Customer Reviews

Children's Hour, The

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What did we ever do without Marcia Willett?

Here, in her third U.S. entry, she once again pulls the reader in on the first page. This is her special talent: You open the book, you read the first sentence, and you have magically entered the room in which resides the lead character. You can see it, you can smell it, you are THERE. This has happened in her previous two books, and it has happened here. I don't know how she does it.

"The Children's Hour" takes place concurrently in the present and in the past, namely the 30s and 40s, in the same Cornish estate overlooking the sea where our two protagonists, elderly sisters Mina and Nest, were brought up in a large family of laughing children, dogs, books and a loving, wonderful mother.

As the book begins, Mina, in her seventies, is both caretaker and loving companion to her disabled sister Nest, also in her seventies, whose disability has resulted from a decade-old car crash that killed another sister, Henrietta, and her husband Connor. We know that Nest feels tremendous guilt over being the only survivor of the crash, but we don't know quite why. The sisters live quite calmly and cozily together in their childhood home with three dogs and all the comforts--including the Internet--until their serenity is shattered by discomfiting news: Their oldest sister Georgia, in the first distressing stages of alzheimers disease, is being brought to stay by her grown daughter Helena until space can be found for her in a nursing home.

Georgia's terrible disease, which includes a terribly disconcerting desire to spill long-buried family secrets, becomes the catalyst by which we learn those very same secrets as the book slides effortlessly between the present and the past. We meet the five sisters (and one brother) as children, as teens, as young women--and in their middle age, and we learn to love them and to despair of their sometimes foolish and heartbreaking--even heartrending--decisions.

As Georgia's increasing illness creates more and more stress in the formerly calm little household, an entire story of a time and place long gone entertwines with the present day until, like Georgia herself, we are hard put to tell them apart. The end, when it comes, makes perfect sense, and will cause any reader to weep sad but sweet tears.

This book is a keeper, a gem. Read it!

The characters are unforgettable, the setting one that comforts and delights, the plot realistic with equal parts joy and sadness. Overall, one of the best books I've ever read and one that will stay with me for a long time.

Mina and Nest are two 70-something sisters living in the family home of Ottercombe on the English coast. Nest has been crippled in a horrid automobile accident that took the life of one of her sisters and her brother-in-law. The novel moves back and forth in time from the present to when Mina and Nest were children and enjoyed the children's hour ( a special story-telling time) with their four other siblings and their devoted and much-beloved mother. The reader is privvy to their growing-up years with all the joy and tragedy of young love, lost love, and a world at war.

When the story opens, their eldest sister, Georgie, is coming to stay with them for a few weeks until she can move into an assisted living facility. Because of her dementia, her daughter and son-in-law can no longer care for her. Mina and Nest are apprehensive about caring for Georgie, not only because of their physical limitations but also because of Georgie's taunting personality. Shortly after she moves in she menancingly tells them she knows a secret. Mina and Nest are fearful of not only what she knows but to whom she might confide the secret. Unknowingly, Georgie becomes the catalyst that reveals not one, but many family secrets long buried.

The present part of the story also centers on Lyddie, one of the nieces, who has a career as an editor and is married to a pub owner. Her problems and her husband's secret will lead her to Ottercombe to heal her own wounds.

From the opening chapter to the closing words, this is a novel you will not want to put aside. Why does Nest feel responsible for the accident? What was the legacy of Timothy, the handsome friend of their father's who visited them often? How can infidelity be handled or should it always be run away from? Can a first love ever be truly forgotten? And how will the internet change the life of a reclusive septugenarian? The finale sent cold chills up my spine as I gasped with shock, smiled with pleasure, and shed a few tears for remembered love.

I haven't loved a book this much since I read THE SHELL SEEKERS. And to think I'd never read a Marcia Willett book before! I love when I find a new author, and when the author is as talented as Ms. Willett, it's doubly gratifying. Nest and Mina are such wonderful characters. From their first introduction, I felt I knew them. Since other reviewers have synopsized the story, I won't repeat what they've said. Instead, I'll say that I found this book to be charming, warm, and rich with the minute detail that brings settings and people alive and makes you feel as if they're real and you're there with them. Throughout I cared deeply about what happened to this family and I was so sorry to have to let them go. As a writer myself, I am in awe of Ms. Willett's talent. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Not only did I love " The Children's Hour" I also found it to be one of the best books I have ever read. I have since recommended it to several friends who have loved it also. Marcia Willett has such an understanding of family life and is able to bring me to tears when she writes about the fears of some of her elderly characters. What a story!!! I have now read every one of Marcia Willett's books that I could gather from any place and have enjoyed each one ; however " The Children's Hour" still remains the one that moved me the most.Be sure a box of Kleenex is at hand because I know you will be moved to tears!!

After reading "A Week in Winter", I couldn't wait to get into "The Children's Hour". Marcia Willett really crafts interesting characters and you find yourself thinking about them even when you're not turning the pages!

I especially like her inclusion of the importance of the dogs within the family. This adds even more depth and reality to the characters. We all know that dogs "have opinions" about what goes on with their humans! This is, by no means overdone in the book, but the dogs'personalities add to the richness of the story's background.

I was sorry when the story was over.

Who doesn't want to recall an idyllic childhood, complete with siblings and beaches, pets and unlimited adult attention? And if you didn't have that for yourself, then reading about it might be almost as good! In this Rosamunde Pilcher/Maeve Binchy style novel, the "children" who sat dreamily around a cherished adult who read them books during the "children's hour", are now in their 60s and 70s. A unique story unfolds, as we learn of their childhood as the now old ladies tell their childhood memories to each other and to younger family members. Their lives (and the plot) are not without conflict, however. There are secrets that are told, shocking the characters and the reader. Set in a relaxing family estate that has been broken in by generations, the novel is refreshing, relaxing and entertaining.

By reading the other reviews, I know I'll sound unpopular now, but I can't help it. I don't mind a good novel based on past reminiscences where loves stories are remembered and new ones ensue, but I found this particular book to have no depth whatsoever. True, it's a light read indeed and one I'd have avoided had I not spent my money on it.

On the good side, the prose is studied and quite elegant. However, most characters, their feelings and surroundings are described in such a repetitive way, it goes on and on. Yes, there are some "twists & turns", but the bottom line is, this is just the typical he-loves-her-she-loves-him-but-fate-gets-in-the-way kind of story, which takes the reader from past to present back to the past again. Quite predictable too and much too goody-goody for my taste, to the point where the characters seem unreal.

The plot is rich, the characters are well developed and believable, and the surprises are very well done--the ending doesn't disappoint. I enjoyed the inclusion of the dogs; the passages pertaining to them are astute observations and aptly describe their characteristics.

I am very thankful to have found this author....this book grabbed my attention from the first page. Fell in love with the main characters...and the book could have gone on forever as far as I'm concerned....totally recommend it...WONDERFUL !!!!

I had a nice time reading this very English family drama. Though overly predictable in parts, the plot still held a few surprises. The strong female characters were really what made this book so enjoyable - and also their dogs! There was certainly a lot of drama in this book and plenty of big issues like Alzheimer's, infidelity and growing older in general. There were many moments that seemed very genuine. All in all, an enjoyable read!