Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
|
Loading... The Man in the Wooden Hat (original 2009; edition 2009)by Jane Gardam
Work InformationThe Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam (2009)
   No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) simonpockley | Feb 25, 2024 |  In this co-quel (is that a word?) to Old Filth we see the marriage of Edward and Elizabeth largely through the eyes of Elizabeth (Betty). I read "Old Filth" first and am not sure how I would have viewed Betty had I first met here here in "Man in the Wooden Hat". Certainly she's admirable here. Coldly lovable. I recommend this novel but feel that "Old Filth" is the better novel. There is a little too much undeserved sentimentality in Wooden Hat. The relationship between Betty and Terry Veneering is a bit understand. But perhaps, like Sir Edward, I'm just a little too old for it all.... ( ) kjuliff | Feb 9, 2023 | I suspect at base my dissatisfaction stems from the character of Betty Feathers, née Macintosh. While both Betty and Edward have secrets in their past, Betty lacks the will and/or the opportunity to reconcile with hers. Old Filth saw Edward Feathers respond to sudden and shocking loss with a somewhat mad road-trip, taking him from disintegration of character to reintegration and reconciliation with his "self" and his past. Betty's similar loss leads to introspection and not a lot else. Is this a reversal of Old Filth's path? He begins fractured and ends mended while Betty begins whole and loses impetus/will/individuality? Perhaps. I would not hesitate to recommend The Man in the Wooden Hat as part of an excellent trilogy and, in the course of writing this review, have raised my rating from 3.5 to 4 stars. Well may my feelings towards Betty be the antithesis of the affection engendered towards Old Filth, but the ability to evoke such a strong emotional response is testament to brilliant writing. (  ) Vivl | Sep 27, 2022 | ) auldhouse | Sep 30, 2021 | ) Ma_Washigeri | Jan 23, 2021 |
 On its own, “The Man in the Wooden Hat” is funny and affecting, but read alongside “Old Filth,” it’s remarkable. Gardam has attempted to turn a story inside out without damaging the original narrative’s integrity — moving from black to white without getting stuck with gray. Little here is as it seemed in “Old Filth,” and both books are the richer for it. "While "Old Filth" is principally about the man, his dark boyhood at the mercy of a distant, unfeeling father, with the wife a rather shadowy character in the background, "The Man in the Wooden Hat" fills in her side of the story, in the process revealing itself to be an astute, subtle depiction of marriage, with all its shared experiences and separate secrets." What Gardam is particularly good at – and what made Old Filth so compelling – is creating for her characters façades of complete conventionality, which are then chipped away to reveal strange internal workings. Belongs to SeriesOld Filth (2) Is contained in
The New York Times called Sir Edward Feathers one of the most memorable characters in modern literature. A lyrical novel that recalls his fully lived life, Old Filth has been acclaimed as Jane Gardam's masterpiece, a book where life and art merge. And now that beautiful, haunting novel has been joined by a companion that also bursts with humor and wisdom: The Man in the Wooden Hat. Old Filth was Eddie's story. The Man in the Wooden Hat is the history of his marriage told from the perspective of his wife, Betty, a character as vivid and enchanting as Filth himself. They met in Hong Kong after the war. Betty had spent the duration in a Japanese internment camp. Filth was already a successful barrister, handsome, fast becoming rich, in need of a wife but unaccustomed to romance. A perfect English couple of the late 1940s. As a portrait of a marriage, with all the bittersweet secrets and surprising fulfillment of the 50-year union of two remarkable people, the novel is a triumph. The Man in the Wooden Hat is fiction of a very high order from a great novelist working at the pinnacle of her considerable power. It will be read and loved and recommended by all the many thousands of readers who found its predecessor, Old Filth, so compelling and so thoroughly satisfying.
Tells the story of the fifty-year marriage of barrister Filth and his wife Betty, which is filled with secrets and hidden desires. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.99)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English (1)
1