This was an extremely well-written, character-driven book about three individuals whose lives come together: a dead man, his widow, and his mistress. The premise of the book, as we are told from the beginning in the form of a Bertrand Russell quote, is that three tends to move to either two or four. This becomes evident and self-explanatory as the book goes on. Characters come together briefly to form three-pronged wheels, then spin off to form either groups of four, or simply to pair off. No one is left alone, no one without a partner of some kind.
Vickers has a gift for prose, but I'm not sure I'd compare her to Iris Murdoch as others have. She does wonders with this plot. I think I would have gotten more out of it had I been more familiar with Shakespeare; in particular, King Lear and Hamlet. I think there were many Shakepearean allusions here that I missed.
Vickers has a gift for prose, but I'm not sure I'd compare her to Iris Murdoch as others have. She does wonders with this plot. I think I would have gotten more out of it had I been more familiar with Shakespeare; in particular, King Lear and Hamlet. I think there were many Shakepearean allusions here that I missed.
