Many years ago now Philip Hensher described me as a 'disinterested reviewer' and I think he meant it in the nicest possible way. I had no favours to repay, no axes to grind, no knives to plunge in as revenge via the medium of a scathing review and in fact I still don't call myself a 'book reviewer'. It's all far too emotional and subjective here, book as experience, book as evocation of memories, book as accompaniment to life etc. If you are looking for straightforward objective opinion sadly you have come to the wrong place.
But dovegreyreader scribbles was still quite new and finding its feet in 2008 when I had eulogised about The Northern Clemency ad nauseum, the year it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Book blogs were still a bit of a new invention, the world of literary criticism was in a bit of a panic, as if the ivory towers had been stormed by the rabble, and in defending their territory they were pouring all sorts of boiling oil down on us from the ramparts.
So it was quite refreshing to receive a sort-of compliment in the midst of the brickbats and criticism. In the end I was no help whatsoever, The Northern Clemency lost out to The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga on Booker night, but look, book blogs have proliferated and now coexist happily alongside the review pages, and I would like to think that the quiet but determined defence mounted by a core group of us back in the early days (on radio, lit-fest panels etc) and with a determination to strive to offer good and interesting content, allowed the medium of a public voice to thrive and grow.
Anyway in my usual enthusiastic 'pooterish' way, having already said this about The Northern Clemency (which incidentally still keeps its place on my shelf of Best Reads)...
'It offers the most dazzling insight into social behaviour I've read in a long time, a sweeping yet microscopic glimpse of life behind the front doors of British suburbia....'
I was really on a tiggerish roll and went on to say this...
'More assets, the characterisation, the subtle but believable ageing of characters, not an easy one to pull off with that essential requirement to maintain personality traits established in childhood whilst allowing them to mature into adulthood, or from adulthood into old age and yet remain familiar. Some intriguing off the beaten track psychological explorations with several characters which I won't spoil but you will definitely spot.
The plot twists and turns but never strays too far from the ordinary as to be risible, and with a perceptive eye for detail that kept me constantly in thrall to Philip Hensher's control of his huge novel. One or two characters puzzlingly made an entrance and then seemed to fade, leaving only a slight trace, but then I realised that is so true to life. Not everyone becomes a best friend about whom you know every detail, great writing restraint there.'
I'm sorely tempted to say the same about the 579 pages or so of The Friendly Ones, and I can't tell you how delighted I am to say that, because I quite thought I would love every book that Philip Hensher wrote after The Northern Clemency, but of course not every book will be the same. In all honesty I'd gone a but lukewarm until my Reading Friend's eyes lit up when I asked her if I should invest time and money in this one. It was a done deal and I am delighted to say I have not been disappointed. Not one iota.
Based first in Sheffield and then in Bangladesh, The Friendly Ones charts the life, loves, conflicts and sorrows of two families, neighbours in suburban Sheffield. Retired GP Hilary Spinster, his wife Celia and their four adult children Leo and living next door University professor Nazia, his wife Sharif and their children Aisha and twins Omith and Raja.
The book gets off to the most perfect start. The Sharifs are holding a party in their garden and Dr Spinster is looking on from the vantage point of his ladder whilst ostensibly trimming a tree. His services will suddenly be required in the most dramatic of ways and the Sharifs will be in his debt for ever, but the party provides an opportunity for the book to be rapidly and efficiently populated, and yes it was at this point I started my usual genogram which would prove invaluable. Not only is Nazia and Sharif's large family extended across continents but the Spinsters likewise can give them a run for their money especially when Tamara, Thomas, Tresco and Trevor (a girl) appear on the scene.
And the pleasure continued. I seem to have been reading the book for weeks and travelled so far with it but, like The Northern Clemency, whenever I picked it up I knew exactly where I was. The pace, the warmth, the eccentricities, the truths and the development of the characters ebbed back and forth in time whilst cleverly revealing so much of what stays hidden within a family. And in that Middlemarch-ian way there were surprises; the rush to judgement about a character and their motives and opinions suddenly turned upside-down.There is a telling moment when Hilary and Sharif are discussing the merits and drawbacks of overseas aid, their respective arguments subverting all expectations. I'm ashamed to say I knew little about the birth of Bangladesh as a country either, it just seemed to happen. Well I know a great deal more now. a gaping hole in my knowledge with all its tragedies and terror has been filled.
Plot details forgotten about suddenly surface, just like real life ...
Characters reappear a few years older and wiser (or not) and are instantly recognisable, just like real life...
Oh I could go on and on because to be honest I wallowed and revelled in The Friendly Ones, and its title's multiple connotations (which became clearer as I read) and emerged knowing that this one will go up on the Best Reads shelf alongside The Northern Clemency.
I don't want to jinx things by whispering Booker longlist at least, but too late, I've said it now.
May the Fourth be with you etc today and please, I would love to know your thoughts about this or any other book by Philip Hensher you have read.
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