Mr Gandy's Grand Tour

"Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice." E.M.Forster

Timothy Gandy has had a successful career but his personal life is moribund, estranged from two of his three children and living with a a wife with whom he has no common interests. Initially he stayed with her for the sake of the children but when they flew the coop out of fear of hurting her. At the age of 55 the company that Timothy has worked for virtually all his adult life is taken over by a larger conglomerate and rather than face a differing role within a bigger firm instead opts for early retirement. Uncertain as to how he will fill his time he is suddenly left a widower when his wife dies of a massive heart attack whilst playing tennis. After the shock of show more Isobel's death comes the realisation that he can now do whatever he liked.

Inspired by tales of travellers a century before and encouraged by his favourite daughter, Rosie, and her partner, Ace, he decides to embark on a Grand Tour taking a leisurely trip around the cultural sights of western Europe. His son Oliver is against Timothy's plans whereas his other daughter Alice seems indifferent.

Rosie is Timothy's youngest and favourite child so there are shades of Shakespeare's King Lear here. Similarly Timothy sets off with an ancient copy of Baedeker in hand in much the same way as Michael Portillo does in his various railway television series. His first stop is Paris where he falls in love with a younger woman, before moving on to Monaco, Florence and Rome taking in the cultural sights and generally indulging himself.

This is a fairly gentle tale with little action and no violence involving a middle aged man who discovers that it is never too late to have a little adventure. Timothy is well meaning if a little naive and is generally well drawn even if at times I wanted to shout at him not to be so soft and to man up. There isn't a particularly strong plot and I personally found the ending a touch frustrating as Timothy has seemed to settle back into a life of comfort and conformity rather than doing anything more exciting but if you are looking for something that is not too taxing for either the beach or pool, or for a long train/plane journey then you could do worse. show less

This is the first Alan Titchmarsh novel I have read, so I have nothing to compare it to. I found it to be quite a pleasant and enjoyable read but it did lack a bit of oomph. It's a very gentle story of 55 year old Timothy Gandy who, after years of being in a stale marriage finds himself unexpectedly alone. He decides to do a Grand Tour of Europe in the style of young men in the late 18th century and finds himself in Paris, Monte Carlo and Rome. Along the way, he sort of finds himself again.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a brilliant idea for a book but it was a little on the tame side and there were the odd cliched moments. However, when I finished reading it I knew that I had enjoyed it and it had been an easy and sweet show more read, hence my 4 star rating. Ultimately it's quite a feel-good story and whilst it won't set the world on fire, it did leave me feeling quite satisfied at the end of it. show less

Gallivanting around Europe.
This was a book club read that I started with reservations. Although I had previously read and enjoyed three of Alan Titchmarsh's novels, I was worried that this was going to be more of a rehash of David Nicholl's 'Us'. However, while both centred around a guy touring Europe, they we actually quite different and I have to say I enjoyed this. Only the end, as sort of epilogue to the tour, grated with me and I felt the story would have been stronger without it.

Timothy Gandy suddenly finds himself with no job and no wife. So what better to do than the travel that he had longed to do for many years? Inspired by the Grand Tour of previous centuries and armed with old writings and a guide-book dated 1904, he heads show more towards France and Italy in search of....adventure?

I couldn't help but picture Alan Titchmarsh, himself as Timothy Gandy, he is just too well-known a face. But even that added to the narrative in a way. It's a very easy-read style, almost chick-lit, but I could quite see how the shy traveller could shake off his reservations in a new environment and meet some interesting characters along the way.

Add it to your summer beach reads :)

Also read:
Trowel and Error - Memoir (3.5 stars)
The Last Lighthouse Keeper (5 stars)
Only Dad (4 stars) show less

This is the second of Alan Titchmarsh's novels I have read. While I feel that his depiction of relationships is well done, some of the scenarios are too far-fetched for example the catching of the thieves in Monaco.

What this novel does for me, is make me wonder about the author and his personality.

In his fifties, Timothy Gandy, suddenly finds himself out of a job. After forty years of a marriage that had become less than satisfying, he suddenly finds himself a widower. He decides to have an adventure, and to travel, something his wife had not liked to do, and spend some of his money on a Grand Tour of Italy. The father of three grown children, closest to his youngest daughter, he is little surprised when his son and grasping wife object to his spending, what they see as their inheritance, in such a so called selfish fashion.

We travel with him as he sets out to see the leading cities of Italy, seeing all the things he feels he should. From the beginning, starting in Paris, he finds more than he bargained for, much to his surprise. show more In Monaco, he makes two very good friends, and has an amusing encounter, and as he continues on he finds out more than he expected.

This is just a nice story, and one it is a pleasure to read. Life's disappointments snd life's surprises abound. The writing is clear, concise and Timothy is at times naive and at times insightful. It was fun traveling with him, seeing the things he sees, the places he stays and the food he eats. The best kind of armchsir travel, complete with a man who decided he wasn't to old to have an adventure, nor to learn some vslusble lessons about life, and his family. show less

A very heart warming tale of a man's family life and his travel and adventures across Europe.

Mir zu seicht.