TITLE: A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
AUTHOR: J L Carr
DATE PUBLISHED: 1980
DATE READ: March 2008 (re-reading)
NOTES: Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other’s company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell – and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.
At one level not very much happens – no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?
A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.
AUTHOR: J L Carr
DATE PUBLISHED: 1980
DATE READ: March 2008 (re-reading)
NOTES: Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other’s company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell – and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.
At one level not very much happens – no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?
A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.