February 2012: Molly Keane

Molly Keane was born in 1904 in Ryston Cottage,Newbridge, County Kildare (under the name Mary Nesta Skrine). Dies in 1996.

Novels:

As M.J.Farrell:

* The Knight of Cheerful Countenance (1926)
* Young Entry (1928)
* Taking Chances (1929)
* Mad Puppetstown (1931)
* Conversation Piece (1932)
* Devoted Ladies (1934)
* Full House (1935)
* The Rising Tide (1937)
* Two Days in Aragon (1941)
* Loving Without Tears (1951)
* Treasure Hunt (1952)

As Molly Keane:
* Good Behaviour (1981)
* Time After Time (1983)
* Loving and Giving (1988) (alternatively titled "Queen Lear")

Plays (as M. J. Farrell):
* Spring Meeting (1938) with John Perry. Filmed in 1941
* Ducks and Drakes (1942)
* Treasure Hunt (1949) (on which the novel was later based)
* Dazzling Prospect (1961)

Edited by Molly Keane:
Molly Keane's Ireland - with her daughter.

Books about Molly Keane:
Molly Keane: Centenary Essays also known as Molly Keane: Essays in Contemporary Criticism

So what are you reading in February?

Nothing in the libraries here. I guess I pass.

I have Good Behaviour and Time After Time from the library. I'm leaning toward starting Good Behaviour first.

I'm hoping to read Taking Chances and Time after Time.

I read Good Behaviour last year and really enjoyed it.

I recently read The Rising Tide, which was my first Molly Keane. It was amazing and intense and insightful, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work. I just put in requests at the library for Loving and Giving, Full House, and Devoted Ladies!

I finished Taking Chances yesterday. I loved it for its characterisation and portrayal of the emotional lives of the characters but it wasn't as polished as Good Behaviour which was written much later in Keane's life.

I was planning to read Time after Time next but am now considering another earlier one instead. Perhaps The Rising Tide after Katy's positive comments above!

My thoughts on Taking Chances, copied from my 75 challenge thread:

Published in 1929, Taking Chances is one of Keane's earlier books and lacks the polish but also the complete cynicism of Keane's later Good Behaviour, the only other of hers which I've read. Keane seems to take the emotional lives of her young protagonists pretty seriously whilst knowing as we do that it will all end in tears. There is a great quote from The Irish Times on the back of my edition which looks at how Keane's writing develops after this book:

"The exuberance and melodrama of Taking Chances has a budding malice which ripened over fifty years into a glorious nastiness"

For me, this was one of those books where I could see the flaws but fell for it anyway. The story begins with Maeve, Roguey and Jer, a sister and two brothers living together in their grand Irish house, Sorristown. Maeve is engaged to be married to nearby landowner, Rowley and all is well until chief bridesmaid Mary turns up from England and attracts rather a lot of attention to herself!

Ok, a love triangle is not the most original of storylines, rich young people who enjoy fox hunting are not the most sympathetic of characters and unfortunately the ending of the book verges on the melodramatic. Yet Keane's writing is original and enjoyable enough to make the story feel fresh and the book a delight. The characterisation was well done and Keane has the ability to describe inner lives with utter vividness. My favourite character was the unfortunate little brother Jer but I was fascinated by Mary and could really believe in her charm.

I did enjoy this book and look forward to reading more of Keane's work, perhaps chronologically in future so I can watch the development of what the Irish Times calls that glorious nastiness but wonder if I might find I have a preference for the less polished and less nasty early ones?

I just finished Loving and Giving, which began with the most ridiculous introduction I've ever read. It was by Michele Roberts, and started by saying that this was Molly Keane's finest novel. First of all, that's such an arbitrary claim--who decides such things? And what difference does it make?

Okay--sorry. Pet peeve. :)

Secondly, I found this novel to be decidedly inferior to The Rising Tide. There were things I enjoyed and appreciated about Loving and Giving, such as her depressingly accurate insight into a dysfunctional marriage. Nicandra believed that the best way to show her love was to sacrifice herself and give Andrew everything, which left him with nothing to give to her, and no way to take care of her in return. He wanted her presence, not her perfect dinners.

But overall the characters were lacking in dimension. They were all unpleasant and depressing, and deserved all the nastiness that Keane dished out to them.

The characters in The Rising Tide were also unpleasant, but in a way that made more sense. Some of their interactions and the emotions that were just barely not expressed left me almost breathless at times. I found myself having to put the book down now and then, to think and recover from the intensity. Keane's insight into the interaction of families is quite amazing, and I greatly admire her ability to view her own environment so sharply and clearly while still obviously loving it.

Started Good Behaviour last night and I love it. Nothing like a few dead people to brighten someone's day (seriously though - the way she handles death and the way she says things without saying them works as a charm for me)

Last week I read Full House, which I enjoyed but didn't have any strong feelings about one way or the other. It was interesting, and well-written, and had some lovely scenes. Today I finished reading Devoted Ladies which, like Loving and Giving, was full of horrid people being horrid to each other. It had a similar ending too, which I felt was a bit of a cop-out in both books. So, out of four of Keane's books this month, I loved one, liked one, and really disliked two. However, her writing style is wonderful and I am fascinated by her sneaky little insights into human character, so I will be reading more of her books in the future.