Customer Reviews

Forbidden Places

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't know why Penny Vincenzi isn't a better known writer here in the US. Her books are filled with interesting characters and situations.

This book, set in WWII England, is about 3 women and their marriages and relationships. Naive Grace marries above herself, Florence marries a bully, and Clarissa is married to a fighter pilot who is seriously hurt in combat. Their conflicts and choices are detailed and interesting and it makes for a great read!

Penny Vincenzi's latest novel to make an appearance stateside (it was originally published in the UK in 1995), FORBIDDEN PLACES opens with three old friends meeting for an annual lunch. The women --- Grace, Florence and Clarissa --- obviously know each other well, but despite their cordial tone and elegant manners, there's still a tension in their interactions. They want to know Grace's secret, and Florence and Clarissa tell the other woman; Grace, however, reminds her companions that they, too, have secrets that have never been told --- secrets dating back to World War II when so many things changed in all their lives.

Vincenzi's narrative then rushes back to the eve of World War II, before Grace knew either of the other two women. Grace has been brought up in a small English country town by middle-class parents who are thrilled beyond words when their lovely young daughter catches the eye of Charles Bennett, the only son of the wealthiest family in town.

Grace can't quite understand why Charles is interested in her, especially when his mother and his sister Florence are almost openly hostile to her. But interested he is, and before long, the two are married.

Married life is not quite the paradise Grace had imagined, however. Sure, she lives in a lovely home and never has to worry about anything. But her husband can be distant, even cold, and Grace, accustomed to earning her own living, is bored doing nothing but staying at home and overseeing her small household staff. And the more she learns about Charles's prickly sister Florence, affable but secretive father Clifford, and vivacious ex-fiancée Clarissa, the more uncomfortable she becomes with her role in this fine, upstanding family that might not be so upstanding after all.

When war breaks out, Grace uses the social turmoil that follows to bend, or outright violate, Charles's many rules governing her behavior. Despite his protests, she takes a position with the women's Land Army and takes in two young evacuees, little boys from London who, it turns out, will have a far more important role to play in her life than anyone would imagine. As the war churns on and things change forever not only for Grace but also for Florence and Clarissa, the formerly timid Grace travels into unexpected territory: "There were two ways you could go through life, she thought: as driver or passenger, and she was by inclination and upbringing a passenger, accepting what she was told, doing the right, the proper thing, obeying rules, remaining within boundaries. But...the betrayal from so totally unexpected a source...had given her in some strange way the courage and authority to look past those boundaries, into the forbidden places beyond."

Like many of Penny Vincenzi's novels, FORBIDDEN PLACES offers not only a healthy dose of escapism but also a fascinating glimpse into a particular period of history, in this case the Second World War. The Blitz, the women's branches of the armed services, the surprisingly complicated politics of housing young London evacuees, not to mention the more personal politics of trying to keep marriages alive in wartime --- Vincenzi touches on all these topics even as she writes a ripping good epic that manages to draw together violence, betrayal, love, danger, and lots of sex. As in her previous bestsellers, Vincenzi carries her audience along on a tidal wave of supercharged plot tempered by genuine emotion, a thrilling combination that picks readers up and won't put them down again until the thoroughly satisfactory conclusion.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

I recently started reading Penny Vinzenzi's books, I started with Another Woman and then read Forbidden Places. I am very impressed with Penny's writing, you didn't want these books to end.....I will now continue reading all her books......

This is an excellently constructed story about 3 very strong women and their lives during WW2 in England.

I love Penny Vincenzi's style. I couldn't put it down.

Anybody that knows my reading life knows that I love books about World War two. Especially about England,the home front. If ever a book was served up to me to read and love while on vacation this was it! A God send! The Harlequinish,Danielle Steely cover belies a wonderful book that is really historical fiction told through the experiences of three very different girls actually starting in 1938. The story continues on till 1945 with a brief epilogue from 1948. Wonderful characters,great story! I read 500 pages in 4 days while at the pool on Cape Cod,etc. When a book is good,it is good and you can not wait to get back to it. I just took out No Angel from the library which is part of a trilogy for most of the 20th century. Does it get any better than that? Where have you been,Penny Vincenzi all my adult reading life?????"

Just like all of Penny Vencenzi"s books this didn't disappoint. I loved it.
She has the history of England,love, sex, suspence,betrayal, and keeps you reading for hours (when you should be doing something else).
It was wonderful and I did not want it to end. Now thats a great book!!

I know this was released in the 90s, but I have only been reading this author's works the past few years and have read almost all her works. A terrific read from this very talented author. Could not put it down. This WW II tale has very real characters, and a believable storyline. Ms. Vincenzi's books are never a dissappoint.

This is an over written book in which many phrases are repeated over and over again as a substitute for bringing a character to life in the reader's mind. Description is minimal and plot development is more soap opera than literature. Clarissa is the most arresting character and the one that should have been central to the novel. Her movement from society girl to head of a corporation would be far more interesting, and more in the realm of romance of a woman discovering her multiple gifts.

The copywright date for this book is 1995, and now in 2010 it is published here in the states. It appears that the author's "better" books made to this shore first and now the second rate ones are following.

I bought two copies of Forbidden Places -one for me and the other for a friend - with minutes of opening the book I realized that I had already read the book and that it is being offered as a new book when actually it isn't-my friend had the same experience-I really will think before I order books from Amazon again-perhaps it is better to go to the local bookstore and read a little of the book and not make this mistake agin.