Clouds Among the Stars

by Victoria Clayton

A witty, perceptive social comedy, perfect for lovers of Anita Shreve and Elizabeth Buchan.

The Byng family, theatrical down to the youngest, 12 year-old Cordelia, are stunned out of even their normal self-involvement by the news that their father, the celebrated Shakespearean actor, has apparently killed his rival on stage during the last rehearsals for the new production of King Lear. Waldo Byng is arrested for murder and held in police custody : the press camp outside the house, detectives attempt to interview the family and friends, and Clarissa Byng abandons the entire scene by fleeing with her longtime companion.

It is left to the rest of the family to try to find a way through this disaster and above all to earn some money as the play is naturally cancelled. The nine months from arrest to the final trial are a wonderful learning curve about the real world for all of them, in particular for Harriet, considered the most 'sensible' of the remarkable family.

Clouds among the Stars is a true pleasure to read: witty, perceptive about some of our social habits, with an outstanding cast of characters, wonderful scenes including some of the best parties and theatrical behaviour; and above all written with a style, charm and verve that makes one want to start to read it again as soon as one has finished.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit

720 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2003

About the author

See also Victoria Walker for her two earlier children's fantasies: The Winter of Enchantment and The House Called Hadlows.

Reviews

[Dina Batista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta leitura foi um pequeno "guilty pleasure", com 545 páginas e muitos personagens, manteve-me agarrada até ao fim. Apesar de uma certa loucura, esta família egoísta, egocêntrica, conquistou-me.

[Marjanneke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een leuk verhaal over een excentrieke familie

[April Andruszko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mainly a good read with some great humourous parts. However the tone is a bit uneven

[Mrs Rebecca Rennoldson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy the first part of the book. However I thought the story was easier to follow and much better from just over half way

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first sentence of the novel hooked me: ‘The day my father was arrested for murder began promisingly’. But after the first hundred or so pages, I began to feel much the same about the book. The narrator, 22-year-old Harriet, takes part in a violent demonstration, and is clearly in a rather degrading relationship. Worse, her sister Portia suffers humiliation and serious abuse. I could not conceive how this could be billed as a 'social comedy'. The only mildly amusing parts are their parents' frequent quotations from Shakespeare, and even those palled after a few chapters. The father is likeable enough, but the mother is selfish and neglectful.

However, the novel improves greatly when Harriet and her younger sister Cordelia are invited to stay at a stately home over Christmas. The house-party inevitably contains a variety of individuals, most of them caricatured, but that didn't matter. I didn't like the owner of the house, who is far too fond of young girls, and treats his wife appallingly. But the others are somewhat amusing in their interactions; Harriet is an interesting and self-deprecating narrator.

The writing is good, as with all this author’s novels, and the pace exactly right for my tastes. By about half way through, I could barely put it down. The ending is partly predictable but not entirely. Overall I didn’t like this book as much as the earlier ones by this author, but I look forward to reading more of her works.

I would award about two-and-a-half stars for the first part of the book, but closer to four for the latter half. Three-and-a-half stars would be fairer overall.

[Clive La pensee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan.

I'm a great admirer of VC's work, enjoyed the story, but it isn't her greatest. Maybe she was more interested in weaving in as much Shakespeare as possible. Understandable, but I found too many of her characters unsympathetic. Archie was my favourite. Rupert was tolerable, Charles was good but relatively unimportant. The rest were selfish and heartless. It was a long book to finish, under those circumstances.

[Kirstin O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took quite a long time to get into this book and found many of the characters extremely irritating. The book definitely improved from around the middle! Maybe a 3.5

[An Brouckaert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi!

[Jacqui · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is completely unrelatable to those of us who live in a middle class life. A rich family suddenly has to deal with no money after the father is accused of murder, in which all of the children, most of which are in there 20s, have to get jobs and discover the real world, oh the horror. Even while experiencing what could be considered a normal working class lifestyle, the family are anything but poor with a rich friend helping them get by just as they were. In the end everything is restored to normal, the father is let out of jail and everyone finds there true love and lives happily every after. It is impossible to create a connection with any of the characters in this novel for the pure sense that they are so unlike anyone you could ever meet, and if you did meet someone like these people you wouldn't even want to be their friend.

[Mary Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leitura muito leve, bem ao estilo de uma novela, em que o desenrolar é lento e cheio promenores, e depois o final dá-se em 3 ou 4 páginas. Recomendo, entre leituras mais pesadas (tenho esta mania de recomendar leituras leves, entre leituras mais pesadas), ou mesmo para relaxar, porque a história faz com que o leitor se destraia, mas tambem não exige grande grau de concentração.
Achei as personagens demasiadamente exageradas no que toca á personalidade, demasiado marcadas, uma dose a mais de drama do que o normal, penso que a intenção nesta caso, tenha sido o de puxar mais para a comédia.
Tenham em atenção a edição que compram, porque esta que li, vinha com bastantes erros ortográficos e falhas.

[Kaye Mclaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Victoria Clayton, and I'm not normally a fan of romance. This was the first book I read by her and it's delightful (the others I've read are equally good, which is unusually consistent for an author). There are so many reasons to love her - she writes exquisitely, she is incredibly witty, she brings past eras to life, her characters are quirky but believable and the plots are interesting and unpredictable. this story focuses on a group of actors, and they are fascinating, lovable, annoying, beautifully realised. The dialogue is also a treat, bringing the world to life. And her books are also genuinely moving - I find I care very much about the characters, even while I know it is fiction. She really is a gem.

[Sonia189 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Li este livro em inglês. Comprei na feira do livro a 5€, depois de anos a vê-lo para cima de 26€....
Achi uma pechincha e comprei. Três anos depois li e...fiquei desapontada. Pela sinopse esperava umahistória arrebatadora, engraçada, mas séria.
Este livro tem, em vez disso, uma história com o objectivo de ser uma comédia satírica, e embora tenha achado graça lá umas quantas cenas, no geral esperava algo mais sólido e sério. Achei tudo tão....vago, tão exagerado...enfim. Parece que é o chick lit britânico mas depois de ter lido outras coisas no género, este não me encheu as medidas por aí além....

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was unlike any other story I have ever read. Magical, otherworldly and mysterious. The characters weren't all likeable but certainly enjoyable! The main character I could truly feel sympathy for as she is the only one of the family who is idealistic, caring and lost. She doesn't have the same arrogance her family has but stays true to herself which made me want to follow her character development throughout the book. And the lovestory to me stayed fresh and exciting until the end. Doubting if they would get together or not. I loved it!

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic, outrageous characters, delightful Shakespearean references throughout. It drags a little in the middle, and loses sight of the mystery, but overall I really liked it. Will definitely pick up something else by this author, as I found it highly amusing, even though it was hard to take the main character seriously.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I m not entirely sure what this book was supposed to be; it seemed to have ambitions to be a larger-than-life comedy of manners, something in the tradition of Evelyn Waugh perhaps, but the author didn t appear to have the strength to sustain the exercise. Weak and rather silly.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author is such a hidden gem! I don’t know why she isn’t wildly famous?
This title is my least favorite by this author but it is still miles better than about 75% of most other fiction available.

[Little BigGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolute rubbish, avoid ever reading her stuff again.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author's style. She's a talented and erudite author with a knack for portraying family life. She completely holds my interest without resorting to eye-rolling melodrama.