A place of secrets

 

    I said in Friday's post that I was very keen to read Deborah Lawrenson's new novel The Lantern, and my goodness, it doesn't disappoint!

    If you like well-written romantic fiction, evocative, sensual stories set in beautiful places, are attracted by a Rebecca-like tale of a second wife and the mystery surrounding her predecessor, and can't resist a house with secrets, then this is for you. It's rich and elegant, quite spellbinding in its descriptions of Provence, and its dual-stranded narrative - one part set in the present day, the other some decades earlier when rural life was hard - is completely engrossing and perfectly resolved.

    The Lantern tells of Eve and Dom who, after something of a whirlwind romance, buy Les Genévriers, a crumbling, abandoned farmhouse in the hills of the Luberon. Dom is very self-contained and has a capacity for detachment which Eve at first finds puzzling and later unnerving. He tells her little of his first wife, Rachel, and when pressed becomes defensive and tries to shut Eve out, so that after the idyllic early days spent restoring their property, it is not just the weather which turns cooler.

    As Eve finds herself pushing away worrying doubts about the probity of the man she admits she barely knows, so the house itself unsettles her - a pervasive scent for which she can find no explanation seems to haunt the rooms, she glimpses a fleeting figure in the grounds at twilight, lights flicker disconcertingly. Interwoven with the modern day story is that of Bénédicte, daughter of the farming family which had owned the house for generations, and of her sister Marthe Lincel, the renowned blind perfumer, who cut ties with Bénédicte many years before.

    Deborah herself describes the The Lantern as being ultimately about "the unquiet life of old houses", and her exposition of that theme is most skilfully done. The spirit of place is discernible in more ways than one, and the secrets and hidden lives of the house's owners, past and present, are gradually teased out and revealed in a very convincing and satisfying manner. Provence itself is evoked so vividly that the novel's pages are almost redolent of lavender, thyme, heliotrope and ripe figs - this is a Jo Malone scent in book form!

    A perfect summer read - a perfect read for any time you want to be wrapped up in a great story - I recommend The Lantern unreservedly. 

Comments

[Mystica]

Thank you . This goes immediately to the TBR pile.

[Cornflower]

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did, Mystica; I thought it was terrific!

[LizF]

I treated myself to a copy on Saturday after your mention of it last week, and will be taking it with me on a short break next week.
That way even if it rains on the North Yorkshire coast or we get one of the infamous seafrets, I will be able to escape to sunny Provence.

Thanks for the recommendation.

[Cornflower]

If poor weather keeps you indoors, Liz, I guarantee you'll be glad you have The Lantern to entertain you! Enjoy your break.

[Margaret Powling]

Ooh, ooh dear, I shouldn't have read this review, Cornflower ... I have a HUGE, nay MASSIVE TBR pile and I'm just coming to the end of of The Guynd, set in a rather bleak (dreich? For it always seems cold and wet where the writer is!) Scotland, so a bit of warming up courtsy of Provence sounds just the ticket! I love books not only about people but about houses and places, and how the past can affect the present, and this one must surely meet those requirements. I shall order it now. Oh dear, oh dear ...

[Julie Fredericksen]

I had put it on my amazon.com wish list when you first mentioned but after reading this I want to read it now. It's not available here until Aug. 9 but I pre-ordered it. August is still summer so it will still be a summer read for me!

[Jo]

I was not going to get this, but now.... it sounds like a book right up my street!

[Cornflower]

I bet you'll love it, Margaret!

[Cornflower]

Perfect!

[Cornflower]

It's certainly right up my street, Jo, so I hope you'll enjoy it, too (should you succumb to temptation!).

[adele geras]

Did anyone see this book discussed on the TV Book Club? That seems to me to be such an ill-thought-out programme. No one seemed to know exactly what they were doing and poor Ade Edmondson who liked the book a lot was ...well, not forceful enough. It all seemed very low wattage and as if everyone were dozing through it. I've never seen Jo Brand express anything but half hearted views about the books under discussion. I've decided NOT to watch the programme any more but simply to try the books I would have tried just by reading the titles on the internet. Cornflower's recommendations are good enough for me!

[Sandy]

I'm on my way >>>>>>>

[Ann]

Thanks for the review. I'll put this on my list.
Ann

[Cornflower]

I watched it, Adele, but only because I knew The Lantern was going to be featured, and having just finished it I wanted to hear what they had to say.
You're right about them dozing through the programme, and what a pity that no-one seemed to show any passion for books generally, never mind the one 'their team' had chosen for them. Thank goodness for Ade Edmondson, though as you say, even he didn't argue forcefully enough for the book he enjoyed.
Oh, for a really good books programme!

[BarbieG]

I've just got The Lantern from the library, having seen the TV Book Club, and am looking forward to reading it. Re the Book Club - what's happened to Nat Parker who used to be one of the presenters? He was the only one who seemed to have a proper opinion on the books, although to be honest I'm not too fussed about the books as long as he's on screen!

[Cornflower]

Barbie, I'd forgotten Nat Parker was originally on the show (also Gok Wan and a couple of others). I wonder who would be on our 'dream panel' if we could choose!

[Dark Puss]

You would be on mine!