276°
Posted 20 hours ago

The Fortnight in September

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Finally, he turned, and said rather lamely—“Well, here we are.” They had reached the strange, disturbing little moment that comes in every holiday: the moment when suddenly the tense excitement of the journey collapses and fizzles out, and you are left, vaguely wondering what you are going to do, and how you are going to start. With a touch of panic you wonder whether the holiday, after all, is only a dull anti-climax to the journey.

Only the honeymoon had been lovely: the coming of the children had made the fortnight a burden—sometimes a nightmare. At home the children were hers: they loved her: came to her in everything. At Bognor, somehow they drew away from her—became different. If she paddled, they laughed at her: saying she looked so funny. They never laughed at her at home. The Night My Number Came Up – which was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay (NB: both films were nominated for the 1955 BAFTA awards.)

There is both pain and joy in the things we all go through, some tests greater than others, some stakes low and others high. Sherriff captures the simplest parts of what we all have in common: the details may be different - the class, the color, the culture, the degree of privilege or poverty - but we all feel jealous, we all feel proud, we all have a first love and a first job, we all wonder how we can best use ourselves here on borrowed time. I began to feel the itch to take one of those families at random and build up an imaginary story of their annual holiday by the sea. The sea had frightened Mrs. Stevens, and she had never conquered her fear. It frightened her most when it was dead calm. Something within her shuddered at the great smooth, slimy surface, stretching into a nothingness that made her giddy.”

The Fortnight in September is set in the real seaside resort town of Bognor Regis, in West Sussex, England. Look up present-day tourism options in Bognor. What would a vacation there look like now?

This novel is elegant. The sentences are beautiful in their precision, and often filled with wisdom. The atmosphere goes from a fresh filling of lungs, to a dusty, peeling interior in which a middle-class family has lived good days. The action is to forge onward and create these good days again, despite erosion, or a drifting away. It is a celebration of life, this novel, in all of its ordinariness. They had reached the strange, disturbing little moment that comes in every holiday: the moment when suddenly the tense excitement of the journey collapses and fizzles out, and you are left, vaguely wondering what you are going to do, and how you are going to start. With a touch of panic you wonder whether the holiday, after all, is only a dull anti-climax to the journey. The sea had frightened Mrs. Stevens, and she had never conquered her fear. It frightened her most when it was dead calm. Something within her shuddered at the great smooth, slimy surface, stretching into a nothingness that made her giddy. For their honeymoon they had taken apartments with Mr. and Mrs. Huggett in St. Matthews Road— called “Seaview,” because from the lavatory window you could see the top of a lamppost on the beachfront. I thought we were never going to reach our destination, but of course we got there in the end. Bognor!

Their journey to Bognor Regis, on the West Sussex coast, is described in exacting detail, including the walk to the train station from their terraced house at 22 Corunna Road in Dulwich, and then the long journey by train, via Clapham Junction, and then onwards to “Seaview”, the apartments they have taken every year since their honeymoon more than 20 years earlier. Comunque sia andata, accade talvolta che in questi casi si venga sorpresi da un’imprevista rivelazione…e invece no; alla fine “Due settimane in settembre” rimane all’altezza delle mie modeste aspettative, tanto che da tempo non incappavo in un romanzo così esangue e scritto con uno stile altrettanto incolore. He had the journey organised too. There was luggage to be sent on. Connections to organise. A compartment to secure. And familiar sights – including their own street – to watched out for.Mary fell in love. And Mrs Stevens broke with convention to sit down with he landlady, to offer a sympathetic ear when she spoke of her concerns about the future. This charming, timeless classic about a family of five setting out on their annual seaside vacation is “the most uplifting, life-affirming novel I can think of...the beautiful dignity to be found in everyday living has rarely been captured more delicately” (Kazuo Ishiguro). Arriving in Bognor, they head to Seaview, the guesthouse where they stay every year. It’s a bit shabbier than it once was - the landlord has died and his wife is struggling as the number of guests dwindles every year. But the family finds bliss in booking a slightly bigger cabana, with a balcony, and in their rediscovery of the familiar places they visit every year. This novel, first published in 1931, perfectly encapsulates the small joys of a family embarking on their annual holiday to the English seaside. Not very much happens in the story, but it’s written in such a mannered, yet insightful, way, that it hardly seems to matter. A long train journey I could easy have given this book five stars: the languid style of writing and the observations are so wonderful:

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment