The Year at Thrush Green

The Year at Thrush Green by Miss Read is the twelfth book about a small rural village in a small corner of England known as the Cotswolds. The inhabitants of Thrush Green are now well known friends and it was a joy to catch up with the latest news and goings-on. The author chose to spread this book over the twelve months of a year, giving us a close look at the passing seasons and how the natural world adapts to the changing weather.

From picturesque descriptions of the countryside to lively gossip about the residents this books was everything I love about this series. Thrush Green in all it’s glory of tidy gardens, thatched cottages, and friendly neighbours comes to life on the pages. These simple stories have a charm and nostalgia show more that is unique to these books, and with only one book left in the series, I know I am going to miss my visits to Thrush Green. show less

More charm and gentle neighborliness to be found at Thrush Green. There, the sorrows of life coexist with the comedies and provide reassurance that life always has its compensations. The character I love best in these books is Winnie Bailey, the doctor's widow. She's one of the main ones that looks for those compensations even when life is a bit difficult, and she always takes things in stride, with a kindly humor and self-awareness. I feel drawn to her. Her conversation toward the end of this book about her experience of being married vs. being widowed felt very honest and balanced. However, that is not the quote that I have earmarked to share in my review. Enjoy this comic nugget...
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Before show more he could decide how best to cope with this strange behaviour, Dotty had recovered herself and was rattling on again about her demise.
"It's the disposal of the body which is the difficulty, as murderers always find. I should really like to be buried in the vegetable garden. All that good humus and those minerals being released slowly into the soil would do so much for the plant growth. However, there seems to be a great reluctance to let me have my way about this, and I suppose it must be cremation after all."
"They do it very nice," said Albert comfortingly.
"Well, I hope so," said Dotty doubtfully. She picked up her mug and drank deeply.
"I suppose the ashes would contribute a certain amount of nourishment," she continued more cheerfully. "I shall tell Connie to put most of it by the rhubarb."
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'Dotty's Collywobbles' was a common local complaint, familiar to Dr. Lovell and his partners, and the inhabitants of Thrush Green and Lulling had soon learned that it was wiser not to broach any of Dotty's sinister brews. No one had actually died, but many had hoped to, when suffering from sampling Dotty's offerings. show less

This is the last book in this series written by Miss Read and it is more a series of episodes than a fully plotted story.
(There is one further book written by Miss Read's agent, based on her notes.)