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sternbergjulie's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. I love the way Penelope Lively conveys a scene with pitch perfection from different characters' perspectives. I love how her characters spring to life in a matter of paragraphs. I love that she raises big issues (faith, the nature of history, what truly matters, what lingers through time) through a story focused on one small neighborhood, in one moment in time. And her use of language! Genius.
hoperu's review against another edition
4.0
I love Penelope Lively's books, and I always find it so hard to describe why. They are generally quiet, without the bluster or bombast of so many novels, yet they are not cloying or claustrophobic. They are observational, but not overly full of description. Generally, I have to like a character in a book to like the book, but I don't feel that need with Lively's books. Certainly, there are characters I empathize with, and others that I dislike immensely, but I don't latch on to any one person.
Judgment Day is very much a Lively novel, in all of those senses. Set in a small English village, it is centered around an ancient church and its neighbors, and the events that happen one spring and summer when they plan a church fundraiser. The fundraiser is to be a play based on several violent moments in the history of the village and church. Throughout the story, there is an undercurrent of tension, or possible violence, like a tiger waiting to spring, and you don't know until the end how or if it will strike. Several of the main characters ponder faith and fate and existence, as many people do, and come away changed, and yet the same, as most people do. Lives are changed forever, and not changed, as is so often the case in real life. A picture of a village, and a picture of the wider world.
Judgment Day is very much a Lively novel, in all of those senses. Set in a small English village, it is centered around an ancient church and its neighbors, and the events that happen one spring and summer when they plan a church fundraiser. The fundraiser is to be a play based on several violent moments in the history of the village and church. Throughout the story, there is an undercurrent of tension, or possible violence, like a tiger waiting to spring, and you don't know until the end how or if it will strike. Several of the main characters ponder faith and fate and existence, as many people do, and come away changed, and yet the same, as most people do. Lives are changed forever, and not changed, as is so often the case in real life. A picture of a village, and a picture of the wider world.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story about a small town; like all stories about small towns, the secret lives of the inhabitants are more sordid than anyone would care to admit. Lively's strength comes from her exploration of these secrets, the deft way she comments on class, gender, and education. Clare Paling, the newest resident of Laddenham, is an avowed atheist who loves the language of the King James Bible; her passion for art spurs her to be part of a committee focused on restoring the squat local church. The challenge of the committee--to find a part of the church's history that would be cheerful enough to reenact--reflects the struggles of each character. The novel ends with a sting, and I was surprised to find myself in tears.
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