In Review

09 January 2009 12:43 BST

The People on Privilege Hill by Jane Gardam

Published by Abacus on July 3rd, priced £7.99.

In a nutshell…

Touching, warm, witty and sometimes funny.

What's it all about?

The book comprises of a collection of very varied short stories, the first of which features Sir Edward Feathers, a character from Old Filth, one of Gardam's previous novels.

The stories that follow range from a touching account of the strained relationship between a mother and her soon-to-be married daughter - all related to a gay hairdresser - to a rather bizarre narrative about a woman who falls in love with a gorilla at her local zoo.

Other highlights include the story of a Yorkshire sixth former who visits London during the Blitz for a medical school interview, a poignant tale of modern injustice about an old man wrongly accused of paedophilia and the personal account of a woman who volunteered at an old Victorian mansion that had been converted into a home for unmarried pregnant women.

Who's it by?

Jane Gardam, the only writer to have been awarded the Whitbread/Costa prize for best novel of the Year twice. She also holds a Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime's contribution to literature and has written four other volumes of stories. Some of the stories in this book have already been published in various newspapers and magazines or read out on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. Gardam has a noticeably quirky, punchy yet thoughtful writing style.

As an example…

"The Amelia Menzies (we all called it the Milly Ming) was amazingly liberal. There was nothing said about penitence, only a recommendation that the girls attend church with the matron on Sundays and a firm rule that the coming child must be their first. A second illegitimate baby was not to be thought of."

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

Unlikely. As the stories are all very different, a film with them all in would appear rather jumbled and they are all too short to be adapted into feature length films individually. However, some of the themes explored by Gardam and a number of the scenes she creates would provide the perfect starting point for a film script writer. The account of the female volunteer working at the home for unmarried pregnant mothers - from which the passage above is taken – or the story of a woman who, dissatisfied with her monotonous 30-year marriage to a somewhat insensitive husband, cheats on him with her art teacher,are some examples.

What the others say

"In narratives that extend from the banality of a middle-class couple ushering their only son off to university to the unsettling strangeness of a woman in love with a gorilla, it is these artful, perfectly judged shifts of mood that fill the book with an abiding sense of joy." – Guardian

So is it any good?

I have to admit that it took me a little while to get into this book, but once I was there it was great. Gardam has a very unique style of writing that cleverly flits from one subject or character to another – but it does take some getting used to.

While the book hasn't gained a place on my mental list for when people ask me what my favourite books are, it is an enjoyable read. Gardam offers a very diverse selection of stories - some are stirring-first person narratives, others are told in the third-person, some are amusing while others are emotive, almost tragic in some cases. But what unites them all is Gardam's ability to connect with her characters as she satirizes societies and relationships in just a few pages.

None of the stories are very long, so if you find one doesn't agree you'll soon be on to the next or it doesn't matter if you skip a few entirely. This the perfect book for summer, something to take on holiday, to pick up and put down as you sit on the beach or by the pool.

8/10

Hannah Baker