Village Vicar (The Rector's Wife - Joanna Trollope)

Member Name: Kukana

Product:	The Rector's Wife - Joanna Trollope
Date:	04/10/06 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well-written, interesting plot

Disadvantages: Characters a little shallow

Anna is an Anglican vicar's wife in a small village. As the book opens, her husband Peter has just been refused a promotion that would have increased his salary, and he's feeling rather depressed about it. At the same time their 10-year-old daughter Flora is being badly bullied in school. Anna, who has felt like an unpaid curate for the past twenty years, without any vocation - and not even any definite faith - decides to take matters into her own hands. So she gets a job as a supermarket packer, in order to send Flora to a private school. Unfortunately Peter sees this as proof that she thinks he is inadequate, and some of the ladies of the parish consider it a disgrace, if not outright defiance.

In a way it's a 'coming of age' book, except that the heroine discovers indepedence twenty years later than would be expected. I found I quickly warmed to Anna, who simply wants to be herself: a person in her own right, rather than simply being known as the Rector's wife. I've known one or two Vicar's wives who found it extremely stressful being thought of as an appendage to their husbands. They were unable to make close friends (for fear of favouritism) and felt that they had to compete sometimes not just with God, but with the demands of their parish - almost worse than another woman.

So it seemed quite believable to me that Anna finds herself torn between her wish to support Peter in every way possible, and her need to help her daughter. Flora is a creative, original soul who simply doesn't get along in a large state primary school. But Joanna Trollope isn't really casting aspersions on state education, although she could have done so. We're told that Anna's older children were quite happy in the same school, some years previously. Flora's predicament is simply one of several factors in Anna's need to make a stand.

Inevitably for this author, there's a romantic interest through the book. As Peter becomes more withdrawn and uncommunicative, three quite different men come into Anna's life: the new Archdeacon, his agnostic brother, and a wealthy businessman. All three of them find Anna very attractive, and this too is a factor in her 'growing up' - suddenly she realises that she's a woman!

I first read 'The Rector's Wife' about six years ago, and remember enjoying it. When I re-read it recently, I had almost entirely forgotten what happened. I couldn't remember whether or not Anna became involved with one of these three men, and if so which. I had also forgotten what happened in her marriage, and whether or not Flora was happier in the Roman Catholic convent school where her mother sent her.

All in all it was a good light read. I felt that it delved quite deeply into the feelings of the people concerned without being predictable. Although some of the parishioners were somewhat caricatured, making a bit of pleasant light relief at times, the main characters of Anna and her family were very well portrayed.

My first slight gripe is that while the author obviously knew a fair amount about church politics and rural living, it felt that she was writing from outside a Christian perspective. Not that this is necessarily a problem, but it meant that some things didn't quite ring true - in particular Peter's reasons for some of the things he did, and some comments from the Archdeacon. However I doubt if this would be at all obvious to most casual readers.

The only other disadvantage was that I didn't find the book particularly moving, even though some distressing circumstances were described. I liked the characters, but did not feel as if I knew them. I would have liked to read more about Anna's relationship with her children, but the glimpses were fleeting and often fraught.

Still, overall I would recommend it to anyone interested in light village type novels. It's under 300 pages so ideal for a wet weekend or a holiday.

Amazon have this book in paperback published by Black Swan, ISBN 0552994707 for £5.59, and play.com have it for £5.49, postage free within Europe. There are also audio versions, either abridged or unabridged, and a large text print edition for those with sight problems.

Summary: A good light read for holidays