Isa & May
by Margaret Forster
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Description
Margaret Forster, in this engaging, intriguing novel, about a young woman and two grandmothers, uncovers the shocking truths that family history reveals.The curiously named Isamay, a would-be academic, is trying to write a coherent thesis about grandmothers in history - from Sarah Bernhardt and George Sand to the matriarchal Queen Victoria and other influential grannies - while constantly ambushed by the secrets her own family has been keeping. An only child, she is named after her show more grandmothers, Isa and May, who were there at her birth and who have formed and influenced her in very different ways. Jealous of each other, they both want to be first in their granddaughter's affections. Isa has an edge, in that young Isamay looks like her, but Isa's reserved and elegant exterior hides startling surprises that could undermine her granddaughter's certainties. May, on the other hand, is plump, indomitable and opinionated, and it's from her that Isamay inherits her stubborn determination.Isamay, almost thirty, has never wanted children, but suddenly considers changing her mind. Her live-in lover, Ian (always mysterious about his own family history) is sure that he does not want a child.Engrossing, set in the present but with hooks into the past, this is an unusual story about grandmothers and their potentially powerful role in family life, about nature vs nurture, bloodlines and bridges across generations. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I really like Margaret Forster's books and am always a bit scared to start them in case they let me down. In the beginning I thought this one was a bit off the mark and the central character rather wishy-washy - but in the end I really liked it and thought Forster had a lot to say about relationships between families.
All about grandmothers, two very different women seen often, another mysterious mother of her adopted father then the grandmother of her partner, Ian - not a likeable character even after we learn of hid difficult childhood, the cause of his indifference to all family life. and her masters thesis on grandmothers detailing some of her research, thought processs but not any conclsions reached.
Will be a good discussion at bookclub among the grandmothers!
Will be a good discussion at bookclub among the grandmothers!
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Author Information
41+ Works 4,641 Members
Margaret Forster was born in Carlisle, England on May 25, 1938. She read history at Somerville College, Oxford. Before her writing career took off, she was a teacher at a girls' school. She is the author of over 40 books of fiction and non-fiction. Her novel include Mother, Can You Hear Me?, Have the Men Had Enough?, Lady's Maid, Private Papers, show more Diary of an Ordinary Woman, Over, Isa and May, The Unknown Bridesmaid, and How to Measure a Cow. Georgy Girl, published in 1965, was made into a film starring Lynn Redgrave in 1966. She has written several memoirs including Hidden Lives, Precious Lives, and My Life in Houses. Her biography Elizabeth Barrett Browning won the Heinemann award and her 1993 biography of Daphne du Maurier won the Fawcett book prize and was filmed for the BBC as Daphne in 2007. She also wrote a history of feminism entitled Significant Sisters in 1984. She died of cancer on February 8, 2016 at the age of 77. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2010
- First words
- The hardest thing to tell Isa and May was where, and how, I met Ian.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 95
- Popularity
- 337,630
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.60)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 1
