This year we lost Hilary Mantel. Given how much I enjoyed the first two parts of the Wolf Hall trilogy, I wanted to end the year with a couple of her books, as well as by reading one of her favourite books. Am done with her favorite (i.e. Good Behaviour). I next turned to her short story collection - this. The collection has six short stories, and all except the last one ( in which we don't know the age of the narrator) are narrated by someone who recalls their life in their preteen years, or their teen years.. The reader may venture to suspect that most of these stories are somehow biographical, as they give out a sense of poignancy of time gone past, as against a nostalgia, and narrate a time of an England which sounds out of date compared to the very little we have seen, or what we've heard.
Most stories hint of how one's differences were yet to be accepted as present England seems to have, or is well on course to do so (i.e. Insults against Irish origins back then vs. the acceptance of gender differences now, mark a long journey over a period of less than sixty years). The stories also hint of how a dogged perseverance have changed the life of our narrator for the better ( although it is rarely that he or she admits of success - the tone suggests it). A "new father", a step father, or a person who plays the role of a father as time goes on is also common (e.g. King Billy is a Gentleman). We see only one step father who is hinted as right down abusive ( in The Clean slate), and some are real dears to their step children ( as in Destroyed).
Destroyed is possibly the best story here, as the behavioral changes of the two dogs are explained in some detail. I liked how our narrator is spared of the bad news of her dog, by her step dad. The substitute dog may not have lasted long, but it served its purpose to our narrator, and was safer than the pup which was intended t to her - a slight coincidental similarity between her disappeared dad, and her step dad.
Scandal too is not uncommon to most of our narrators, but our narrators have come to accept it as part of their lives, and go on with their lives
"We were all the subject of scandal, but some of us had to (go out) I had to go to school, for instance. It was the law" (Curved if the line of beauty)
The scandal in this case was due to Jack, the step dad here, a coloured man. The story goes on to say how a coloured man was not rented lodgings in Manchester back in the 50s, and how Jack takes steps to settle this injustice on behalf of his friend.
The late sixties, probably was a period in which differences were beginning to be accepted - starting with the regional differences between England's own peoples.
"The late sixties were an age of equality and people were not supposed to worry about accents, but they did worry, and tried to adapt their voices - otherwise they found themselves treated with a conscious cheeriness, as if they were black, or bereaved, or slightly deformed"
I guess these actions ( although now diminishing in the capital ), have been observed where I am from, between the majority community and the other communities too, as the latter groups try to speak the majority's language. But Learning to talk (like some others do - or adopt their accent), suggests that it is a futile effort when trained, although one may adopt it with some success over a longer period of time.
More than one tale suggest of the poor living conditions back then, and how they were not recognized for what they were back then (e.g. Third Floor Rising).
"When I looked back from, say, the age of twenty-three to the age of eighteen, I realised that, in those years, everything had been far worse than it seemed at the time."
As mentioned earlier, these are, while short stories, the impression of not so pleasant past experiences, hover like a background tune. Our narrators have seen those times off, and won their battles through doggedly continuing towards better times ( through education, jobs etc.). The author is rarely ( if ever) nostalgic. The tales are told with an even tone, while a suggestion of how time has brought upon a better life is inferred with an equanimity, that the reader finds difficult not to appreciate.
Highly recommended for readers who are fans of the late writer's work, while it serves as a look at middle class life, particular in North East England, around 50 years ago.
Rating: ****
Genre: Short Stories
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