Friends and Relations (1931)

I've read quite a few of Bowen's novels, and this is not my favorite, though at times the descriptions are compelling. If you like Henry James, Virginia Woolf and Ivy Compton-Burnett, you will enjoy this novel, which begins with the weddings of two sisters in one month. It's a novel of delicate feelings, in which very little action occurs and it sometimes hard to figure out what is going on and whether one has missed something. A second read might be necessary to really grasp what Bowen achieved here. ( )

An excellent novel. This is the first Bowen I've read, and I'm enchanted by her use of language. She reminds me (at least in this book) of Ive Compton-Burnett ( )