The Long Weekend: ‘By the time you read this, I’ll have killed one of your husbands’

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A sincere, compelling and spirited title for fans of Australian contemporary fiction, The Long Weekend is the latest release from Fiona Palmer. With connection, escape, change, self-discovery, belief and chances all playing a part in this novel’s direction, The Long Weekend is the perfect picnic day read. And of course you can guess...lots a little spats, break ups, love affairs, alcohol, drugs and 1 overdose.

The Long Weekend – HarperCollins The Long Weekend – HarperCollins

The Long Weekend" is a look at English country houses during the 1918-1939 period. The focus seemed to be the fate of the country house: who was selling, buying, renovating, redecorating, or building them. The author gave specific details about changes made to certain houses (including royal country houses) and the careers of certain architects or interior decorators. He included some general information about why it was difficult to sell old country houses, why people were selling them, various building or decorating trends, alternative uses found for country houses, and such. This is such a well thought out and tense thriller that had my nerves frayed and my heart racing until the very end. Jamie was the atypical writer. Tall and buff, the man came from a family of football stars. While he may have had the same physical traits as his brothers, it was because he owned a gym. I admired Jamie’s dedication towards his business but unfortunately, this career had led him to treating women badly in the past. Now a little older and wiser, Jamie was embracing his creative side that came from his mother. He is at Jan’s retreat for the right reasons, but his past is catching up with him and cupid has an arrow ready for Jamie. This was a nice contemporary story set in and around Perth, Western Australia. Beth is a young, single mother of Hudson who is 11 months old. Her older sister Poppy, convinces Beth to go on a weekend writer's retreat to do some 'infiltration' for her. I won't spoil the plot, but Beth reluctantly goes even though it is Poppy who is the aspiring writer. It isn't about life in these beautiful old stately homes, it's about parties, who was invited where, who they were, what they did (eat, shoot, change clothes a lot) but mostly who they were and often what they thought of each other and the sort of effortlessly upper-class manners expected of them. (Don't call on weekdays to respond to invitations, dreadfully lower class) This is (most of) the third paragraph of the book:Fiona Palmer had done a fabulous job with this writing in this book. The way she captures emotions and makes you feel like you know the characters and places she is writing about is utterly phenomenal. With so many different sub-plots taking place in this book it would be easy to expect problems with pacing and fluidity but Fiona Palmer has woven the various storylines together seamlessly with her lyrical and cinematic writing. The Long Week-End is a social history of interwar Britain, written by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge. It was first published in 1940, just after the end of the period it treats. Starts and ends with a bang, but the middle drags, The Long Weekend was entertaining/engaging during the read, but ultimately it was a pretty shallow story of deceits and secrets within a close friend group. An inviting tale that will inspire the hidden writers out there to take a leap of faith and sign up to a writing workshop, or alternatively a novel to enjoy over a lazy holiday break, The Long Weekend is a recommended read.

Weekend Breaks 2023 / 2024 | Thomas Cook Weekend Breaks 2023 / 2024 | Thomas Cook

Rob– married to Edie, he ‘ got the girl‘, much to the jealousy of the other three men. Rob and Evie have a teenage daughter called Imogen. Folklore on shapeshifters is incorporated into the story, and it's such a perfect allegory for Dementia. It's inclusion was brilliant! The Long Weekend is the fifth contemporary fiction novel from Fiona Palmer. It is the perfect book for both readers and writers as Palmer takes her fans into the heart of a three day writing retreat. With only four participants and a famous author, it is an intimate retreat that takes place in Busselton Western Australia. The Aussie author covers a multitude of topical themes that include social media, obesity, postnatal depression, emotional baggage, grief, tragedy and so much more. Finished! That’s the only unequivocally good thing I can say about this. I struggle to find any deeper meaning. I suppose the plotting was okay, but I didn’t like the style of the author revealing more a little at a time, in annoying bits and pieces. All the characters were either vile or whiny, or both.

Tinniswood is good on the fashions of the day, among them “the between-wars cult of the tub”, a trend that reached its apotheosis in the form of an onyx-walled bathroom at Middleton Park near Bicester, a wondrous bit of English deco commissioned by the Earl of Jersey’s movie-star wife, Virginia Cherrill. And he gives proper and sensitive attention to the serving classes without whose hard labour this gilded world could never have functioned. But perhaps he is at his best when it comes to the house party or Saturday-to-Monday (it was non-U to use the word “weekend”), with its relays of cars, its exhausting dress codes, its picnics of plover eggs. Oh, the sheer extravagant claustrophobia of it all. You may not mourn this privileged world, its nepotism, its entitlement and its bigotry. But, as he tells it, you can’t fail to be entertained by it. Like a guest at one of Cecil Beaton’s crazy parties, it kept me up all night. She asks them to write about their deepest secrets but what will come of that. Letting out their secrets to a group of strangers!! How weird is it that we can end up doing stuff we don't like, but can’t seem to find our way out? And yet sometimes the solution is easy - just stop.’ Simone sighed heavily. 'Why is stopping so hard?’ What do a physiotherapist, gym owner, influencer & SAHM have in common. On the surface not much, but somehow they have all ended up at an expensive writing retreat with a famed author.

The Long Weekend by Clare Lydon | Goodreads The Long Weekend by Clare Lydon | Goodreads

A largely character driven story, The Long Weekend explores several themes including trauma, loss, forgiveness, redemption, and self discovery. Prompted by a writing exercise, the five protagonists confront and let go of the secrets, mistakes and insecurities that haunt them. There is a lot of emotion in their individual stories, touching on a range of contemporary social issues, which Palmer handles sensitively. All four are hoping to learn and grow from the weekend retreat but the emotional baggage that has come along for the ride is more than anyone bargained for. A couple of small, subjective issues lessened the impact for me personally- the characters are occasionally undefined and blended so you have to unravel who's who and one protagonist is the clichéd alcoholic whose addiction prevents sensible action.

About Fictionophile

Wife and mother Alice, wants advice on crafting a memoir she hopes will reach women who share her experience of motherhood. The long three chapter structure leads to a slower read overall, as it takes a long time for the action to ensue. However, I was hooked by chapter two!

The Long Weekend: ‘By the time you read this, I’ll have

Wow! This is one of the best written, complex, twisty, extra smart and most intense stories Gilly MacMillan created! Overseeing the haven is Jan Goldstein, acclaimed writer of many profitable fiction stories, who is also hiding a secret. Beth, Simone, Alice and Jamie don’t know each other but before the three days are over, secrets from each of them will surface and they will know each other a whole lot better. The book is boldly structured with multiple characters and time periods moving abruptly about, sometimes between paragraphs, but the effect is such that the suspense is kept at a constant high. The twists are unexpected and surprising, revealed with a practiced, almost casual air.

A mystery told through multiple characters POV’s, full of twists and turns and once you get into the characters is a good read. Clare Lydon is a great author. She writes very well and I normally enjoy her storys. But I had trouble with this one.