The Light Years
The landmark classic of 20th century family life
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
As seen on BBC Two's Between the Covers
Told with exceptional grace, The Light Years is a modern classic of twentieth-century English life and is the first novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s extraordinary, bestselling family saga, The Cazalet Chronicles.
'Compelling, moving, unputdownable . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake
1937. Every summer, the Cazalet brothers – Hugh, Edward and Rupert – return to the family home in the heart of the Sussex countryside with their wives and children. There, they are joined by their formidable parents and unmarried sister Rachel to enjoy two glorious months of picnics, games and sun-drenched excursions to the coast. But not even this idyllic setting can soothe the siblings’ fears and heartache.
Hugh, haunted by memories of the Great War, is terrified at the looming prospect of a second. Edward, charming and handsome, is torn between his wife and his latest infidelity. Rupert, a talented painter, is in turmoil over his inability to please his demanding new wife. Meanwhile, Rachel’s unflinching loyalty to the family means risking her one chance at happiness . . .
'She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts' – Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of The Mirror and the Light
The Light Years is the first volume in the extraordinary Cazalet Chronicles. Continue the dazzling historical series with Marking Time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her charming but unwieldy eighth novel, the author of Odd Girl Out and Getting It Right portrays three generations of an upper-class English family summering at their Sussex estate in 1937 and 1938. The daily concerns of the Cazalet patriarch, his four children, nine grandchildren, countless in-laws, servants and pets range from the mundane to the seriously significant: the children rescue their cat from a tree, the chauffeur drives too slowly, the adults discuss the prospect of war. The temptations of adultery and incest that lurk beneath the chitchat rarely threaten the comfortable routine. Howard's attempts at insightful characterization, suspenseful plot development and sweeping depiction of an era achieve only partial success, due to the sheer size of the cast and the continual introduction of subplots thereafter neglected. For hundreds of breezy but disappointingly ``light'' pages, Howard sets the stage for climactic events that never occur. The fan of sagas full of slice-of-life detail may find the book too short, while the lover of catharsis will feel it stops short of its goal. In either case, another installment is required.
