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Absolutely and Forever
A piercing short novel of thwarted love and true friendship from one of our greatest living writers
Marianne Clifford, 15, only child of a peppery army colonel and his vain wife, Lal, falls helplessly and absolutely for Simon Hurst, 18, whose cleverness and physical beauty suggest that he will go forward into a successful and monied future, helped on by doting parents. But fate intervenes. Simon's plans are blown off course, and Marianne is forced to bury her dreams of a future together.
Narrating her own story, characterising herself as ignorant and unworthy, Marianne's telling use of irony and smart thinking gradually suggest to us that she has underestimated her own worth. We begin to believe that - in the end, supported by her courageous Scottish friend, Petronella - she will find the life she never stops craving. But what we can't envisage is that beneath his blithe exterior, Simon Hurst has been nursing a secret which will alter everything.
Marianne Clifford, 15, only child of a peppery army colonel and his vain wife, Lal, falls helplessly and absolutely for Simon Hurst, 18, whose cleverness and physical beauty suggest that he will go forward into a successful and monied future, helped on by doting parents. But fate intervenes. Simon's plans are blown off course, and Marianne is forced to bury her dreams of a future together.
Narrating her own story, characterising herself as ignorant and unworthy, Marianne's telling use of irony and smart thinking gradually suggest to us that she has underestimated her own worth. We begin to believe that - in the end, supported by her courageous Scottish friend, Petronella - she will find the life she never stops craving. But what we can't envisage is that beneath his blithe exterior, Simon Hurst has been nursing a secret which will alter everything.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2023
398 people are currently reading
3838 people want to read
About the author
Rose Tremain
78 books1,111 followersDame Rose Tremain is an acclaimed English novelist and short story writer, celebrated for her distinctive approach to historical fiction and her focus on characters who exist on the margins of society. Educated at the Sorbonne and the University of East Anglia, where she later taught creative writing and served as Chancellor, Tremain has produced a rich body of work spanning novels, short stories, plays, and memoir. Influenced by writers such as William Golding and Gabriel García Márquez, her narratives often blend psychological depth with lyrical prose.
Among her many honors, she has received the Whitbread Award for Music and Silence, the Orange Prize for The Road Home, and the National Jewish Book Award for The Gustav Sonata. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Restoration and has been recognized multiple times by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. In 2020, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. Tremain lives in Norfolk and continues to write, with her recent novel Absolutely and Forever shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize.
Among her many honors, she has received the Whitbread Award for Music and Silence, the Orange Prize for The Road Home, and the National Jewish Book Award for The Gustav Sonata. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Restoration and has been recognized multiple times by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. In 2020, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. Tremain lives in Norfolk and continues to write, with her recent novel Absolutely and Forever shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 651 reviews
July 3, 2023
At the age of fifteen, Marianne Clifford tells her mother Lal that she is in love with Simon Hurst. As is her wont Lal chucks cold water on the notion, her colonel father would bark loudly and deride the idea and yet Marianne knows it’s absolutely and forever. Simon is very good looking and has his future all mapped out, he’s destined for Oxford and success until his gilded future is blown well and truly off course. Both Marianne and Simon are forced to bury their dreams but can Marianne ever move on from her obsessive infatuation?
This is a beautifully written, outstanding character study which I don’t want to end I’m so absorbed in Marianne’s life. With a few deft strokes characters spring to life and you can visualise them with ease. You view everything through Marianne’s eyes and her imagination is vivid, fertile and what comes out of her mouth is not necessarily what is in her head! She’s very intriguing though you veer from wanting to shake her and tell her to embrace the life she has to the fullest, to feeling sorry for her as she’s frequently “put down” and has much to bear including tragedy. At other times you hoot with laughter at her wit and good humour - the dialogue is sublime. Rose Tremain takes us on an emotional journey with a woman who is little understood by those around her with the exception of her friend Petronella from her school days.
The late 50’s and the 60’s are so well captured in the attitudes especially of class, in the language as well as events of the day. This is a savour every word read, another triumph in my opinion for this hugely talented author whose books I have eagerly devoured over the years. It’s not long at around 200 pages but it is a masterclass in how to construct a character driven novel whether you end up liking Marianne or not. I even come round to liking gruff old Colonel Clifford who is most certainly a product of his time! This is a book to treasure.
I have no hesitation in highly recommending this novel and it’s one I’ll reread to see what clever nuances I miss first time around.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
This is a beautifully written, outstanding character study which I don’t want to end I’m so absorbed in Marianne’s life. With a few deft strokes characters spring to life and you can visualise them with ease. You view everything through Marianne’s eyes and her imagination is vivid, fertile and what comes out of her mouth is not necessarily what is in her head! She’s very intriguing though you veer from wanting to shake her and tell her to embrace the life she has to the fullest, to feeling sorry for her as she’s frequently “put down” and has much to bear including tragedy. At other times you hoot with laughter at her wit and good humour - the dialogue is sublime. Rose Tremain takes us on an emotional journey with a woman who is little understood by those around her with the exception of her friend Petronella from her school days.
