The Fortnight in September

Product Information

En het is net die bijna lethargische, maar heerlijk geformuleerde traagheid die je - hoe je ook tegenstribbelt - uiteindelijk tòch het boek in zuigt. P.S. This was a buddy read with Jennifer and Candi. Their heartfelt, thoughtful comments and the comfort of simultaneously reading this with them only enhanced the experience. I enjoyed this story immensely because it brought so much comfort in the normal and routine. There was nothing pretentious about this family at all and watching them deal with every day anxieties (an unexpected and chance meeting with an important client of Mr. Stephens prompted the entire family to go to dinner in the last few days of the holiday and collectively the whole family whined because there were only a few days left and they didn't want to waste it dining at a strangers house, but they knew it was important for their father's work so they put on a happy face anyway). There was even a little holiday romance for one of the family members! At the end of the book, an author’s note providing insight into his writing process came as a surprise topping to this reading experience. It felt like the vacation in the novel was also a metaphor for the process of creating this story.

The man on his holidays becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out a little differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect. Dreams based upon such delicate fabric must be nursed with reverence and held away from the crude light of tomorrow week. She always provides a wider perspective on events, allowing one to understand the world in which we live in more breadth and depth. You will find several posts featuring her writing (all non-fiction). So far, so good. I’m with him all the way. But then he just can’t resist adding: “That is why each of my blossomings is a harvest for all mankind.” This is not autobiographical literature that has anything to do with suffering or self-help. Dalí presents himself as being way past needing help. He is delighted to be marooned in his own narcissism. David Peace The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dali is my top comfort read. It never fails to make me laugh because this is not a humble memoir: “I am essentially a visionary, a sort of sounding board for total truth.” Dalí wishes to astound us with his genius, to celebrate his madness, to give full-blown vent to his erotic hallucinations, his fear and fascination with life, death, paranoia and religion. All the same, his silver tongue is firmly in his vain cheek.

Customer reviews

Sherriff continued to write novels though became better known for film screenplays such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) which won him an Academy Award nomination, and The Dam Busters (1955). The foreword to this book is an excerpt from R.C. Sherriff's autobiography, wherein he discusses how he wrote The Fortnight in September. He had had a marvelous success as a playwright with Journey's End: Play, but then he had an idea which he could only turn into a novel: the simple story of a family on their annual seaside ho At the end of the story, I was left wondering if we were seeing this family tradition for the last time, with lost luster fighting built loyalties fighting the desire to expand. And then I realized that it didn’t matter - it might be the last fortnight at Seaview for the Stevens, and it might not - for eventually, it will end. We can never really know what moment will be our last. Sherriff reminds us to make the best of our time. It takes a lot of talent to pull off a narrative like this with no dramatic scenes, plot twists, bigger than life characters. R C Sherriff had it and he made something out of nothing. In the autobiographical piece that serves as an introduction he admits that he took up writing this while on holiday on a similar town without an eye to publication; more as a writing exercise in the observation of the ordinary. In the process he dissected even the most trivial sentiments and thoughts of each member of the family, some admittedly more than others. Apart from a bunch of last century’s favorite pastimes while on holiday, we find out about the father’s self reflections on his life course and modest achievements, the mother’s uneasiness while away from home and how well she hides it lest she spoils everybody’s fun. The oldest son’s disillusionment at the start of his professional career, the daughter’s enthrallment in her first fling with a charming man, and the younger son’s…well, there’s not much about him really, young boys’ psychology not being the author’s strong point, apparently. Although I didn’t singly identify with anyone I found myself nodding in recognition of common ground with everyone. Search Reading Matters Search for: Archives Archives Categories Categories Tags #TBR21 1001 Books to read before you die American literature ANZ lit Australian crime Australian literature Australian women writers AWW2016 AWW2019 AWW2021 BAME writer Book lists British literature Canadian literature CanLit Charlotte Wood cold crime crime crime fiction Dublin French literature Giller Prize Irish literature Italian literature Japanese literature journalism London marriage memoir narrative non-fiction New York non-fiction novella OzLit psychological thriller Reading Australia 2016 religion satire Shadow Giller short stories Six degrees of separation Southern Cross crime TBR40 translated fiction travel Triple Choice Tuesday true crime William Trevor women in translation World War Two Follow Reading Matters on WordPress.com Follow on Facebook

Mooi vond ik de manier waarop de gedachten van al de gezinsleden, op de jonge Ernie na, werden beschreven. Zij zien allemaal wel de beperkingen van hun leven, maar ze trachten er toch het beste van te maken, zonder zelfmedelijden of dramatische gevoelens.Barbara Pymis another writer, but very different, who writes about the small things of life, the quiet people, everyday events. I really enjoyed rereading Excellent Women, and highly recommend it to you. It was the subject of the previous post. And for a book by her in the older women in fiction series you could read Quartet in Autumn. I can't imagine reading this book any other way! I read about the characters excitement for the holiday ahead, as I was excited for my own. I finished it as the characters were saying goodbye to their seaside town, as I'm saying goodbye to my own! The Fortnight in September is set in the real seaside resort town of Bognor Regis, in West Sussex, England. Look up present-day tourism options in Bognor. What would a vacation there look like now?

She had thought of life as something that just began, before you knew, and went quietly on, until you died: she had never known that it could end – and begin again so wonderfully.” He had the journey organised too. There was luggage to be sent on. Connections to organise. A compartment to secure. And familiar sights – including their own street – to watched out for. This first chilly weekend of autumn has forced me to drag out the super soft blanket a dear friend gave me for my birthday last year. That fleecy throw wasn’t needed while reading The Fortnight in September earlier this month, yet the novel offered all the same snug comforts of that prized possession. I haven’t been to the beach in five years, but I feel I’ve been there for a short while through the sublime writing of R.C. Sherriff. With clear, uncomplicated prose, he vividly evokes the feelings one has while anticipating, preparing for, traveling towards, and arriving at one’s longed-for destination. The foreword to this book is an excerpt from R.C. Sherriff's autobiography, wherein he discusses how he wrote The Fortnight in September. He had had a marvelous success as a playwright with Journey's End: Play, but then he had an idea which he could only turn into a novel: the simple story of a family on their annual seaside holiday. Sherriff groped for the right style, finding that "flowery stuff and highfalutin words" weren't right and seeking a more down-to-earth style which would match his characters. He found that he had to learn to know the Stevens family before he could write about them without looking down or up to them, instead to "walk with them easily, side by side." De Stevensen halen hun voldoening uit routine, niét uit avontuur. Een onverwachte ontmoeting is geen verademing, eerder een verzoeking. Een ongeplande uitnodiging veroorzaakt geen voorpret, maar onderhuidse stress. De bagage bestaat voornamelijk uit mantels der liefde, waarmee kleine akkefietjes discreet worden bedekt.To readers who prefer stories containing action and adventure as well as a few dramas, that summary of R C Sherriff’s novel will probably sound as exciting as reading a railway timetable. Mrs. Stevens almost gives up her annual bottle of port citing its expense, but Mr. Stevens insists she buy it, and she relieves her conscience by considering how it was recommended by her doctor as medicinal. Later in the novel, we learn that the hour she spends drinking it alone each night is the one part of the holiday she truly enjoys. Why do you think she feels obligated to justify this small pleasure? How have traditional roles for wives and mothers shaped her sense of duty to prioritize her family’s happiness over her own? To what extent do these gendered pressures exist today?