276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Someone at a Distance (Persephone Classics)

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

About this deal

People sometimes do not give a damn about relationships. Some people will always value ambition over a relationship. Question: Are They Reciprocating Your Efforts?

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple, Nina Bawden Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple, Nina Bawden

I remember speaking to a woman I know who visibly kept people at a distance, and she did it to the extreme. The depiction of a once happy and bustling home silenced is so beautiful, as evident in this paragraph: We can barely deal with our own stress, let alone deal with letting someone in our lives, only to potentially magnify that stress even more. Yes, there were certain plot twists at the end that were too convenient, but I think they all reinforced Ellen's character of being genuinely sincere person. And not always at the expense of herself--even as a full time wife she still gardened which she enjoyed.

Because when you don’t feel the distance they create, you end up filling up your life with distant people. I have never read Dorothy Whipple before, although I have come across her name many times; especially on the podcast, “Tea or Books?” When this title was suggested on a book group I belong to, I read it with interest.

Someone at a Distance - Booktopia Someone at a Distance - Booktopia

And what was even more impressive is that I completely disagreed with the choice the main character was clearly going to make at the end of the book- if she had been my friend, I would have been horrified. But Whipple had made her feel so real that I also had a similar reaction to what I would have with an actual friend- that reaction of horror, but then actually listening and supporting a decision that makes this person happy because that's who she is and you can't change her. Think news articles, which lie, and prey on your fears to get you to read their stuff and stay under their influence). They would rather keep you at arm’s length, because maintaining a facade takes way too much energy, and they can only keep it up for so long.

After a few not very good and rather disappointing reads, I really felt in the mood for a Persephone. I adore the books which they publish, and for me, they are one of the most important publishing houses which exists today. Dorothy Whipple is an author who seems to be one of the most adored on the Persephone list, and I was eager to begin another of her novels. Someone at a Distance was first published in 1953. They are sometimes distant because they want to, deep down inside, but don’t know how (code for: terrified.) 9: They’ve been ignoring the truth their whole life and it’s too late now. The closer they get to you, the more guilt they have to feel if they take their sexual interests elsewhere. The effect on his wife and children, on his partner at work, the way his life is destroyed in an instant of mid-life madness, all combine to create a novel of exceptional insight. This is a strongly moral book, which shows Ellen as a fulfilled yet dangerous innocent, with a touch of smugness which blinds her to her husband's vanity. Yet neither of them are more smug, or more vain, than anyone else...which is why the novel has a universal quality lifting it out of the realm of the commonplace. If only more books were as funny as Dolly Alderton's Good Material 24 October, 2023 Is divorce shame clouding your judgement about separating? 28 September, 2023 I was a stay-at-home dad and husband. Then I became an escort 27 September, 2023

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple - Audiobook

If there’s anything I’ve had to learn through my work with women, and through my own personal life, it is that many people do not want emotional closeness. Perhaps the moral is to do right by the people you trust, not just everyone. For example, if Ellen had moved in with John, Avery's partner then all chance to reconcile with Avery would be gone. But she didn't because it would upset Anne. Conversely Avery felt he had to marry Louise and "do right by her" even though it got him even deeper in gloom. They are stressed & overwhelmed, (some people are possibly living a life they don’t love & are not proud of.) The book also makes you question – in a marriage or a family in general, whose role is to maintain the relationships? Just the women’s? Why? You see Avery’s sense of freedom as he takes his family and Ellen for granted, you see him carelessly play the victim after his infidelity is discovered, and you feel outraged at him.

These reasons leave little mystery. These are the glaring reasons some people will always be distant.

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