The late 50’s and the 60’s are so well captured in the attitudes especially of class, in the language as well as events of the day. This is a savour every word read, another triumph in my opinion for this hugely talented author whose books I have eagerly devoured over the years. It’s not long at around 200 pages but it is a masterclass in how to construct a character driven novel whether you end up liking Marianne or not. I even come round to liking gruff old Colonel Clifford who is most certainly a product of his time! This is a book to treasure.
I have no hesitation in highly recommending this novel and it’s one I’ll reread to see what clever nuances I miss first time around.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
March 3, 2024
Absolutely and Forever is a short novel narrated by Marianne Clifford, who at just fifteen falls crazy(ly) in love with the handsome eighteen-year-old, Simon. Oh, the agony of the first love. The mature me got irked by it, telling her to get a grip, asking myself was I that pathetic and obsessed? Very likely. The two become an item for a little while, but then Simon moves to Paris.
We follow Marianne's life, as she attempts to finish a secretarial college in London, as she dates again and just finds herself directionless, letting things and life happen, including when it comes to partnering. Then she finds herself married to a man whom she doesn't love, but she was expecting a child and it was the sixties.
Class, parenting, gender roles, and the stiffness of English relationships, are some of the motifs that gently emanate from the novel. The main one for me was about gender roles, women's lack of autonomy, and the lack of expectations for themselves, besides marrying well.
This short novel was beautifully written and the conclusion was surprising.
We follow Marianne's life, as she attempts to finish a secretarial college in London, as she dates again and just finds herself directionless, letting things and life happen, including when it comes to partnering. Then she finds herself married to a man whom she doesn't love, but she was expecting a child and it was the sixties.
Class, parenting, gender roles, and the stiffness of English relationships, are some of the motifs that gently emanate from the novel. The main one for me was about gender roles, women's lack of autonomy, and the lack of expectations for themselves, besides marrying well.
This short novel was beautifully written and the conclusion was surprising.
January 22, 2024
Marianne is a narrator that will stay with me for a while, not particularly likeable and mostly lost in life once her true beloved leaves her and marries another. After all he was supposed to be her 'Absolutely and Forever'.
Having read over ten of Rose Tremain's novels previously, this was my first for a while. Her writing, as always, is impeccable and sometimes mesmorising. It was wonderful to revisit her writing in this short novel about a young British women finding her way in life, or not. Well worth the read, a library ebook, 4+ stars for me. A couple of quotes I liked are below.
‘OK,’ I said. ‘And anyway, I am ill. Love is a kind of illness, isn’t it?’
Whenever I let him make love to me, I felt tortured by shame. Then one night, as I lay very silently underneath him after the sex thing was over, he said to me, ‘I never told you this before, Marianne, but you are actually a lousy fuck.’
Having read over ten of Rose Tremain's novels previously, this was my first for a while. Her writing, as always, is impeccable and sometimes mesmorising. It was wonderful to revisit her writing in this short novel about a young British women finding her way in life, or not. Well worth the read, a library ebook, 4+ stars for me. A couple of quotes I liked are below.
‘OK,’ I said. ‘And anyway, I am ill. Love is a kind of illness, isn’t it?’
Whenever I let him make love to me, I felt tortured by shame. Then one night, as I lay very silently underneath him after the sex thing was over, he said to me, ‘I never told you this before, Marianne, but you are actually a lousy fuck.’
January 10, 2024
This is a relatively short book, but despite that it does pack quite the punch! I had to read late into the night to finish this book as I needed to know what happened, and there was one or two shocks along the way that I just did not see coming. In fact I lay awake for the next couple of hours thinking over the book and was left with an overwhelming feeling of sadness for the main character. Not always that a book has quite as much an effect on me.
The premise of the book is quite simple, girl meets boy, they develop a relationship and she declares that she will absolutely and forever love him. However life doesn’t quite happen the way they, or at least she, perceived it would and the book tells her story.
I found this book to be totally engaging throughout, and have had to give it a day or two before I could give it a final rating. The characters are so well-written and you end up caring significantly for the main character. Her parents are shall we say ‘interesting’ and I liked the way they were written back into the story towards the end, and the impact this had on Marianne. This whole book centres around the theme of relationships and how important the right relationships are to us.
Having thought on it I strongly recommend this book but can see why one or two people wouldn’t enjoy the book. I have yet to have read a book by Rose Tremain I haven’t enjoyed, but this book has made me want to get to more of her other books I haven’t read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The premise of the book is quite simple, girl meets boy, they develop a relationship and she declares that she will absolutely and forever love him. However life doesn’t quite happen the way they, or at least she, perceived it would and the book tells her story.
I found this book to be totally engaging throughout, and have had to give it a day or two before I could give it a final rating. The characters are so well-written and you end up caring significantly for the main character. Her parents are shall we say ‘interesting’ and I liked the way they were written back into the story towards the end, and the impact this had on Marianne. This whole book centres around the theme of relationships and how important the right relationships are to us.
Having thought on it I strongly recommend this book but can see why one or two people wouldn’t enjoy the book. I have yet to have read a book by Rose Tremain I haven’t enjoyed, but this book has made me want to get to more of her other books I haven’t read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 8, 2024
Don't let the name or cover fool you - if you are looking for a romance, this is not the book for you.
