bird, but a fascinating slip of a young woman who has become a substitute daughter for Twice. And the Teeth and Feet lot, as Sir Ian calls them, are ensconced at Olympus, recently vacated by the MacLeans.

[Fiona Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the saddest in the series - spoilers coming up! Janet returns to St Jago after visiting her family in Scotland. She finds Twice much recovered from his illness and having taken a young woman, the swallow, of the title under his wing. Percy is very independent but the attachment between her and Twice becomes more, from his perspective, that of father and child. Life on St Jago comes to a crisis point, Percy flies away leaving emotional devastation behind her and Twice becomes very ill. Alongside this, Twice has indicated to Janet that he doesn't like the fact that she writes - feels it is an activity, separate from him. Janet decides to test her writing by sending a manuscript to an agent - it is picked up by a major publisher. She tells Twice, in his sick bed, and that's the last time Twice speaks, days later he is dead and Janet is beyond devastated. It is a book about hope, about love, about change...and about heartbreak It is also very beautiful and always makes me cry. The fact that she puts writing as an obstacle between them really frustrates me - but it's her story to tell. In reality, Jane Duncan's partner supported her absolutely and he died knowing she had a book contract and there was hope ahead for her.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janet returns to the West Indies after MY FRIENDS THE HUNGRY GENERATION to find her husband Twice's heart disease in remission. He has been rejuvenated partly by being made manager of the sugar plantation where he has been working for years, and partly by the young people who are flocking around him. The Swallow is Percy, a tiny little endearing 20-something who has been flitting around the world and seems to have stopped at Janet and Twice's house.

[Alexis Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books although they were written a long time ago! Jane Duncan a Scot, who lived in the Caribbean,for many years, wrote her books in the linen cupboard because her husband didn't approve. These are funny gentle books that lift your spirit. Duncan also writes as Janet Sandison.