Persephone Books discussion
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Vain Shadow
Vain Shadow
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Vain Shadow - finished?
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Hi Rosemary, even though this story is about a funeral, i found the black comedy very funny.The truth being nobody liked the Colonel and everyone just wants the funeral over with and the will read!!
I think the characters are wonderful and this is one of my favourite's by Persephone books
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I was so glad that Joanna had decided to leave Tony and that some at least, were able to see through him, though he had clearly charmed the others.
I felt the servants and estate workers were more saddened by the loss than the family, so, while he was very domineering towards them, (family), he was a good man to the people working for him. Most of them remarked at some point in the book that he'd always treated them well.
Hi Tania, so glad you enjoyed the book.Even though the topic of the novel is a funeral, i could'nt help but smile to myself about some of the things the characters were thinking about.
It has a dark side too, especially where Joanna is concerned.
Being around her family, really makes her think what she wants in life.
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I loved it. I liked that the language is very simple, but you get a great sense of all of the characters and the way their interests and points of view conflict. It's certainly a very slow-moving story, covering only 4 days, and emotion is rarely showed overtly, but everything seethes under the surface.
What did you think of the men in the story? It seemed to me that women are portrayed as entirely dependent on men. Even though things have changed since Mrs Winthorpe's time, Laurine's fortunes are dependent on Jack's, and a positive ending for Joanna depends on another man being willing to take her. She never considers striking out on her own.