This is a 3 instead of 2 on the strength of the author's writing alone because the story and its main character are utterly insufferable. Perhaps this will resonate more with an older reader, one familiar with the period it's set, but for a contemporary reader Marianne is like nails on a chalkboard. The way she pines after Simon based on so little was annoying when she was a teenager but becomes unbearable as she grows into adulthood and let's that become the story which she frames her entire life around. So much so that when the great emotional reveal is made at the end my reaction was wild laughter because she had invested her whole life, her whole identity, on a fiction she didn't even realise she had made up.
This is a 3 instead of 2 on the strength of the author's writing alone because the story and its main character are utterly insufferable. Perhaps this will resonate more with an older reader, one familiar with the period it's set, but for a contemporary reader Marianne is like nails on a chalkboard. The way she pines after Simon based on so little was annoying when she was a teenager but becomes unbearable as she grows into adulthood and let's that become the story which she frames her entire life around. So much so that when the great emotional reveal is made at the end my reaction was wild laughter because she had invested her whole life, her whole identity, on a fiction she didn't even realise she had made up.
May 12, 2024
A short, powerful coming of age story.
November 10, 2023
(4.5) Tremain follows her heroine, Marianne Clifford, from the 1950s up to perhaps 1970. At age 15, she falls hopelessly in love with an 18-year-old aspiring writer, Simon Hurst, and loses her virginity in the back of his pale blue Morris Minor. She feels grown-up and sophisticated, and imagines their romance as a grand adventure that will whisk her away from her parents’ stultifying ordinariness –
– but his new post-school life in Paris doesn’t have room for her. As she moves to London and trains for secretarial work, Marianne is bolstered by friendships with plain-speaking Scot Petronella (“Pet”) and Hugo Forster-Pellisier, her surfing and ping-pong partner on their parents’ Cornwall getaways. Forasmuch as her life changes over the next 15 years or so – taking on a traditional wife and homemaker role; her parents quietly declining – her attachment to her first love never falters.
This has the chic and convincing 1960s setting of Tessa Hadley’s work. Marianne’s narration is a delight, droll but not as blasé as she tries to appear. Tremain could have easily fallen into the trap of making her purely naïve (in the moment) or nostalgic (looking back), but instead she’s rendered her voice knowing yet compassionate, and made her a real wit (“I thought, Everything in Paris looks as if it’s practising the waltz, whereas quite a lot of things in London … appear as if they’ve just come out of hospital after a leg operation”). Pet is very funny, too. And it’s always fun for me to have nearby locations: Newbury, Reading, Marlborough. In imagining a different life for herself, Marianne resists repeating her mother’s mistakes and coincides with the rising feminist movement. There are two characters named Marianne, and two named Simon; the revelations about these doubles are breathtaking.
This really put me through an emotional wringer. It’s no cheap tear-jerker but a tender depiction of love in all its forms. I think, with Academy Street by Mary Costello, it may be my near-perfect novella.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
when I thought about my future as Mrs Simon Hurst (riding a camel in Egypt, floating along in a gondola in Venice, driving through the Grand Canyon in an open-topped Cadillac, watching elephants drink from a waterhole in Africa) and about Mummy’s future (in the red-brick house in Berkshire with the shivery birch tree and the two white columns, playing Scrabble with Daddy and shopping at Bartlett’s of Newbury), I could see that my life was going to be more interesting than hers and that she might already be envious
– but his new post-school life in Paris doesn’t have room for her. As she moves to London and trains for secretarial work, Marianne is bolstered by friendships with plain-speaking Scot Petronella (“Pet”) and Hugo Forster-Pellisier, her surfing and ping-pong partner on their parents’ Cornwall getaways. Forasmuch as her life changes over the next 15 years or so – taking on a traditional wife and homemaker role; her parents quietly declining – her attachment to her first love never falters.
This has the chic and convincing 1960s setting of Tessa Hadley’s work. Marianne’s narration is a delight, droll but not as blasé as she tries to appear. Tremain could have easily fallen into the trap of making her purely naïve (in the moment) or nostalgic (looking back), but instead she’s rendered her voice knowing yet compassionate, and made her a real wit (“I thought, Everything in Paris looks as if it’s practising the waltz, whereas quite a lot of things in London … appear as if they’ve just come out of hospital after a leg operation”). Pet is very funny, too. And it’s always fun for me to have nearby locations: Newbury, Reading, Marlborough. In imagining a different life for herself, Marianne resists repeating her mother’s mistakes and coincides with the rising feminist movement. There are two characters named Marianne, and two named Simon; the revelations about these doubles are breathtaking.
This really put me through an emotional wringer. It’s no cheap tear-jerker but a tender depiction of love in all its forms. I think, with Academy Street by Mary Costello, it may be my near-perfect novella.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
September 26, 2023
Absolutely and Forever, with its eye-catching cover graphics and 1950s setting, reads like a classic novel but with a modern, fresh twist. Tremain is 80 years old and apparently mined her own upper-middle class English upbringing to write a coming-of-age novel which, while uber-posh, is also warm, wrily funny and authentic.
