R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on 5/2/2012 + 1438 more book reviews

The author uses a unique approach to this book. It is written in five parts separated by several years. Primarily, it revolves around the Sawle family. Daphne is a key character for much of the book but recedes to a secondary or supplementary role at other points. She is the younger sister to George who falls in love with a would-be poet, Cecil Valance. Cecil is wealthy and lives by his own standards. Whether or not he loves George is a question as he seems to have affairs with almost anyone who is interesting to him, perhaps even Daphne, who has a crush on him. When Cecil is killed in WWI, his poetry becomes popular even though he is viewed as a second-rate poet. Daphne's older brother, Hubert, dies in WWI, too, but little is seen of him until the last section. Daphne marries Cecil's younger brother, Dudley, who has lived in Cecil's shadow as he grew up. Cecil's influence on the characters of the books is a thread that continues to almost the end. One wonders what life for this family would have been like had Cecil not met and seduced George. It's an enjoyable read where one must fill in the years with what happened using clues from the author and imagination. Who is the stranger's child? You can only speculate as the phrase comes from one of Cecil's poems.

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