TEST
Oprah would love this book. It features very atmospheric writing and an unusual story of guilt and redemption. While I admired the writing, the book was marred for me by characters who were not very realistic. They practically wear signs with SYMBOL on them. The book also paints a very negative picture of the basic nature of the male of the species.
Charlotte has not spoken since the day she was raped by three soldiers training for World War II. At that time, Charlotte had no one to turn to when she became pregnant and guilty over the fate of her baby. Her mother had recently been killed in a fire, her father had taken to drink, and her brother was wallowing in guilt over his role in the fire.
Justin is one of the soldiers who took part in the rape. He was an unwilling participant and he is consumed with guilt. Justin has come to The House of Gentle Men to atone for his crime. This is a place where women who are abused, tired, ill or yearning can find solace. The men there are all repenting of incidents in their past and they atone by treating these women to gentle kisses, dances, general cosseting and whatever the women want.
When Charlotte pays a visit to The House of Gentle Men, she decides she wants Justin to “service” her. Their relationship develops slowly. Over the course of the book, it has an impact on all the secondary characters: Charlotte’s friend Belinda, who is married to a war hero; Charlotte’s brother Miles; Mr. Olen who runs The House of Gentle Men; and his daughter Louise, who thinks of men as “bad” and cleans and scrubs obessiively.
Each of the book’s sub-plots is handled deftly, but the handing is so ambiguous that I’m still puzzled over it. Also, the tendency of the book to portray almost all men as lustful, unthinking creatures irritated me. Sex equals violence is not how I see the way of the world.
The House of Gentle Men is a book I can admire for its lyrical style, but I can’t accept its mostly negative depiction of the male nature. It would make an excellent book for a book club discussion though. I wonder what Oprah would say about it?
Grade: C
Book Type: Women's Fiction
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 29/02/00
Publication Date: 2001
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.