Main character Marianne is 15 when we meet her in the 1950s, and hopelessly (absolutely and forever) in love with Simon Hurst, a wealthy young man with the world at his feet, until he fails his Oxford entrance exam and is promptly shipped off to the Sorbonne in Paris by his parents. Marianne yearns for him for years, drifting from school to secretarial college to marriage, never forgetting her first love. Life takes unexpected turns though, and secrets and dreams that remain buried in the past are destined to rise to the surface.
In lesser hands, this novel might peter out but Tremain, a former Booker Prize shortlistee and Womens Prize winner, has a deft touch and brings a complexity and emotional heft to Marianne's character and to Marianne's parents' relationship, that makes this short novel (177 pages) more than just a period drama - it's an atmospheric and engrossing character study. I enjoyed everything about it other than the curiously abrupt ending - the last paragraph had me convinced my copy was missing some text.
Fans of writers like Clare Chambers, Tessa Hadley and Nancy Mitford will enjoy this one. 4/5 stars
Main character Marianne is 15 when we meet her in the 1950s, and hopelessly (absolutely and forever) in love with Simon Hurst, a wealthy young man with the world at his feet, until he fails his Oxford entrance exam and is promptly shipped off to the Sorbonne in Paris by his parents. Marianne yearns for him for years, drifting from school to secretarial college to marriage, never forgetting her first love. Life takes unexpected turns though, and secrets and dreams that remain buried in the past are destined to rise to the surface.
In lesser hands, this novel might peter out but Tremain, a former Booker Prize shortlistee and Womens Prize winner, has a deft touch and brings a complexity and emotional heft to Marianne's character and to Marianne's parents' relationship, that makes this short novel (177 pages) more than just a period drama - it's an atmospheric and engrossing character study. I enjoyed everything about it other than the curiously abrupt ending - the last paragraph had me convinced my copy was missing some text.
Fans of writers like Clare Chambers, Tessa Hadley and Nancy Mitford will enjoy this one. 4/5 stars
December 29, 2023
The writing is just gorgeous, although short it is a story that will stay with me for a long time.
December 7, 2023
I really can not understand how this ended up in the Sunday Times’ top fiction list for 2023. It was dull and unengaging, so unlike any other Rose Tremain book I have read.
July 8, 2023
Whilst Absolutely and Forever encapsulates a small story of teenage obsessive love carried through life. this novella captures much more. It is a very period piece of growing up in the 1950s and 1960s with parents who embraced old fashioned values (ex-military) and expectations. They project nothing but disappointment in their only child, Marianne.
The ambition, drive and success that was expected of Marianne is turned inwards as Marianne assumes she is incapable of anything. She is shaken up a little by her feminist friend Pet who is busy playing her part in student politics. None of this is unfamiliar in novels of the period - those who were swept into the 1960s and those that stood well back. There is also an austere domesticity which both writers capture with period vocabulary eg being "preggers" defining a woman's future. I found this book had a similarity to Tessa Hadley's Free Love, demonstrating that during this period, authority was not the obstacle in the path of true love, contrived expectation was.
I enjoyed reading this novel as I love Tremain's skill at capturing the spirit of the times, however I think that whilst we meandered through schooling, obsession, secretarial training, obsession, working, obsession, marriage, obsession....... it all felt puerile not sympathetic. There was, for me, absolutely no point in the twist at the conclusion. I would have preferred Marianne to develop some gumption rather than half write a story about Diego, the horse and "enjoy" cleaning!
That said I may have yearned for some feet of clay but I always welcome more from Tremain's pen and, despite the shortcomings, I still wallowed in her words!
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review
The ambition, drive and success that was expected of Marianne is turned inwards as Marianne assumes she is incapable of anything. She is shaken up a little by her feminist friend Pet who is busy playing her part in student politics. None of this is unfamiliar in novels of the period - those who were swept into the 1960s and those that stood well back. There is also an austere domesticity which both writers capture with period vocabulary eg being "preggers" defining a woman's future. I found this book had a similarity to Tessa Hadley's Free Love, demonstrating that during this period, authority was not the obstacle in the path of true love, contrived expectation was.
I enjoyed reading this novel as I love Tremain's skill at capturing the spirit of the times, however I think that whilst we meandered through schooling, obsession, secretarial training, obsession, working, obsession, marriage, obsession....... it all felt puerile not sympathetic. There was, for me, absolutely no point in the twist at the conclusion. I would have preferred Marianne to develop some gumption rather than half write a story about Diego, the horse and "enjoy" cleaning!
That said I may have yearned for some feet of clay but I always welcome more from Tremain's pen and, despite the shortcomings, I still wallowed in her words!
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review
October 9, 2024
A young teenage girl falls in love with an 18 year old man who she sleeps with. This is about a young woman’s mental anguish of being in love and her obsessive thoughts around it. This story is told in the first person. At times I found it incredibly irritating because she can’t move on and her whole life is dominated by thought of only him and how unbearable life is without her obsession. If you can cope with the protagonist mental anguish it is actually a good read looking at the complexities of love which in this book is depicted as near on insanity. If you cannot abide the inner workings of a morose mind then I suggest you don’t pick this book up!
