Warm And Wonderfully Written.
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This was the first of Marcia Willett's novels I picked up, and also happens to be my favourite. Her warm style, vivid characters, and the way she seamlessly intertwined the past and present makes this a truly unforgettable read.
Now that both her mother Angel and her mother's close friend Pidge are dead, the links to Lizzie's lively and rather eccentric childhood have been severed. Yet, while sorting through some of Angel's things, Lizzie discovers a postcard that brings the past flooding back. She remembers Felix, her mother's lover who spent many a weekend with them and who became almost a father to her. Suddenly she is seized by the crazy idea to find Felix and recapture some of the magic of those long ago times.
Still bruised after a relationship break-up, uncertain as to where her life is going, Lizzie goes to Michaelgarth, Felix's family home in Exmoor. Not only does she find Felix, now an old man, but a family in desperate need of help, and it seems that warm-hearted Lizzie might be the very person they've been waiting for.
Sit back, relax and let yourself be carried along by this wonderful story.
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Gentle, soothing and life-changing.
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The Birdcage was the last novel of Marcia Willett's I read before deciding that I must re-locate to the West Country. This book changed my life!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd always enjoyed Marcia Willett's novels as a comfort read - undemanding, relaxing, but not mindless chick-lit. Fergus changed all that. I was looking to move from the S.E. after retirement and when I read about Fergus in his hotel room in Porlock I knew this was where I wanted to be. Dunster, Porlock and Watchet feature in most of her books and I sit here in Watchet writing this in awe.
Story - wonderful.
Impact - life-changing.
Message - please keep writing these delightful novels which make one think - but not too much. And then go on to make a life-change. Book is bliss - life is bliss.
For me this shows Marcia Willett's power of the pen to seduce oh so quietly.
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No more than mediocre
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Not bad. Not brilliant - but it tries hard. It wants to be something it's not, something Great, moving, thoughtful. It doesn't really achieve this. It's not a complete disaster, there are some good uses of language to create atmosphere and interest, but ultimately, it is resigned to remain a mildly entertaining read, on the train perhaps. There are too many cliches and unconvincing characters/moments/storylines in this book to make it a serious contender for the prize of Making A Difference.
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journey into the past helps her face the present
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I enjoyed this book even more than the other Marcia Willett novels I have read. The depth of characterisation was excellent and I quickly became involved, even engrossed, not wanting to put the book down. I sympathised with Felix even though he was cheating on his wife because she gave him such a hard time. It seemed extremely clever to weave the past and the present together in this way, using the one to make sense of the other. The author knew just which words to use and her description of what it feels like to be abandoned by a partner was written with great sensitivity. I also loved the vivid conversations, so well constructed and startling. This is a book to keep on one's bookshelf to re-read in future and to savour favourite sections. I would probably choose where Lizzie plays the actress role to the full when she meets the lovely Alison for the first time. Marcia Willett excels in her ability to portray the rich variety of human relationships.
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