THE NOVEL IN THE VIOLA by NATASHA SOLOMONS

THE NOVEL IN THE VIOLA

BY NATASHA SOLOMONS

THE BLURB:-

In the spring of 1938 Elise Landau arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay. A bright young thing from Vienna, forced to become a parlour-maid, she knows nothing about England, except that she won't like it. As servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn, Elise wears her mother's pearls beneath her uniform, and causes outrage by dancing with a boy called Kit. But war is coming, the world is changing, and Elise must change with it.

At Tyneford she learns that you can love more than one person- and that you can love more than once.

THE REALITY:-

An unusual novel with an unusual title. We all know the gist of what went on during the Second World War, but it's always interesting to learn personal stories, especially those you may not have considered before (in this case, an Austrian Jewess from a good echelon of society coming to work, as a refugee, as a maid in an English household).

The characters were all highly believable and I loved the idea of a “ghost village” that was requisitioned during the war, never re-occupied and then left to rot in its original 1940s style. Like the author, I found this concept haunting (so much so that I would like to visit Tyneham, the real place on which the book was based) and a brilliant springboard for a novel.

Maybe it would have been nice for the novel in the viola to have not faded, so that we can read Julian's last work. But I suppose that would defeat the basic point of the book, where Elise writes her own life story, through the medium of her altered circumstances. I am also glad to have learnt a new word- palimpsest:- writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for other writing. I am going to make it my business to learn a new word every day!

I'm glad Elise got a happy ending- or as near to happy as she could under the circumstances. That essential point is driven home, which is good, as we all know that this period of history was somewhere between difficult and horrific, for so many people.

Recommended as a good summer read.