May 18, 2024
Absolutely & Forever is one of the six books on the shortlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2024.
I have read several of Rose Tremain’s previous books, including The Colour, The Gustav Sonata (shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize in 2017) and more recently Lily. I really enjoyed Lily but, although I loved the first two thirds of The Gustav Sonata, it wasn’t my favourite of that year’s shortlisted books. Unfortunately I feel pretty much the same way about Absolutely & Forever; for me, there are better, far more enjoyable, books on the list.
Absolutely & Forever is described as ‘a piercing short novel of thwarted love and true friendship’ which is right on all three counts. It is a relatively short novel – less than 200 pages – and Marianne’s friendship with Petronella is an engaging element of the book. And it certainly is a story about thwarted love, at least on the part of Marianne who, at the age of fifteen, falls passionately in love with Simon, a boy a few years her senior. It’s an obsession that lasts a lifetime despite mounting evidence that Simon does not feel the same way about her, or at least not sufficiently to overcome the difficulties that stand in the way of a relationship with her.
What does unite them is that, although supposedly the start of the ‘swinging 60s’, they both find themselves in a position where social pressures demand they take a conventional path in life: marriage and family. Marianne’s life is marked by tragedy but also by bad choices. However her eventual realisation that the life she has imagined for herself for so long will never be realised, and that along the way she has missed out on many things, is heartbreaking. I felt sorry for Marianne but it was the devoted Hugo who really captured my heart.
I think my main problem with the book was that I never really understood why Simon should dominate Marianne’s thoughts to such an extent and have such an influence on her life choices. Okay, he is her first love and the person with whom she first explores her sexuality but it’s Marianne who does all the running once he goes off to Oxford and then to Paris. I think Marianne herself sums up my reservations when, responding to a critique of the book she’s writing, she says, ‘If you don’t describe the lost thing to the readers, it’s impossible for them to care about it one way or another’. In this case, I knew what the lost thing was it’s just that the loss of it didn’t break my heart.
Although beautifully written, Absolutely & Forever didn’t enthrall me like it clearly has other readers.
I have read several of Rose Tremain’s previous books, including The Colour, The Gustav Sonata (shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize in 2017) and more recently Lily. I really enjoyed Lily but, although I loved the first two thirds of The Gustav Sonata, it wasn’t my favourite of that year’s shortlisted books. Unfortunately I feel pretty much the same way about Absolutely & Forever; for me, there are better, far more enjoyable, books on the list.
Absolutely & Forever is described as ‘a piercing short novel of thwarted love and true friendship’ which is right on all three counts. It is a relatively short novel – less than 200 pages – and Marianne’s friendship with Petronella is an engaging element of the book. And it certainly is a story about thwarted love, at least on the part of Marianne who, at the age of fifteen, falls passionately in love with Simon, a boy a few years her senior. It’s an obsession that lasts a lifetime despite mounting evidence that Simon does not feel the same way about her, or at least not sufficiently to overcome the difficulties that stand in the way of a relationship with her.
What does unite them is that, although supposedly the start of the ‘swinging 60s’, they both find themselves in a position where social pressures demand they take a conventional path in life: marriage and family. Marianne’s life is marked by tragedy but also by bad choices. However her eventual realisation that the life she has imagined for herself for so long will never be realised, and that along the way she has missed out on many things, is heartbreaking. I felt sorry for Marianne but it was the devoted Hugo who really captured my heart.
I think my main problem with the book was that I never really understood why Simon should dominate Marianne’s thoughts to such an extent and have such an influence on her life choices. Okay, he is her first love and the person with whom she first explores her sexuality but it’s Marianne who does all the running once he goes off to Oxford and then to Paris. I think Marianne herself sums up my reservations when, responding to a critique of the book she’s writing, she says, ‘If you don’t describe the lost thing to the readers, it’s impossible for them to care about it one way or another’. In this case, I knew what the lost thing was it’s just that the loss of it didn’t break my heart.
Although beautifully written, Absolutely & Forever didn’t enthrall me like it clearly has other readers.
January 14, 2025
A friend gave me this book to read recently and I brought it with me on holiday intending to read it on the plane, which didn't happen. It is indeed an ideal holiday read, Rose Tremain being one of those reliable authors so adept at storytelling, at drawing you in to a character's perspective, imagining their predicament.
When we first meet Marianne, it is the 1950's, she is fifteen and in her prime for falling helplessly in love with the boy who is paying her attention, Simon Hurst. They are both coming to the end of their schooling years, he with great expectations, she with few.
When Simon fails to meet the expectations of him, his life plan changes and this will impact Marianne. Her parents dismiss her feelings and put it down to a schoolgirl crush, she describes it as being in the Love Asylum. Unable to let go of her ideas about a life with Simon, she flounders for a while, will eventually move on, but the pattern of unrequited love is never far away from her experience.
