Melvyn Bragg's celebrated trilogy - THE HIRED MAN, A PLACE IN ENGLAND and KINGDOM COME - traces four generations of Tallentire history: from John in the rural Cumbria of 1898 to Douglas in the competitive and backbiting metropolis of the Seventies. From 'hired man' to media man worlds have been bridged, but the old ideals of success, freedom and happiness seem ever elusive as each Tallentire must come to terms with private uncertainty and pain. 'An uncommonly high talent. The people are "real" enough to leave footprints right across the page' Guardian
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Depressing psychological writing,
This review is from: Cumbrian Trilogy (Paperback)
Overall, if you want to read an author who chooses to make novels out of the meaninglessness of life, and want to come out of the reading experience depressed, here is your trilogy.
On the positive side, Bragg deals with the psychological side of life, especially male sensitivity, presenting many vignettes along the way. But his writing starts out "lumpy". He seems to hit his stride toward the middle of the first novel, "The Hired Man", and keep it through the second, "A Place in England". But in the third, "Kingdom Come", he at times sinks into abstruse, difficult-to-decipher prose. I suspect the reader is supposed to think that is some kind of superior intellectual effort (like much of current poetry that is just a word-jumble; supposedly fabulous if you have some kind of superior intellect that can penetrate its mystery). The greatest value in these works lies in their exposure of everyday relationship woes, especially their genesis. As the third novel progresses, Bragg presents an interesting character study of a fictional rock star. But overall, his writing strikes me as an attempt to capitalize on the synthesis of societal woes - to present these to the reader as if he, the author, had some great genius in his ability to see and describe them. I love to read "series" novels, especially any with historical interest, as I enjoy getting to know the characters and families and learning about other times and places. But this trilogy disappoints. To me, the "lumpiness" of writing continues off and on throughout, and I never find myself fully engaged, as I usually am with series novels.
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