Bad Relations

Product Information

Thanks very much to @netgalley and @penguinukbooks for the advance copy! Bad Relations will be published on May 19th 2022.

The middle section, set in Cornwall, where Stephen, a 20 y/o Australian is visiting an English family with whom he shares an ancestor who won the Victoria Cross in the Crimean War (so relevant these days), recalled poignant memories. One of the few privileges of old age is to criticise historicals at first hand and I had the great pleasure to spend a good many summers in England in the sixties and seventies, though mostly on a boat rather than a farm. Connelly caught the flavour of the time perfectly. Stephen’s distant cousin Georgie and her BF Helena seem the fulfilment of a young man’s wildest dreams, but other sister Cass and mother Celia are rather off-putting. And the dream visit turns into nightmare. In the Second part of the novel brings us to 1970s Cornwall where we meet Stephen a descendant of Alice and William having arrived from Australia to spend a summer with his distant cousins that ultimately ends in tragedy. The story culminates in the English and Australian families meeting again in present day. Bad Relations was an interesting read for me - I came into it very excited at the prospect of a multi-generational story, something I have been really enjoying recently. And it certainly was that, though I personally didn’t enjoy the large jumps between generations (it took me a sec to mentally switch from the 1850/60s to the 1970s!). Cressida Connolly has an absolutely beautiful writing style, and her ability to write so convincingly in the vernacular of the time period the generation is situated in bolsters this book so much. I definitely enjoyed the first generation the most, and only wished we got more time with Alice - a character with a lot of depth, which I would have liked to have seen more of. I did enjoy the guesswork the reader had to put in to figure out what happened to Stephen until everything was fully, although very hastily, revealed in the final part and all the loose ends were tied up. If anything that final part felt slightly rushed, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that I felt the structure of the generations to be a little jumpy. The modern characters we join in 2015 don’t feel as developed and as soulful as the others we’re introduced to earlier in the novel; even Cass and Georgie seem a little off, although I think their combined reactions to their mother are perfect (and I liked the sense of justice they provided!!). Ultimately, what shone for me in Bad Relations was the gorgeous, intricately crafted writing which slotted into generation after generation, and made every different setting very animated. I equally enjoyed how I, unknowingly, developed quite a hatred for some characters by the end - William, Celia etc - I think Connolly sneakily persuaded you to hate them bit by bit before revealing the true extent of the actions in the final part, so it feels rewarding to have your dislike for them affirmed! Overall, a really enjoyable read however I found it slightly jumpy, which created a disconnect in the whole generation lead framework. On the battlefields of the Crimea, William Gale cradles the still-warm body of his brother. William's experience of war will bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries.William’s experience of war will bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries.

A very satisfying novel, one of those books you know will stay with you and makes you immediately look up the author's other works. Can I just say, however, the cover is rubbish! I absolutely loved this story - the writing was compelling, the story was captivating and the characters were so real I felt I knew them. The author captured the teenage angst so perfectly! I was in bits for the part when Stephen was alone in London, absolutely heart-rending. And cried again at the end with the bit involving the Victoria Cross! Cressida Connolly’s preoccupations are time, family and loss: her novels chart the far-reaching reverberations of human choices across generations. Her last book, After the Party, explored fascism in 1930s Britain, and now Bad Relations, her fifth, traces the long-term consequences of a traumatised Crimean War hero’s then-scandalous decision to divorce his wife and remarry.I was actually a bit wary of this before I received it - wasn’t sure if I wanted a family epic spanning the generations - I’d already had the behemoth that was Hanya Yanagihara’s ‘To paradise’ to do me. But this was much tighter, shorter and more compact, and really nothing like that book. I always trusted the author - it felt like she was in control and would have trusted her in whatever direction she took the story. Her third novel, Bad Relations, was published in 2022. The Times called it "her latest understated masterpiece", "beautiful" and "a ravishing novel"; [14] while Country Life wrote that: "The novels of Cressida Connolly are a wonderful discovery" and "nostalgic, perceptively portrayed and beautifully written." [15] The Observer described it as "haunting and beautiful", concluding: "I don't often wish a book were longer, but this one I did." [16] Published works [ edit ]

Initially, we meet William and Alice Gale, as William prepares to return from service in the Crimean War, a decorated veteran whose brother was killed in the trenches. The decisions he makes upon his return home have repercussions which will play out over the next two centuries. First of all, this writer is a treat. As the book shifts between the three different timelines, so does her writing. She really does excel in giving the reader so so much context and information as each scene begins all the while keeping us fully engaged. Books and Authors: Cressida Connolly on her new book After the Party". BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 18 March 2021. Connolly was the first wife (1982–1983) of The Sunday Times critic and writer A. A. Gill (died 10 December 2016). [3] She married Worcestershire petal farmer Charles Hudson in 1985; the couple have three children, including actress Nell Hudson. [4] [5] Career [ edit ]

Featured Reviews

The characters in Bad Relations are so brilliantly real, so wonderfully compelling at their best, and at their worst, that I can’t get them out of my head. A wonderful novel’ – Nina Stibbe The first thing to say is that if you looked at the cover without reading the blurb you might be surprised to discover the first part of the book, making up nearly one third of the story, is set during the Crimean War. Relf, Tim (17 August 2015). "Farmer boosts turnover with wedding confetti diversification". Farmers Weekly . Retrieved 18 March 2021. I always fear I rag on books too much; there was a lot to like here too! The author captures the vernacular of the different time periods in a way that feels authentic and fluent. I enjoyed finding out more about the Crimean War, something I previously knew nothing about except the name. The genealogy aspect was also fascinating, and it’s inspired me to get to my local library to find out more about my family tree. I found ‘bad relations’ by Cressida Connolly to be a wonderfully written, multi generational historical story set between the Crimean war, 1970’s Cornwall and modern day Australia and England. The story telling is controlled and beautifully paced. It only took me a couple of summer days to read this, a pace that is rare for me. The story took turns that I never expected, which I always like.