May 2014- Where Angels Fear to Tread and Unaccustomed Earth

Where Angels fear to Tread.                     E.M.Forster

This book, Forster’s first published novel, rather surprised the Group.

It concerned an Edwardian middleclass English family who had  been reluctant to accept their son’s choice of bride on the grounds of her lower class status and lack of accomplishments. When, after fathering a daughter, he unexpectedly died, they became concerned at the looming prospect of her choosing a dentist as a second husband.

To avoid this seemingly catastrophic event she was persuaded to make a visit to Italy. Shock! Horror! She there met and married an extremely minor Italian aristocrat, bore him a son and died.

These facts being generally known back in Britain, the family began to fear that they would be perceived as not doing their moral duty by the boy, as they were already doing by his half-sister, if they did not take an interest in him. Accordingly the son, his sister and the mother’s companion set out to rescue him from the fate of being brought up by an Italian father.

Various events led to a melodramatic kidnap of the child who was then unfortunately thrown out of the vehicle in which they were fleeing with him and killed.

There was general agreement in the Group that the plot was ludicrous in the extreme, but that there were occasional glimpses of the writer to come.

The presentation of the various social settings was often wryly funny, the importance to the characters of conscience, responsibility and respectability was well presented, and the descriptive passages vivid.

Marks 1 5 6 4 5 6 3 Average 4

 ++++++++++++++++++++

Unaccustomed Earth                        Jumpha Lahiri

The Group had already read “The Namesake” by the same author, and these short stories echoed its themes of alienation and integration. 5 short stories were followed by 3 linked ones. Most of the Group had read them one after the other and felt that the impact of any individual one had been diminished by their repetitive nature. Any one of them read singly would, however, be appreciated as a vivid portrayal of a particular and distinctive example of the common problem.

The culture and generational clashes varied from story to story and affected a range of characters which the group felt were brilliantly evoked in a few sentences. Cultural expectations might lead to marital difficulties; old traditions to surprising developments; education to separation; maladjustment to alcoholism; ignorance to misunderstanding; parental ambition to student rebellion. Although happy occasions were described from time to time, every story contained sadness, loss or betrayal, which “pulled at the heart” because its description was beautifully written.

Marks. 8 8 9 8 7 8 4    Average 7.5                                               (OL)