The Darling Buds of May

Yet another book that I've always thought of as a classic bit of timeless Englishness, but which turns out on closer inspection to be tied to a very specific moment in British history. This is 1958, Harold Macmillan's "never had it so good" era, when a minor economic boom coupled with the effects of a labour shortage, inflation, and taxes to create a kind of social "inversion layer", where many middle-class people on fixed salaries or pensions struggled to make ends meet whilst agricultural and factory workers were raking in the cash and drowning in consumer luxuries. English lit was awash with grim, grey novels about angry young working-class men from Nottingham, whilst the shock troops of the aristocracy (Nancy Mitford and Evelyn show more Waugh) were fighting a brave rearguard action to defend their culture.

H.E. Bates (previously known for sentimental tales of World War II airmen falling in love with heroines of the French Resistance) took a completely different course with this affectionate comic portrait of a working-class family that simply revels in all the things that set middle-class teeth on edge (tomato ketchup, television, large rolls of banknotes, fish and chips, butter, open displays of sexuality, implausible numbers of children, ice cream, cocktail cabinets, pelmets, flaunting of the tax laws, ...). We have to love the Larkins because of the uninhibited pleasure they take in all these things, and their urge to share that pleasure with all their friends. Of course, it helps that Pop Larkin is always ready to help out his impoverished but deserving middle-class neighbours, the Brigadier and Miss Pilchester.

Bates is mocking his middle-class readers, but in the nicest possible way. Although the cultural references are very 1958, the style recalls the humour of Pickwick Papers: in many ways, the Larkins's farm is just an updated version of Mr Wardle's Manor Farm at Dingley Dell. Come to think of it, Mr Pickwick wasn't averse to a bit of tomato sauce, either, was he? show less

Impossible to dislike this good-natured story of a rather improbably contented family living a rural idyll, over-supplied with food and drink without any obvious means of support other than the dodgy dealings of the paterfamilias, Pop Larkin.

I do have a problem with the structure of the book as opossed to its style. It is an excellent introduction to the Larkin family and their friends and neighbours but, apart from the predictable resolving of the threat to their comfortable lives from a pleasant young tax inspector, it really goes nowhere. Bates leaves us, as he must have intended, waitng for the proper story in the next episodes.

The Darling Buds of May - H E Bates ***

Like many people I was first introduced to the Larkin family through the TV drama with the brilliant David Jason, it was one of those programs I remember from my childhood and I never realised that it was taken from a group of novels. We follow the trials and tribulations of the ever increasing family as they go about their day to day lives. Anyone familiar with the ITV adaptation will already know most of the story, very little has been changed from the original text. The only major difference is the overt sexuality present within the novels pages, in particular with the Larkin’s eldest daughter Mariette, who is not so sweet and innocent as I seem remember.....

Like most books written in the same show more period the novel portrays a post war idyllic life, where days can be filled with strawberry picking, eating, meadow walks and more eating. The Larkin world is changed when a good natured, slightly drippy tax inspector calls upon them to query the lack of tax returns, he soon falls for Mariette and encouraged by Ma and Pa spends an ever increasing amount of time at the farm, slowly changing his whole outlook on the world outside his office.

There are two ways of viewing this book and each will influence your outlook on the Larkin brood. On one hand we have the jolly local farmer, someone that can always be relied upon, a steadfast member of the community that although a little rough around the edges manages to charm even his most prudish neighbours. A bit of a rogue that isn’t afraid to bend the rules but all’s well that ends well. On the other hand we have a man who is tax avoider, possibly a bit of a sex pest and generally without much of a conscience (especially if it means his family are kept happy). But whatever your opinion, there is something in the book for nearly everyone.

I have only given 3 stars because there were a few things that really got on my nerves. The way ‘Pa’ speaks in dialect really grates on me. The odd ‘Perfic’ is fine, but I have always hated reading books that have characters speaking in this way. It just annoys me. The other reason was the constant reference to food, and what they were going eat, what they had eaten previously, what they would like to eat and currently eating. Sometimes it read like a cookery book.

So did I enjoy the book? I suppose in parts I did, but not enough that I would really be able to recommend it. This is the first book in a series and I am unsure if I will ever bother to seek out the rest. Having said that, there is a small part of me that wants to know what else the Larkin family may have in store for them.... so you never know. show less

I have vague memories of watching the Darling Buds of May TV series in the early 1990s, although I was too young for much to register. The word ‘perfick’ made an impression, of course, and I remember that, every time Catherine Zeta-Jones came on screen as Mariette, my dad would shake his head and say, “I don’t know what they see in her”. I also grew to assume that my paternal grandmother, a farmer’s wife who died when I was small, must have been pretty much like Pam Ferris’s Ma Larkin. But plot? I honestly couldn’t remember much. As the first tenuous signs of spring try to force their way through the rain and sharp winds here in London, I decided I needed a bit of bucolic escapism and bought myself the book (and its show more sequels). And it was just the ticket. Warm, generous, sun-drenched: a world of strawberry-picking and white tablecloths in orchards on warm evenings; where all guests are welcome and, if you like it well enough, you don’t ever have to leave. Perfick indeed....

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2019/03/12/the-darling-buds-of-may-h-e-bates/ show less

I loved the Acorn TV series "The Larkins" which left me wanting more. So I found the books that the series are based on and was so happy to find them just as enjoyable. This book is a little different t from the show...as are all book adaptations. But Pop Larkin pulls you in and keeps you laughing as country life offers the Larkin Family. Country races, rolls royce adventures, and captivating and distracting "Charlie" the tax man from doing his job. A pure joy to read!

What a delight! Just had me smiling the whole time I was reading! I look forward to the next by HE Bates. I wonder what took me so long to find them? Fabulous narrator!

This is a perfectly wonderful little book.It is just beaming with the most positive attitude you'll ever come across. It made me smile and dream of my own little house to be, with its beautiful garden and cherrytrees, peartrees and other delicious fruit ripe for the picking.