Still a pleasure to read after thirty years
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I first read this book in my teens and reread it again recently. The trials and tribulations of a passionate Cornish family are just as entertaining now as they were then and the characters are vibrant and colourful as ever. A great read.
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All the right ingredients just like a ''cornishpasty''
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The trials and tribulations of a Cornish family is told through the eyes of four of its main characters. History, passion and hatred all rolled together as they try to untangle their past, their troubles and their future. ''Mark'' dark, distant and lost, finds love in the arms of a women 10 years older than him born into a class so different from his own. The rollercoster effect their marriage has on the people around them and their children will hold you gripped throughout, leading you from 1890 till the end of World War 2. Even at the very end it leaves you wondering should there have been a second book? I only wish that it had.
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Penmarric
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Penmarric was the first Susan Howatch's novel I read and I have probably re-read it about five times now over the years. It is my favourite book of all time. All her books are excellent and I have read every single one of them and am always eagerly awaitng the next one. Penmarric is a weighty family saga which begins in the Victorian age and spans the majority of the twentieth century. Each section, as with most of her books, is the voice of a different character. This is a clever device which allows the reader to see the situation from different perspectives. Penmarric has also been televised and I saw the TV adaptation first, which made me then want to read the novel. It is also the book which is partly responsible for my wanting to attend church as one of the characters, Janna, whilst not being a devout Christian, likes the ritual of the Sunday service. It is the story of an older woman of lowly birth marrying a much younger wealthy man and of their many children. It's a fascinating read and a thoroughly unputdownable book. I would reccomend it to anyone.
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Monumental! Huge! A fantastic read
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I first read Penmarric at the age of 14, and 10 years on I have just finished it for the eighth time. Each time I read it, it feels like the first time - never boring or obvious. It has everything you need in a book - romance (but hard, gritty stuff - nothing Mills & Boons here!), suspense and twists and turns. There are so many characters, all intertwined so intensely that it might actually pay to keep a note of who is related to who, and how! I have never read another book which covers such a huge time span and which remains so historically, socially and politically correct throughout. The research that must have gone into this work is incredible and for any Cornwall nuts out there, you will love the magical descriptions which capture the place so well! This is the perfect book to read snuggled up in a blanket, cat on lap in front of the fire whilst the rain beats the window outside. Recommended to all!
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worth many re-reads
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Penmarric was the third Howatch novel I read, and the one that got me hooked on her. The first was "Sins of the Fathers", which I liked very much and so, a few years later, I read its prequel, the Rich are Different, which I also enjoyed. But it was only after coming across Penmarric - completely by accident - that I woke up and took notice. From the first page I was engrossed in the characters. The story begins with Mark, a rather dour man, who falls in love with Janna, a woman several years his senior. These are the two central figures of the novel, which later moves on to the next generation. Howatch proves herself to be a master storyteller with the ability to get under the skin of her characters in such a way that the reader can identify with them completely - a very rare talent. Her multi-character first-person structure enables us to see the unfolding story through the eyes of five characters in turn, and it is quite amazing how a character whom one has disliked when he or she was seen through the eyes of another character suddenly takes on completely new dimensions when he/she comes on central stage as narrator. I know of no writer who does this as well as Howatch.
The story is set in Cornwall and begins in 1890 and goes on to span the intervening years till WWII. It is a rich and multifaceted novel, well worth reading many times to discover all its layers, and a great novel for a group discussion..
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