More of a 3¾-star rating.
Penelope Lively's writing is always superb, so well-worth reading for her discerning observations about the hierarchy of British class society and the importance of the collective history invoked by the simple components that make a house 'home'. Lively describes domestic items, household crafts and family albums as well as the now-irrelevant nanny and servants' place in these early-20th Century country houses.

Unlike Lively's intriguing and philosophical memoir Dancing Fish and Ammonites, "House Unlocked" had passages that were rather tedious and departed from what I felt was the theme (history in the context of her grandparent's residence in Somerset). I was a bit lost on the reason for including so much detail about evacuees during the Blitz and the social difficulties related to two world wars changing the status quo. Nonetheless, her views were enlightening and I was charmed by her descriptions of family life. From the childhood perspective, this aspect of the story was not as engaging as in her memoir, Oleander. ( )

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/a-philosophical-exercis... ( )

Catching up with a big backlog of read books, hence very short writeups. Not as good, or nearly as enthralling, as Oleander, Jacaranda, the memoir about Lively's childhood in Egypt, but still an interesting read. This bit of non fiction is basically a chat about all kinds of changes in the twentieth century presented as a ramble around her grandmother's Somerset home. It goes into a bit of a (gentlewomanly) rant in places.

An intriguing way to write both history and autobiography. ( )

It's hard to categorize this book. Penelope Lively herself describes it as fiction, but it's not really. Not in the traditional sense. It's imagined social history, based on observations and facts. Faction? I broke the "Rule of 50" on this one. I read only 30 pages before giving up, and I'm not yet (and probably never will be) 70 - the age declared by Nancy Pearl's rule as one at which you only need to read 30 pages to make a decision. Of course the principle behind Pearl's rule is that the older you get, the less you can afford to waste time reading books you really don't like. I claim an exemption because I started reading late in life, and I expect to die young.

OK, on to my next book in my Festival of Lively Reading: "According to Mark" (by Penelope Lively, of course!) ( )