A LIFETIME BURNING [Kindle Edition]

Linda Gillard (Author)

Book Description

Flora Dunbar is dead. But it isn’t over.

The spectre at the funeral is Flora herself, unobserved by her grieving family and the four men who loved her.

Looking back over a turbulent lifetime, Flora recalls an eccentric childhood lived in the shadow of her musical twin, Rory; early marriage to Hugh, a handsome clergyman twice her age; motherhood, which brought her Theo, the son she couldn’t love; middle age, when she finally found brief happiness in a scandalous affair with her nephew, Colin.

“There has been much love in this family – some would say too much – and not a little hate. If you asked my sister-in-law, Grace why she hated me, she’d say it was because I seduced her precious firstborn, then tossed him on to the sizeable scrap heap marked ‘Flora’s ex-lovers’. But she’d be lying. That isn’t why Grace hated me. Ask my brother Rory.”

A complex family drama spanning the 20th century from the author of Kindle bestseller, HOUSE OF SILENCE.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A BOUQUET OF BARBED WIRE meets THE FORSYTE SAGA in this powerful and haunting novel.

"An absolute page-turner! I could not put this book down and read it over a weekend. It is a haunting and disturbing exploration of the meaning of love within a close-knit family... Find a place for it in your holiday luggage!"
LoveReading.co.uk

About the Author

Linda Gillard's Kindle bestseller House of Silence was a Top Ten Editor's Pick for "Best of 2011".

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 617 KB
• Print Length: 372 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1482637359
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006VOL2WE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,272 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A true WOW book July 11, 2006

By Bluestalking Reader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I truly enjoyed Gillard's first book Emotional Geology, and thought it so beautifully lyrical in style I read it very slowly, to savor every word. If it had a flaw I'd say it was the graphic, raw nature of both the sex and the language of the main character. It's not that I'm a prude that way. Not at all, but I'm just not one for overly graphic language or sex scenes in general. A personal call, and there you have it. But the rest of that book was so lovely, and the story so wonderful, the bit about the graphic nature didn't mar my enjoyment. Her latest, though, A Lifetime Burning, is brilliant in every way, start to finish.

What's somewhat surprising about that is the fact the premise of this book hinges on what could only be termed rampant incest within the family, which is the focus of the plot. There are multiple incestuous layers, which you'd think I'd find more disturbing considering my minor criticism of Gillard's first book, but the simple fact is this book is so wonderfully written as to present the reader with a completely non-judgmental exploration of what is love, and what should the limits be when pursuing something you believe to be "the real thing." I found myself forgetting the taboo nature of the love, so wrapped up I was in the beauty of the raw need and complete, encompassing love between the characters. The fact it was incest was, of course, disturbing, but Gillard manages to work her way beyond that, finding just the right perspective that made the reader feel less uncomfortable, though just aware enough to see there was a horrible element to it. In short, the book is masterful and shows a huge leap of sophistication from Emotional Geology, which was at the same time one of the most outstanding first novels I believe I've ever read.

A Lifetime Burning is just unearthly beautiful in terms of prose style and lyrical quality. The language is gorgeous and lush, and if the author falters anywhere it's at that hideously difficult three-quarters mark, building up to the climax, when so very many writers seem to have a difficult time filling the space. But even there, when the plot slows down a bit, my interest never actually flagged. I noted the bit slower pace of things, the slight slowing of the prose, but just as soon as I had the chance to notice it was happening things took off at a brilliant clip again, never to slow down again so much as a hair.

I will be recommending this book to everyone I know who enjoys reading contemporary literary fiction. I found it tremendously moving, and even the day after finishing it I continue to find it positively haunting. I will temper my recommendation to others by adding a caveat about the theme, as the issues raised could be very painful to some, but there will be no strong warning. It's simply not needed, given the deft way Gillard handles the subject. The sheer beauty of this book is its biggest recommendation, and this book deserves a wide readership. I'll be waiting very anxiously for Gillard's next offering.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars an *AMAZING* book January 10, 2012

By Laura @ OutlanderBookClub

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Another reviewer above said it perfectly:

"A Lifetime Burning is just unearthly beautiful in terms of prose style and lyrical quality."
"The language is gorgeous and lush ..."

The characters and their story stayed with me for weeks. A Lifetime Burning is an *amazing* book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensuality, sex and sadness February 7, 2013

By superswimmer

Format:Kindle Edition

Linda Gillard's intense, uncompromising, yet sensuously written family saga has been compared to Elizabeth Jane Howard and Mary Wesley. They explore similar areas, family sagas and secrets, but Linda Gillard's characters are more believable and engaging, especially to a modern reader, in all their messy, tragic, wrong headed, funny ways, less rarified. She mines some very controversial seams here, daringly busting taboos without any coyness or moralising or deliberately shocking scenes. I found I became very involved with the characters, to the point where I sometimes became sad for them, happy for them, or even angry with them, wanting to give them a talking to or a slap! The prose is always accessible but rich and beautifully put together. The handling of the timeline of events is masterly (though I'd rather say mistressly). The flavour of each time period is effortlessly conveyed, the language, the context; nowadays, when a high budget film has Etonian soldiers in WW1 saying 'As if!', Linda G's skill in this area seems to be generally underappreciated yet it makes all the difference in the creation of a world that can be credible to us as we visit it.

More About the Author

Linda Gillard is the author of six novels and she lives in the Scottish Highlands. She has a website at www.lindagillard.co.uk and an author page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LindaGillardAuthor

Linda graduated from Bristol University, then trained as an actress at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Whilst under-employed at the National Theatre, Linda developed a sideline as a freelance journalist. She ran two careers concurrently for a while, then gave up acting to raise a family and write from home.

Twelve years later, she re-trained as a primary teacher and taught in Norfolk for some years. She moved to the Isle of Skye where she lived for six years in a house on a hill overlooking the Cuillin mountain range which featured in her first novel, EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY, short-listed for the 2006 Waverton Good Read Award.

A LIFETIME BURNING was published in 2006 and STAR GAZING, set partly on Skye, in 2008. STAR GAZING was short-listed for "Romantic Novel of the Year 2009" and "The Robin Jenkins Literary Award", the UK's first environmental book award. STAR GAZING was also voted "Favourite Romantic Novel 1960-2010" by the readers of Woman's Weekly magazine.

Linda's fourth novel, HOUSE OF SILENCE was published in 2011 as a Kindle e-book and quickly became a bestseller. It has sold over 30,000 downloads and was selected by Amazon as an Editor's Pick "Best of 2011" in the Indie Author category. HOUSE OF SILENCE is now available in paperback.

Two new novels are now available on Kindle: UNTYING THE KNOT (awarded a 2012 B.R.A.G Medallion by the Book Readers' Appreciation Group) and THE GLASS GUARDIAN, a supernatural love story, also available in paperback.