If you've followed this blog at all you know that I like Marcia Willett, that she is, in my mind, Rosamunde Plicher's worthy successor. The most compelling aspect of her novels is the setting: sweeping moors, Cornish cliffs, and English cottages with Agas and old sheepdogs are irresistable as far as I am concerned. "The Way We Were" concerns the present and the past. Tiggy, pregnant and mourning the recent loss of her true love, travels to Cornwall in the late 70's to stay with old friends Julia and Pete (who is away at sea much of the time) Bodrugan and their 3 small children in the remote, rambling house given to them by Julia's Aunt Em. Julia is threatened by the constant intrusions of Angela, Pete's former girlfriend, and her unappealing daughter, Cat, whose visits are designed to create discord and doubt in Julia's mind. Years later (2004) Cat emerges as a central and equally disruptive figure in the lives of the Bodrugan family, creating turmoil and threatening to uncover secrets carefully guarded in the years since Tiggy's death, threatening to break family bonds.
Family relationships and strong friendships are the heart and soul of Willett's novels, and this one is no exception. In both the past and the present we see Julia as nurturing mother, vulnerable wife, and devoted niece. As adults her children make their own mistakes, suffering doubts and conflicts and questioning decisions as their parents and Tiggy did nearly thirty years before. Willett's characters are both believable and worthy of our sympathy and the Cornish countryside adds the perfect element of meteorological drama (the weather figures prominently in several key events in the novel). This book would be a great choice for a rainy weekend!
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