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A review by mary_soon_lee
The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott, Agatha Christie
4.0
There was a row of Agatha Christie's paperbacks on my parent's shelves, and I must have read a dozen of her crime novels when I was growing up. With the exception of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," they left no lasting impression on me. I think I'll remember "The Rose and the Yew Tree" for longer. Originally published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, it is a mainstream novel with clever structure, unusual perspective, insight, romance elements, politics.
Spoilers ahead.
I liked the author's vivid sympathy and sharp understanding of her cast of characters, including Milly Burt, a woman caught in an abusive marriage, and Lady St. Loo, an elderly aristocrat, short of money but still living in a castle. The man picked to be the Conservative candidate in the election, John Gabriel, makes a fascinating central figure: at times sympathetic, at times repugnant. The chief heroine, Isabel, is striking too, in harmony with her internal life, passive to much of what's happening around her. I like the way that several of the minor characters -- including Teresa, the narrator's sister-in-law -- are given attention, moments to speak up and take on color.
3.5 out of 5 dated stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Spoilers ahead.
Spoiler
In chapter three, the narrator, an invalid, comes to stay at his brother's in Cornwall, England, soon after the end of World War II. There he becomes a bystander and confidant during an election campaign. The story is partly his, partly that of the people who confide in him. The old-fashioned voice and setting reminded me of growing up in England in the 1960s and 1970s, later than this book, but with some of the same attitudes lingering.I liked the author's vivid sympathy and sharp understanding of her cast of characters, including Milly Burt, a woman caught in an abusive marriage, and Lady St. Loo, an elderly aristocrat, short of money but still living in a castle. The man picked to be the Conservative candidate in the election, John Gabriel, makes a fascinating central figure: at times sympathetic, at times repugnant. The chief heroine, Isabel, is striking too, in harmony with her internal life, passive to much of what's happening around her. I like the way that several of the minor characters -- including Teresa, the narrator's sister-in-law -- are given attention, moments to speak up and take on color.
3.5 out of 5 dated stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).