Amanda Craig

I loved this book, and oscillated between tearing through it to see what happened next, and not wanting it to finish. Quentin and Lottie Bredin can't afford to divorce, or to remain in their London home. So they move to Devon with Lottie's teenage son, who has unexpectedly not got his grades for Cambridge, and with Lottie and Quentin's two small daughters.

Both major and minor characters are well realised and compassionately drawn and the plot is suspenseful and credible until the last 50 pages or so. This portrait of a marriage, and of townies uncomfortably re-located into the countryside is involving and engaging. A real page-turner.… (more)

A contemporary novel that looks at the abuse of women and also the influence of fiction to shape our lives. The plot features Hannah, a mother of a young daughter who is in the midst of a divorce. On a train journey to Cornwall to visit her dying mother. She meets Jinni who is in a similar situation and they agree to murder each other’s husbands. This play on the plot of Patricia Highsmith’s novel is then given a twist into a different direction as Hannah has second thoughts. At some points, Hannah seems annoyingly naïve but eventually grows into the knowledge that life is not like a Jane Austen novel. On the way she learns that although being poor is a struggle, the lives of the rich can be severely deficient in other ways. Amanda Craig, through the twists and turns of the story, digs deep into the lives of Hannah’s relations and friends to suggest where true wealth may lie.… (more)

I was disappointed with this book, after having been looking forward to its publication I had greatly enjoyed Amanda Craig’s previous novels, and made a point of trekking down to Daunt Books to buy a signed copy. However, I found it so heavily strewn with anti-man comments and sentiments that I almost gave up.

Sadly, I am sure that many of her characters’ views may be all too representative of the experiences that far too many women undergo, and I won’t attempt to deny the transgressions of my gender. That did not, however, prevent me from feeling worn down by the continual references, and at several points I nearly gave up and started reading something else instead.

Perhaps that pervasive context predisposed me against it, but I didn’t think it was as good as I have come to expect from Amanda Craig. I was surprised, for one thing, not to find more empathy for the protagonist, Hannah Penrose, who has certainly battled relentless adversity as she struggles to bring up her daughter on her own, with no help at all from her ex-husband. I have generally found Craig’s leading women to be immediately engaging characters, but I never succeeded in making the leap of faith in Hannah. This was despite her constant reaffirmation of herself as a reader, and champion of other readers. In fact, that may have been symptomatic of my difficulties with this book. In this aspect, even though I support the sentiment, I found it simply too ‘preachy’.

The plot lacked a lot of the dexterity that I have come to associate with Amanda Craig, too. It might most easily be summarised as a blend of Strangers on a Train and Beauty and the Beast. That is, of course, a crass simplification, although it carries a kernel of truth.

I don't think i can be bothered to say much more - I feel as if I have already exerted more energy than the book merits simply in reading it.… (more)

From the moment I read the synopsis of The Golden Rule I knew I wanted to read it. I was intrigued by the idea that two strangers meet on a train and plot to kill each other's husbands in what ought to be perfect, untraceable murders. This of course is very similar to the plot of Strangers on a Train and Amanda Craig did use it as part of her inspiration for this book.

However, this is not a crime novel, nor a thriller. This is a beautifully portrayed story of all of human life: the rich, the poor, the kind, the unkind, the perception of London hoi polloi and Cornish yokels. I was totally bewitched by it from start to finish.

Hannah is a single mother, poor but with a husband who could support her but instead abuses her, mentally and physically. Hannah is industrious but life is such a struggle for her. She meets Jinni on a train to Cornwall, Hannah's home county, and Jinni is everything she is not. She's rich, poised and stylish. But she wants to get rid of her husband and Hannah feels that she can only cope with her life if she can be free of Jake. A plot is hatched.

Nothing goes to plan though and Hannah's return to Cornwall is revelatory for many reasons, especially when she goes to Jinni's house and meets a man called Stan. I had in my mind that there was something of the Beauty and the Beast about the pair of them and I was pleased to see in the author's afterword that she had also used that as her inspiration. I loved the way Craig skilfully weaved together all the strands to create such a clever and engrossing story. I also particularly liked the fact that Hannah is a big reader and books are such a big part of the story as a whole.

One other thing that particularly stood out was the depiction of Cornwall. Hannah is from a place that has not been touched by holiday makers and second home owners. Compare that to the more affluent areas and you can see why the Cornish might get a bit peeved about incomers.

I can't do justice to The Golden Rule in just a few paragraphs. It's a book that I could talk and talk about, there's so much in there. It's razor-sharp, yet so thoughtful, it's bold, yet understated. It really has it all.… (more)