At school studying Romeo and Juliet, she relates to the Juliet character and wishes for a character like Nurse in her life, one who understands what Romeo and Juliet are doing and how they feel, one kinder than her mother who could hold her and soothe her erratic emotions.
It is an absorbing story of turning points in people’s lives, the different people they meet, how that can change their trajectory, including the presence of those absent and the illusions harboured of lives not lived, not meant to be lived.
It is also a thought provoking depiction of the relationships between generations and the expectations of those coming-of-age in the 1960’s England.
When we first meet Marianne, it is the 1950's, she is fifteen and in her prime for falling helplessly in love with the boy who is paying her attention, Simon Hurst. They are both coming to the end of their schooling years, he with great expectations, she with few.
When I was fifteen, I told my mother that I was in love with a boy called Simon Hurst and she said to me, 'Nobody falls in love at your age, Marianne. What they get are "crushes" on people. You've just manufactured a little crush on Simon.'
When Simon fails to meet the expectations of him, his life plan changes and this will impact Marianne. Her parents dismiss her feelings and put it down to a schoolgirl crush, she describes it as being in the Love Asylum. Unable to let go of her ideas about a life with Simon, she flounders for a while, will eventually move on, but the pattern of unrequited love is never far away from her experience.
At school studying Romeo and Juliet, she relates to the Juliet character and wishes for a character like Nurse in her life, one who understands what Romeo and Juliet are doing and how they feel, one kinder than her mother who could hold her and soothe her erratic emotions.
I imagined her listening attentively while I confessed to her that my head was so burdened by my obsession with Simon that I was afraid of becoming a total imbecile. And she would stroke my hair and reassure me that this was a perfectly normal state for young people to be in, that we were all inevitably headed for a stay in the Love Asylum, but that in time the spell would be overcome and normal life would resume.
It is an absorbing story of turning points in people’s lives, the different people they meet, how that can change their trajectory, including the presence of those absent and the illusions harboured of lives not lived, not meant to be lived.
It is also a thought provoking depiction of the relationships between generations and the expectations of those coming-of-age in the 1960’s England.
November 10, 2023
After all the enthusiastic reviews, I found this very disappointing. It’s a rather formulaic story of an obsessive, doomed love affair which comes to dominate the heroine, Marriane’s life. It’s well written and an easy read, especially since it’s so short. However, judging by the other very positive reviews, maybe it just isn’t my cup of tea. I hate to say it because I usually try to avoid gender-based judgements, but maybe this is a novel more likely to appeal to women.
June 7, 2023
Marianne Clifford is 15 years old, and in love with an older boy, 18 year old Simon Hurst. From a simple teenage infatuation, Rose Tremain spins a deeply tragic, yet beautiful novel. At less than 200 pages, this is still a novel entirely full of life, it is a very fine character study, and to me felt like the kind of novel nobody was writing any more. I'm glad to see they still are.
Admittedly ones mileage with this work will depend upon how they feel about Marianne; there are times you just want to shake her - and how her parents sometimes try - and times you just want to hold her. She ingratiates herself with the reader and she infuriates at times too - this sounds like a criticism, but it is not. It simply a testament to the skill of Tremain that she draws such a rounded, human figure on the page.
I read this one slowly, taking in the details - and there are great period details here - and because I didn't want it to end. I'd have happily spent another 200 pages with Marianne. A fine novel.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.
Admittedly ones mileage with this work will depend upon how they feel about Marianne; there are times you just want to shake her - and how her parents sometimes try - and times you just want to hold her. She ingratiates herself with the reader and she infuriates at times too - this sounds like a criticism, but it is not. It simply a testament to the skill of Tremain that she draws such a rounded, human figure on the page.
I read this one slowly, taking in the details - and there are great period details here - and because I didn't want it to end. I'd have happily spent another 200 pages with Marianne. A fine novel.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.
October 16, 2023
I wanted to like Rose Tremain's "Absolutely and Forever" more than I did. Marianne is such an infuriating character because her whole reason for being is her love for her teenage lover. If you have patience for that, you'll adore this book. I'm sure this book will touch the romantic heart of anyone who has ever pined for a lost love. I am not one of those people who enjoys characters obsessing over a lost love for an entire novel.
Rose Tremain is such a talented writer that she can't help to create wonderful moments throughout the book (the agony aunt section, some of Marianne and Hugo's scenes, the character of Pet, etc.). I wanted more of the agony aunt and I wish we had learned a lot more about certain peripheral characters. However, Marianne (is this a reference to Sense and Sensibility's Marianne?) never caught on as a character, as Simon is her reason for being. The story is stuck in that gear for nearly the entire book.
There are revelations at the end that are intriguing, and I wish they had been more developed. They could have been brought into the main narrative. There's an elegiac tone to this book, as Marianne mourns the life she could have had. I'm sucker for that sort of thing but the characters around Marianne have more to offer the reader. I would have preferred a book told from the perspective of Hugo, Simon, Pet, or Amar Nath Chatterjee.
