The Light Years - The Cazalet Chronicles

Elizabeth Jane Howard's The Light Years (first in the Cazalet Chronicles) was better this time around than the first, though I admit I'd forgotten most of the details as it's been a good eight or ten years since I'd read it originally.  One of the blurbs on the back book cover calls it "a wonderful stuffed sofa of a book", which it is and more.  It's a sprawling family drama set in Britain in the years leading up to WWII.  Howard's writing is entertaining and quite literate.  She captures the feeling of the times and the many voices of the characters very authentically, which is not surprising since much of what she writes about she actually lived as shown in her memoir, Slipstream, which I've been enjoying as well.

It can be tricky writing a novel with such a vast cast of characters, but Howard pulls it off easily.  I felt like I knew each and every one with all their quirks and shortcomings.  The Cazalet family is headed by the Brig (so called as he was too old to serve in the First World War, though he passionately wanted to), and the Duchy, a rather austere and correct woman who's Victorian upbringing comes through in many of her actions.  Both are in their 70s, but they serve as a strong foundation for the family.  They've three sons and a daughter.  The sons, Hugh, Edward and Rupert are all married with children and Rachel, the only daughter is unmarried and stuck in the role of caregiver (as such) to her parents.  It's questionable whether she enjoys the role, but it isn't one she will give up.  

Every summer the entire clan descends on Hill Farm in the Suffolk countryside from their respective London homes.  The family wealth was built on timber mills, which they've ran successfully for decades.  Although this is not so much an upstairs/downstairs sort of book, the Cazalets are wealthy enough to have servants.  You do get to hear the story from the perspective of the servants, but this is much more the Cazalet's story--a solid middle-class family.  All the characters are interesting, but I think I enjoyed mostly reading about the wives and children.  I am always fascinated by the lives of women (in whatever era), and how they cope with their situations.  Even wealthy women at this time had their problems.  Villy, Edward's wife is not an entirely happily married woman.  Unbeknownst to her, Edward is having an affair.  She gave up a career as a dancer performing with Diaghilev and finds married life less than exciting.   

"But over the years, of pain and distate for what her mother had once called "the horrid side of life," of lonely days filled with aimless pursuits or downright boredom, of pregnancies, nurses, servants and the ordering of endless meals, it had come to seem as though she had given up everything for not very much.  She had journeyed to this conclusion by stages hardly perceptible to herself, disguising discontent  with some new activity which, as she was a perfectionist, would quickly absorb her.  But when she had mastered the art, or the craft, or the technique involved in whatever it was, she realized that her boredom was intact and was simply waiting for her to stop playing with a loom, a musical instrument, a philosophy, a language, a charity or a sport and return to recognizing the essential futility of her life.  Then, bereft of distraction, she would relapse into a kind of despair as each pursuit betrayed her, failing to provide the raison d'être that had been her reason for taking it up in the first place."

Sybil, Hugh's wife, finds much satisfaction in being a mother and wife.  Rupert's first wife died in childbirth, though he remarried Zoë, a much younger woman who's gorgeous to look at but perhaps the tiniest bit shallow.  It's interesting to see how each character interacts and plays off each other.  And into the mix is a slew of children and cousins.  I only felt for the servants who had to pick up after and cook for the lot of them!

"Mrs. Cripps spent the morning plucking and drawing two brace of pheasant for dinner; she also minced the remains of the sirloin of beef for cottage pie, made a Madeira cake, three dozen damson tartlets, two pints of egg custard, two rice puddings, two pints of bread sauce, a prune mold and two pints of batter for the kitchen lunch of Toad-in-the-Hole*, two lemon meringue pies and fifteen stuffed baked apples for the dining-room lunch.  She also oversaw the cooking of mountainous quantities of vegetables--potatoes for the cottage pie, the cabbage to go with the Toad, the carrots, french beans, spinach and a pair of gotesque marrows, grown to an outlandish size by McAlpine, who won first prize every year."

Imagine overseeing a household of a good twenty or so people not counting servants!  Life was certainly different before the War.  The book is split into two sections covering the years 1937 and 1938.  Life is calm and happy the first summer, but things are much darker in 1938 with the threat of another war on the horizon that no one wants.  After Germany annexed Austria bomb shelters were being built in London and gas masks were being handed out.  Hitler's demands over Czechoslovakia were on everyone's minds, children included.  The novel ends with Chamberlain's appeasement, but darker days are to come.  I've already got Marking Time, the second novel in the quartet, on my night table, though I will wait a bit before starting it.  Elizabeth Jane Howard is an excellent writer and I highly recommend The Light Years! 

*And in case you were curious (like me) just what exactly Toad-in-the-Hole is, click here.

Comments

[Litlove]

How I loved this series! I can still remember all the characters clearly, even if I can't recall what happened to them, and that must be the sign of a good novel. (Btw - a tiny typo, Villy is Edward's wife, yes?).

[Danielle]

Litlove--Oh you're right, thanks--It's Sybil and Hugh that are married. I mixed them up (how bad as I just literally finished it earlier today). Am trying to write too fast. You do remember the characters vividly. I forgot all the details as well, but could remember the families. Her books are so enjoyable! Now to finish her memoir.

[Danielle]

...Of course I did say I was most interested in the characters of the women and children--it figures I would mess up the men's characters. :)

[Sarah]

I've had this on my TBR pile since I saw the BBC adaption, and must read it soon Danielle as it does sound like a wonderful family saga. Unfortunately I'm eaten toad in the hole and I think it's best relegated to culinary history!

[BooksPlease]

I loved this series of books. I'm so glad you're enjoying them the second time around. I only wish I could rustle up as many dishes as Mrs Cripps did in a morning - she must have started well before dawn! Btw - toad in the hole is good - but then we love Yorkshire Pudding!

[Darlene]

I so want to read this series one day, it sounds like such a cozy read. I made Toad in the Hole in Grade 8 Home Economics - too funny!

[Dorothy W.]

Well, this series sounds great! I think I'd enjoy it, especially since it's such a character-driven book. I could lose myself in one of those for quite a while! It sounds like lots of people loved the series, which is certainly a great recommendation.

[Danielle]

Sarah--The book is great when you get a chance to read it! What an odd name--toda in the hole!! Maybe it's an acquired taste?
BooksPlease--I'm looking forward to eventually seeing the BBC adaptation, though I wonder if it will pale in comparison to the books. I think the sausage part of the toad in the hole sounds good. And of course I'm sure it might also depend on the cook (I wouldn't trust myself to make it, but someone else might do a wonderful job). And yes, Mrs Cripps is amazing.
Darlene--It is a wonderfully cozy read--and well done, too! I'm surprised that so many people have eaten this--I thought it would be some quaint 40s recipe no longer eaten!
Dorothy--I think you might enjoy these books. In a way not much happens, but it's so intersting to read about these people's lives. I've heard many good things about it from other readers as well--those are always the best books!

[Tara]

I'd really like to re-read these someday, I have such good memories of them. I'd like to watch the tv program as well, which I've never done.

[Danielle]

Tara--I can't believe I have forgotten as much of the story as I have, but just as well, as I can enjoy it all the more. It's definitely been a great reread. And I plan on watching the film eventually, too.