Blue lives a charmed life. From her family's townhouse in Richmond, she lives a life of luxury and couldn't want for anything - well, on the surface at least.
Then on the night of her twenty-first birthday her father makes a startling toast: he will give his daughter's hand to whichever man can capture her heart best in the form of a love letter. But Blue has other ideas and, unwilling to play at her father's bewildering games, she sets out on her own path to find her own destiny...
Many thanks to Ella Patel from Quercus for my copy of Darling Blue to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Tracy Rees' fourth book Darling Blue takes her readers to 1920's London and more specifically the affluent area of Richmond. The 'Darling Blue' of the title is Ishbel Camberwell known as Blue to her family and friends, the reason for her name becomes apparent much later on and is quite a sweet sentiment. When we are first introduced to the Camberwell's it is on the occasion of Blue's birthday and as people gather to celebrate, Kenneth, the patriarch of the family, stands on the stairs and makes an announcement. Potential suitors for Blue must woo her. They must win over her affections in the form of a love letter which in turn must be written anonymously, the winner will be announced in a years time. Blue is horrified at her father's surprise. She does not have marriage in her sights at all, preferring to follow her dreams to become a writer. She feels she has been backed into a corner and is now under pressure to conform. But that is not in her nature. The announcement may have captured the imagination of the opposite sex but she rather wishes the words had never entered her father's head.
Following on from this opening I presumed this book would closely follow Blue as she engages with various suitors through letters that may diverge into something deeper and to some extent this did occur but thankfully this was not the entire plot of the book. Given the book was well over 500 pages, and heading towards 600, this aspect of the storyline couldn't have been stretched out so thinly over such length. Truthfully, I did think this book was too long. I understand the author took us through the four seasons compromising of four parts which form the backdrop to a year in the Camberwell's lives but there were aspects of the story that just didn't go anywhere and had far too much detail which led to not much happening. Certain parts could have been curtailed in turn leading to a shortening of the book and therefore more action could have occurred. I read someone else's comments on this book saying she was rapidly turning the pages to see what would happen and I was too in a similar fashion and like this person says it was to see would something occur to catch my breath, to leave me astounded, to leave me guessing but this didn't happen. Admittedly in the last 150-200 pages the book did pick up pace and in my mind was definitely the strongest section of the book. It really held my interest and all the story lines began to bear fruit in some surprising and heartfelt ways even if some had been quite tedious at various points during the book.
Darling Blue branches off into three distinct strands following the lives of three different women who are united through family and friendship. It is an observation of family life and how even though it may be the roaring twenties and Blue does come from an affluent family, all is not as it seems and behind closed doors people are struggling on a daily basis. Blue, herself was a character I did warm to but then over the course of the book my opinion of her swayed back and forth. I loved the fact she wanted to follow her own dreams and aspirations in becoming a writer. She was clearly a person who went against societies expectations and she wasn't going to conform to the norm. Losing her mother at a young age could have made her a person who became lost but thanks to stepmother Midge she had an anchor and a united family. Her sister Merrigan had done the usual thing of getting married and starting a family and had done what was expected of her. But Blue questions why should she follow suit? I did think she had a lack of personal control when it came to Kenneth's surprise and that given time to reflect she should have been stronger and stood up for herself and said no I don't want this to happen. Given she was a free spirit who knew what she wanted I felt this went a little against her character. Her dalliances through the form of letters didn't fully engage me and I wasn't as hooked on this aspect of the storyline as I felt I should have been given it formed a major part of the premise of the book.
I much preferred when Blue got a six month contract with the local paper and her interests and ambitions beyond that of her family began to become clear. She wasn't like a fish out of water in her job even though she got the worst most light and fluffy stories to write about. She sensed this could only be a stepping stone to even greater things. One thing I did admire about Blue was her kindness and compassion when it comes to her family and friends. She had a sweet, soft and sensitive side to her nature and she always worried about others and wanted to hep people if at all possible in their times of need. Most noticeably when it came to Delphine, but also her childhood friend Foster whose sister Tabitha was also a close friend. The same can't be said though when it comes to Midge. The storyline regarding Foster I did guess at fairly early on and I do think it was handled with tact and respect given to the situation especially considering the potential outcome because of restrictions and in a way beliefs and superstitions of the time.
Delphine as mentioned above comes into the Camberwell's lives very unexepedetly. She was a character I wanted to know more about and delve deeper into what motivated her. I thoroughly enjoyed her storyline and it was good to see the theme of domestic violence being dealt with in a period story given it features so much in modern day books. It makes the reader realise that sadly this is a long standing issue and that there will always be people in need of refuge and a place where they can feel safe. The Camberwell's gave this to Delphine but she was still a person living in constant fear of discovery and retribution, yet I felt the Camberwell's and her new employer’s would always have her back.
Yes in my mind her arrival and then Blue more or less adopting her into the family seemed a bit far fetched given the huge differences in their backgrounds and social classes. But on reflection I think maybe the Camberwell's were that type of family, that in times of need they unite together and they wouldn't like to see anyone suffering. I loved observing the transformation in Delphine. To go from a stuttering bundle of nerves to a woman confident and capable in her own skin was amazing. When the Camberwell's needed their own comfort and support she was able to return all they had done for her. Delphine's storyline wasn't without its dramatics and I loved how things took on a few twists and turns with regard to her towards the end.
My most favourite character of all was Midge, Kenneth's second wife and therefore stepmother to Blue and Merrigan. She knows she can never replaced their beloved mother Audra but she feels for the most part that she has developed a good relationship with her stepchildren. I really liked how Midge wasn't portrayed as the evil stepmother that nobody liked, instead she was a part of the family much loved and respected. But poor old Midge is tormented and she can't share her worries with anybody. To be honest I thought she drove herself made worrying and fretting over things that she had created all in her head and that others would give scant thought to. That was until things came out into the open. I knew there had to be more going on than at first meets the eye and as we delve deeper into her mind things slowly started to become clear. In doing so I felt the utmost of pity for her. I wanted her to feel happy and contented and not living in fear that she would be cast out. She didn't realise how much she was loved and appreciated and that all could always be forgiven no matter how traumatic, upsetting and devastating one's actions could be.
Midge behind it all was crying out for help and a shoulder to cry on but I felt the family were so caught up in their own little trials and tribulations that Midge was often taken for granted and in some ways left on the sidelines. If they had been more aware of her plight things mightn't have taken on the heartbreaking twists and turns that followed. Even when revelations about Midge became apparent I didn't lose any respect for her instead I grew to love her as a character more simply because she was lost and overwhelmed and she felt she had no other choice and in my mind she didn't deserve blame. Although her abrupt decision was something I felt was too rushed and a judgement made in haste that she would later come to regret. I felt she shouldn't have given up her safety net that easily.
Overall Darling Blue was a good read despite some of my misgivings as mentioned above. I don't think it is the strongest book the author has written, Amy Snow and Florence Grace still remain my firm favourites. It was an interesting read but it needed a bit more mystery than was present. It was very character driven and any mystery that was apparent was resolved far too quickly given such time was put into the lead up. I'll be interested to see what era Tracy Rees will venture to with her next read and to see will even more mystery appear to keep the readers guessing until the very end.
All book titles in bold are Amazon UK Affiliate links which will earn me a few pence if anyone clicks through and makes a purchase - any money earned will go towards buying books or gifts for giveaways.
No comments:
Post a Comment