Rose Tremain is such a talented writer that she can't help to create wonderful moments throughout the book (the agony aunt section, some of Marianne and Hugo's scenes, the character of Pet, etc.). I wanted more of the agony aunt and I wish we had learned a lot more about certain peripheral characters. However, Marianne (is this a reference to Sense and Sensibility's Marianne?) never caught on as a character, as Simon is her reason for being. The story is stuck in that gear for nearly the entire book.
There are revelations at the end that are intriguing, and I wish they had been more developed. They could have been brought into the main narrative. There's an elegiac tone to this book, as Marianne mourns the life she could have had. I'm sucker for that sort of thing but the characters around Marianne have more to offer the reader. I would have preferred a book told from the perspective of Hugo, Simon, Pet, or Amar Nath Chatterjee.
October 29, 2023
I’m still discovering Rose Tremain but think she is an incredibly imaginative storyteller. She has a remarkable knack for capturing time and place - this time it’s upper middle class England in the 50s and 60s. This is a story about loving someone absolutely forever. Some may feel it focuses too heavily on the mundane and every-day, but at the same time there are twists and there is love, loss, and (finally) a little hope. If you are someone who needs to ‘like’ a novel’s characters in order to enjoy it, then this book might not be for you. There wasn’t a single straightforwardly ‘likeable’ character (maybe that’s real life?). I really enjoyed it however - sad, touching and thought provoking.
February 19, 2025
finally finished!! i could see the vision with this book but it missed the mark for me. the main character was so boring and naive and didn’t seem to grow as a person even though the book was set across many years. i didn’t care for her or simon at all. the only interesting character was pet (an unfortunate name) but she was barely in the book
June 12, 2024
This book offers readers a glimpse into the turbulent world of adolescence, encapsulating the bittersweet nostalgia of a bygone era with a touch of wry humour. The novel navigates the intricate landscape of coming-of-age, punctuated by themes of obsession, betrayal, and the blind, stupid naivety that often accompanies youthful infatuation.
Set against the backdrop of an evocative age, the story delves into the lives of its young characters as they grapple with the universal struggles of growing up. The protagonist, Marianne, is painted with a broad brush of low-grade depression, caught in the throes of a parent-directed future she yearns to escape. Her journey is marked by a quest for identity and independence, but it is also marred by her interactions with Simon, a caricature of adolescent infatuation. His presence in her life underscores the folly and fervour of young love, yet he remains a two-dimensional figure, offering little more than a catalyst for Marianne's turmoil.
Despite its promise, "Absolutely and Forever" falls short in several areas. The novel's limited scope is evident in its lack of character development, particularly with Marianne. Her internal world remains static, offering readers little in the way of growth or introspection. This stagnation renders her almost narcissistic, as the narrative focuses heavily on a descriptive recounting of past events rather than exploring deeper emotional evolution.
The book's nostalgic tone and humorous undertones do provide some charm, capturing the essence of a specific time and place with authenticity. However, this strength is overshadowed by the overall lack of progression in the characters' journeys. The story feels more like a series of vignettes from a lived and past history rather than a cohesive tale of transformation.
A disappointing read for those seeking a profound exploration of adolescence. While it successfully evokes a sense of nostalgia and humour, its limited character development and reliance on past events detract from its potential impact. Marianne's lack of growth
Set against the backdrop of an evocative age, the story delves into the lives of its young characters as they grapple with the universal struggles of growing up. The protagonist, Marianne, is painted with a broad brush of low-grade depression, caught in the throes of a parent-directed future she yearns to escape. Her journey is marked by a quest for identity and independence, but it is also marred by her interactions with Simon, a caricature of adolescent infatuation. His presence in her life underscores the folly and fervour of young love, yet he remains a two-dimensional figure, offering little more than a catalyst for Marianne's turmoil.
Despite its promise, "Absolutely and Forever" falls short in several areas. The novel's limited scope is evident in its lack of character development, particularly with Marianne. Her internal world remains static, offering readers little in the way of growth or introspection. This stagnation renders her almost narcissistic, as the narrative focuses heavily on a descriptive recounting of past events rather than exploring deeper emotional evolution.
The book's nostalgic tone and humorous undertones do provide some charm, capturing the essence of a specific time and place with authenticity. However, this strength is overshadowed by the overall lack of progression in the characters' journeys. The story feels more like a series of vignettes from a lived and past history rather than a cohesive tale of transformation.
A disappointing read for those seeking a profound exploration of adolescence. While it successfully evokes a sense of nostalgia and humour, its limited character development and reliance on past events detract from its potential impact. Marianne's lack of growth
September 1, 2024
Shockingly bad. I finished it primarily out of fascinated horror that any book can have such acclaim and be this dreadful. The book contains the most wooden, unrealistic dialogue I’ve ever read. I think this was an attempt at period accuracy but it did not work.
I wanted to like this book - it’s a girl’s coming of age story, my favourite thing. But the complete lack of personality in the main character made it impossible, unless you count pining after a drippy boy a personality? Marianne’s obsession with her teenage boyfriend well into adulthood is absurd, not least because the relationship itself is completely devoid of any authenticity or passion. They meet about three times as a few parties and shag in the back of a Morris minor. That’s it! It really pisses me off when this kind of infatuation is presented as love - the only way this would have been interesting is if the book explored this idea overtly (as in why is Marianne such a deluded narcissist?) but it didn’t. Obviously the author was attempting to make a connection between her protagonist and Austen’s Marianne from Sense and Sensibility - if you didn’t get the blindingly obvious allusions it’s helpfully spelled out for you - but at least Austen’s Marianne has good reason for her misunderstanding and infatuation, and the point of that character is that she is parodic!!! Grr.
