THE OTHER FAMILY (Joanna Trollope)

This is an interesting novel, written in Trollope's usual insightful, British style.  That is one thing that always strikes me about Trollope: the incredible English-ness of her characters and settings.  There are many decent novelists whose stories are transferable to places other than those in which they are set.  They could just as easily take place in Texas or Canada with a few tweaks to place and language, but not Trollope's.  Her characters and setting are SO British that the reader becomes immersed in the every day life and surroundings to the point that it is almost surprising to look up and realize that you are in the United States.

Chrissie Rossiter and her 3 young-adult daughters (Tamsin, Dilly, and Amy) are grief-stricken at the sudden death of Richie Rossiter, famed composer and pianist, father, and husband.  What comes to light in the aftermath of Richie's death is that he and Chrissie never married and that he was, in fact, still married to his first and only wife, Margaret, with whom he had a son, Scott, now 37.   Despite Chrissie's encoragement, Richie would never divorce Margaret to marry her, but over the years they lived as a married couple but neglected to tell youngest daughter Amy about their true circumstances. Richie's will reveals shockingly that he has left his beloved piano and the rights to the music written before he abandoned her to estranged wife Margaret, while Chrissie and the girls face financial uncertainty.  Chrissie was not just Richie's lover and mother to his 3 girls, but also his manager.  She now has to cope with life without him, but also without any means of support, since he was her only client.  Margaret and Scott, still living in Newcastle, attend the funeral and are met with expected cold shoulders from Richie's second family.  Margaret has a successful business as a talent scout and agent, living a comfortable and satisfying life, while Scott is a lawyer who is very curious about the life his father led after leaving them when Scott was 14 years old.  The big question here is whether or not the animosity betwen the new and old families will ever be resolved as they work through their grief.

I have to say that I did not particularly like Chrissie, Tamsin, and Dilly.  They strike me not as women wronged, deceived, or victimized by circumstances, but as self-absorbed and stubborn.  Margaret, Scott, and Amy are delightful characters with a blossoming sense of self-awareness and an excitement about life and the future.  At times this novel is slow-moving, but it is well worth reading.