Redhill & Reigate Social Group

Otto Laird is outraged . . .

The peaceful, if slightly bemused, existence of this elderly, retired architect is rudely interrupted when he learns that his most significant and revolutionary building, Marlowe House, a 1960s tower block council estate in south London is to be demolished.

Determined to do everything in his power to save the building, Otto returns to London for the first time in twenty-five years.

As he explores his past, ponders his present and considers the future -- for himself and his building -- Otto embarks on a most remarkable journey, one that will change everything he ever thought he knew about himself and those closest to him.

This is a novel featuring one of the most endearing protagonists you will meet. Reviewers have said that this is “a quiet and thoughtful retrospective on ageing” while another said it was “endearing and thought-provoking.”

This novel was kindly suggested by Garry.

For November, we have a book that was published in 2023 and was longlisted in that year for the Booker prize. It ranked as a top ten novel in the Sunday Times bestseller list.

Tom Kettle is a retired policeman living among the Gothic wilds of the Irish coast in a lean-to attached to a Victorian castle. He’s “the orphan of his former happiness”: his wife and two children are dead, leaving him isolated and confused.

Old God’s Time is in part a tale of unstable memories and the difficulty in telling your story as it disappears “into old God’s time,” as well as a tribute to enduring love and its ability to light up the dark. Kettle’s solitude is interrupted when two former colleagues turn up at his door to ask about a traumatic, decades-old case. It’s a case that Tom had never quite come to terms with. The facts of Kettle’s former life become increasingly hazy, allowing for suggestive, symbolic imagery. Kettle’s nine months of retirement are likened to a pregnancy.

Sebastian Barry (born 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2018–2021. He’s a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. Critics have called him one of Ireland’s most accomplished novelists, with a distinctive place in contemporary Irish culture.

This novel was kindly suggested to us by Kathy.

We're combining our discussion of a sumptuous 1913 classic with a pre-Christmas celebration, with wine and some seasonal food. I’ll be publishing more details about the meal arrangements nearer the time…

The book:
The refined daughter of a "good old burgher family", Gertrude Coppard meets a rough-hewn miner, Walter Morel, at a Christmas dance and falls into a whirlwind romance characterised by physical passion. But soon after her marriage to Walter, she realizes the difficulties of living off his inadequate salary in a rented house. The couple fight and drift apart, and Walter retreats to the pub after work each day. Mrs. Morel's affections gradually shift to her sons beginning with the oldest, William.

Sons and Lovers traces emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and his suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers, each of whom exerts complex influences on the development of his manhood.

While the novel was first met with allegations of obscenity, today it’s considered a masterpiece by many critics and is often regarded as Lawrence's finest achievement. The novel has been adapted several times… the image above is from a 2003 ITV production.

David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930 ) was the son of a Nottinghamshire miner. He qualified as a teacher at University College, Nottingham, moving to London in 1908. It was then that his writing career began to take off. “Sons and Lovers” was his second work, published after the death of his mother. His most notorious novel, “Lady Chatterley’ Lover” came later in his career in 1928, though it was not published in the UK until 1960, long after his death and only after a notorious obscenity trial.