To make matters worse the plot was weak, with every moment of drama totally confected (the accident on the horse, the mother in the hospital etc) and the “plot twist” at the end regarding Simon was just dumb. And don’t get me started on Diego the fucking Argentinian horse. Abysmal writing.
I wanted to like this book - it’s a girl’s coming of age story, my favourite thing. But the complete lack of personality in the main character made it impossible, unless you count pining after a drippy boy a personality? Marianne’s obsession with her teenage boyfriend well into adulthood is absurd, not least because the relationship itself is completely devoid of any authenticity or passion. They meet about three times as a few parties and shag in the back of a Morris minor. That’s it! It really pisses me off when this kind of infatuation is presented as love - the only way this would have been interesting is if the book explored this idea overtly (as in why is Marianne such a deluded narcissist?) but it didn’t. Obviously the author was attempting to make a connection between her protagonist and Austen’s Marianne from Sense and Sensibility - if you didn’t get the blindingly obvious allusions it’s helpfully spelled out for you - but at least Austen’s Marianne has good reason for her misunderstanding and infatuation, and the point of that character is that she is parodic!!! Grr.
To make matters worse the plot was weak, with every moment of drama totally confected (the accident on the horse, the mother in the hospital etc) and the “plot twist” at the end regarding Simon was just dumb. And don’t get me started on Diego the fucking Argentinian horse. Abysmal writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2024
Fabulous book! It's less than 200 pages and I devoured it in 2 days.
An absolute masterclass in economy of writing and how to create characters in a few brush strokes. The ironic style in which Marianne narrates her story is wonderful and quite funny. I will never forget Hugo and his todger 😀 Some parts are quite sad though.
I will have to read some more books by this author.
An absolute masterclass in economy of writing and how to create characters in a few brush strokes. The ironic style in which Marianne narrates her story is wonderful and quite funny. I will never forget Hugo and his todger 😀 Some parts are quite sad though.
I will have to read some more books by this author.
September 18, 2024
This felt a little autobiographical in nature, which was interesting. It’s a simple tale which does not try to do anything else than tell stories of human lives and relationships. Which Tremain does so well, and with her trademark grace, style and humanity. Lovely writing.
September 14, 2024
Quiet, melancholic and beautiful.
April 6, 2025
SO good!!! This book had me obsessed from page 1. Marianne and her obsession with Simon was completely heartbreaking and frustrating. I felt completely immersed in this story, could not put it down
January 28, 2025
Beautifully short and pacy but spanning a life that grows to satisfying proportions.
January 11, 2026
I feel as though this book found me at the perfect time
January 27, 2024
3.5, rounded up
January 21, 2025
I liked the style of writing- easy, funny yet emotional. Brilliant novel that can be read in a day. Story of love, dedication, loss and some things that one may never really fond out.
October 25, 2024
Quite a sad story about a girl who just can't seem to get over her first love affair and struggles to come to terms with the rest of her life because of it.
Marianne, a 14 year old school girl falls for Simon , a 19 year old student on the verge of going to Oxford, 'absolutely and forever'. Her every waking moment is of him and she can only see a future where she is married to him. Following Simon's failure to get into Oxford, his family send him to France to seek his future through the Sorbonne and this is when Marianne begins to lose him.
There is something vaguely annoying about Marianne. There are so many opportunities for her to move on in her career and her love life but she doesn't seem able to take them, choosing instead to blame her parents' inability to sympathise with her plight.
The quality of the writing is such however, that it is easy to continue reading despite your feelings about the main character. The book provides an in-depth view of England in the 1950s and manages to show how the war years impacted on relationships and the quality of life for many people. It also touches on the beginnings of the 1960s - the change in atmosphere and the move towards a more permissive society.
I liked the ending of the book too which allowed Marianne some redemption so a lot right with the book despite the difficult lead character.
Marianne, a 14 year old school girl falls for Simon , a 19 year old student on the verge of going to Oxford, 'absolutely and forever'. Her every waking moment is of him and she can only see a future where she is married to him. Following Simon's failure to get into Oxford, his family send him to France to seek his future through the Sorbonne and this is when Marianne begins to lose him.
There is something vaguely annoying about Marianne. There are so many opportunities for her to move on in her career and her love life but she doesn't seem able to take them, choosing instead to blame her parents' inability to sympathise with her plight.
The quality of the writing is such however, that it is easy to continue reading despite your feelings about the main character. The book provides an in-depth view of England in the 1950s and manages to show how the war years impacted on relationships and the quality of life for many people. It also touches on the beginnings of the 1960s - the change in atmosphere and the move towards a more permissive society.
I liked the ending of the book too which allowed Marianne some redemption so a lot right with the book despite the difficult lead character.
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