The House Martin

by William Parker

Ben is learning to keep secrets. No one must know about his mother and her addiction to sherry. No one must know about the bedwetting that so bewilders him. And no one must ever know about the blue folder that he'd stumbled across in Stuart England's car at the end of the previous term. Stuart England is the charismatic young master-not long down from Oxford-who makes life possible for Ben in the emotionally sterile environment of his prep school in Gloucestershire. This is the story of Ben's long struggle to be free of the demons that have chased him since childhood. Will he ever find the courage, like the house martins that fly high above the school, to accept life on life's terms?

Genres: Fiction, Boarding School

300 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2010

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most engaging books I've read all year. The character of Ben is prone, innocent and ultimately quite intriguing. Struggling to cope with life at the great British boarding school in the 1960s, and trying to hide his mother's alcoholism from his classmates, he finds himself bound up with secrets and eventually collapses under the strain. I found this book to be more honest than I expect fiction to be; his emotions were tangible throughout Parker's writing and as a result, I kept thinking about it in between readings and got through the entire thing in under a day. Definitely one of the year's best reads.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We meet Ben Teasdale initially when he is in his fifties, single and gay, but very soon we are in the hands of the young pre-teen Ben during his English prep-school days. We follow Ben as a youngster through prep-school and again, more briefly as a fifteen year old preparing for his O Levels, with occasional interjections from the mature Ben today.

Ben has a privileged yet troubled childhood, he has his own secrets that must not be revealed for fear of humiliation, then there is the secret concerning My England, his favourite teacher which will bring its own problems. His father is rather distant and his mother is very close, but she too has her problems. All these worries build up on the young Ben until they culminated in a notorious episode at school, one for which he will be long remembered.

My initial reaction after the first few pages of reading The House Martin and meeting the regularly inebriated mature and solitary Ben was here is a man I do not have much sympathy for; and when the young Ben took over the narration I wondered if I could take listening to the voice of a ten year old for almost the entire novel. But very soon my opinion changed. William Parker so beautifully captures the tone of the well educated prep-schoolboy that it becomes a delight to read. Ben is a thoroughly endearing lad, open and honest despite the secrets that must be kept. His occasional yet not frequent misuse of words adds a touch of humour to the proceedings (I won't reveal what he misunderstands as cubic!), and makes the earnest youngster all the more appealing.

Even the mature Ben changes during the course of events, and with a better understanding of him as a youngster I found myself empathising with him and caring about him.

After a doubtful start, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The House Martin, it is beautifully written, and captures perfectly the mind and voice of the young Ben. It is an enchanting and positive story, highly recommended.

(pre-publication copy for review)

[Andrew Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boarding School Survivor genre has had a good literary airing over the last few decades (prompting some disdain and mockery, mainly from the “it never did me any harm” brigade). This book, which I have just re-read, is striking in the way the author invites us into the thoughts and emotions of a young boy confronted in life by dysfunctional parents and an often oppressive boarding school with its cast of other boys and staff. Early on the character of Ben Teasdale comments on how he has had to learn to become another person in order to survive, seemingly repressing his true feelings and sense of self (many a partner or therapist will recognise the accuracy of this observation, particularly on the sensitive child).
Choosing Ben as the narrator would always be a challenge - maintaining a credible ‘voice’ of a ten year old throughout, but I think William Parker pulls it off, as well as the switches from the child Ben to the adult Ben. The climax of the novel comes with the events surrounding the house martins nesting in the eaves of the school’s roof. But it was only on my second reading (and focus on the book’s title ) that I realised the double layered significance of this with Ben imagining himself as one of the birds. At the risk of plot spoiling, I’ll say no more except that this was a really enjoyable book, even if it was often an uncomfortable and emotional read due to the memories it frequently triggered in me.

[Squirrel Circus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Housemartin by William Parker was a very enjoyable read. In particular, I appreciated the judicial use of references to significant, scandalous events from the past. Certain events were mentioned just enough to continue to pique interest, without the reader feeling that the only interesting part of the plot is being withheld. Parker is adept at using his main character, Ben’s, description of his surroundings to convey feelings of waiting, anxiety, sadness, and relief. Specifically, the incredibly detailed description of the hall in which Ben waits for his mother, “Mummy’, to collect him for a surprise lunch visit rings true with a meticulous attention to detail that someone might employ when willing time to pass more quickly, to slow down, or both, as in Ben’s case. Even though some of characters in the book seem to be somewhat stereotypical to coming of age boarding school fiction – the stern but kind matron and the bullying upper form boys- Parker steers his main characters on a more interesting and complex course than many novels in that genre.

[Rah~ri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.
My niece(13) started reading it to me at work?!?
We'd both take turns reading a few pages
Mixed with lots of explaining & picking on the English ;)
Then I decided it was to old for her
& took it home with me to finish! ;)
Enjoyed it.

[Robin Fox]

Hard to put down - not an easy stopry, but a good read