Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope
5 out of 10
You can always rely on a Joanna Trollope or a Maeve Binchy for good, comfortable reading. Why is a book like this a good read? Because she uses a good, strong, traditional, recognisable narrative form. All the plot-threads reach satisfying conclusions. All ends up well in the nice, middle-class, white, aga-heated world. Like Midsomer Murders, but with no murder.
But - this is not a book to earn more than 5 marks, because it is disposable. Once it has been read, it gets given away. Good books get put back on my shelf, for keeping, lending and maybe re-reading. Good books are like climbing a mountain - you have to work to get the benefit. A Joanna Trollope is like a stroll down a flowery path, then having afternoon tea in a tea-room. You'll always remember the toil, the rewards and the significance of the mountain . . .
I'm not sure that it's fair to put Maeve in the same category. I recently heard a very good short story by Maeve.
Did this book have anything in common with the last book I read - The Road? No, no, no, no.
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