Out of Love [Hardcover]

Victoria Clayton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998

The debut novel about the value of friendship and sexual love, and what happens when one is sacrificed for the other--by one of Britain's freshest new talents.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a sensibility one part Wodehouse and two parts Hieronymous Bosch, Clayton's debut isn't your ordinary English comedy of contemporary manners. Daisy Fairfax is five when Hitler invades Poland and not much older when her self-centered mother sends her to "a snobbish little boarding school in Sussex," ostensibly to shelter her from the Blitz. This is where she meets Min Bartholomew, who, having been raised by nannies and governesses, is as helpless in every practical sense as Daisy is resourceful. Their friendship continues at Oxford until (weakened by sleeping pills) Daisy shares her bed with Hugh Anstey, the (momentary) love of Min's life. Daisy's betrayal costs her 15 years of friendship. But when Daisy and Min meet again at a university reunion, Min's forgiveness is swift and generous. She invites the still-single Daisy to spend a weekend in the country with her and her family at Weston Hall, the ancestral house of Min's husband. Before Daisy knows it, she has usurped control of the household: caring for Min's neglected children, cooking, gardening, bringing the leering, oafish groundsman into line?and meanwhile losing her heart to Min's husband. No blemish goes undetected in this captivating story about the varieties of frailty and forgiveness, and its cast of gently decadent English extras (among them Daisy's aged, nymphomaniacal mother, Min's priapic neighbor and her beautiful, pothead son) will amuse "Ab-Fab" fans and Merchant-Ivory addicts alike.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Daisy and Min had been longtime best friends when a combination of sleeping pills and poor judgment landed Daisy in bed with Min's boyfriend. The two were caught red-handed by Min the morning after, and the friendship has been damaged, apparently beyond repair. Yet Daisy and Min meet at an Oxford class reunion 15 years later and renew their friendship. Min then invites Daisy to be her houseguest in the country (though the reader will wonder why), and Daisy accepts the invitation. She is later forced by circumstance to stay longer than planned and finds herself, predictably, attracted to Min's husband. British author Clayton's characters are vibrant and real but may not translate well for an American audience. Very English in custom, tone, and language, this detailed comedy of manners will appeal to Anglophiles with a great deal of patience. Recommended with reservations for larger collections.?Bettie Alston Shea, Charlotte-Mecklenburg P.L., NC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 174 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312186452
• ISBN-13: 978-0312186456
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,710,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This novel confounded my expectations ..., June 4, 2001

By 

Angela Linton "Angie" (Manchester) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Love (Hardcover)

I have never read any of V. Clayton's work in the past, so I had little or no expectations for this book. It began well, but many romantic novels do only to descend into standard cliches. For example many authors feel the need to portray their heroine in a totally sympathetic light and her main rival as entirely unworthy and this never happens here. Daisy the heroine is beautiful, intelligent and quite irritatingly competent but in many ways her friend Min is more likeable. Both of them have irritating yet highly endearing flaws. When Min's inadequacies are highlighted - her untidiness and lack of domestic and mothering skills - at first I expected a payoff - but as I read on I realised that the author was describing reality - good people have major faults and that's just the way life is. It was refreshing to read a book where I found myself surprised by plot developments, and compelled to read this book through at a sitting. Nor was I disappointed by the ending, which was genuinely moving, while avoiding melodramatic excess.

I look forward to reading more of this author's works in the future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book this year!, November 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Love (Hardcover)

This is a fun book you can really sink your teeth into...at least you'll be sinking your teeth into something as you read it - lots of scenes involve cooking, food, and an AGA stove. Min and Daisy have a warm, wonderful friendship, the kind of bond that can withstand a 15 year separation. All of the characters are very funny and very human. Min's got to be my favorite. I thought I was a flaky mother, but she makes me look like supermom! I am recommending this to all my harried married friends, and all my controlled and controlling single friends as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful escape; amusing, intelligent social comedy, June 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Love (Hardcover)

I was first put onto this by a 20-yr old girl student who told that all her group were crazy about it. Then a middle-aged man told me he had been unable to put it down and sat up most of a night to finish it. The reviewer for the US 'Publisher's Weekly' is enthusiastic too. I can only agree - really acute social comedy, and more. The reader from Aussie seems to have totally missed the point - the whole story is told from the viewpoint of Diana/Daisy, so "author commentary" would be completely out of place. This is a book clearly aimed at providing enjoyment, not one of those tedious, depressing polemical novels. The characters reveal themselves through excellent and witty dialogue. Nowhere is it suggested Min is "well-balanced and level-headed" the whole point is that she is dedicated to her work and totally neglects husband, house and children. She is the opposite of Diana the control freak. The story shows how two women of very different personalities can nevertheless continue devoted friends. Like all of us they are neither wholly admirable or wholly bad. I give it 5 stars and look forward to the next one.