City of the Mind

Rating:
Summary: A Travelogue Through the Streets of London
Review: Matthew Holland is an architect in his beloved city of London.
Penelope Lively has written a travelogue through the streets of London. We meet Brick Lane and King's Cross and so many of the famous streets and places that regale us of London.

Matthew is recently divorced, two years. He and his ex-wife, Susanhave a daughter, Jane. They love her tremendously, and both are worried how this divorce has affected her. They are trying to move on with their lives as difficult as it seems. Matthew is involving himself in his work and his new projects. He is busying his mind and his body. All the while he is also looking at the future. Around every corner of London he is searching for something, Is it himself or is it his life that he is searching for?

Into this lively part of Matthew's life the London he loves, Penelope Lively inserts scenes from the past. As Matthew constructs his new buildings, Lively inserts layers of history with stories that reflect the past. This is, in part, disconcerting, to have the story flow and then a new short story inserted. But, as the book proceeds we get used to this.

Matthew meets a young woman at a sandwich Shoppe. She is short of money, and he pays for the meal. He notices how pretty she is, but she moves out of his life. He thinks of her off and on, and the next time he goes into the shop he asks the shopkeeper who this girl is. He leaves his card, just in case she stops by. In the meanwhile he goes on with his life and his buildings and raising his daughter, Jane. He meets a rather unsavory character who buys land in whatever manner he can, and then builds whatever he wants. Matthew understands this is not the life he wants and this character has an unsettling effect on him. However, this man represents to Matthew the ugly side of London and he can move on. He and Sarah, the young woman in the sandwich shop do have a relationship. Will they fall in love, and will Matthew find the happiness he deserves?

This was not the type of novel I usually enjoy, and it was fragmented in several instances. I have enjoyed others of Penelope Lovely's books more than this one. This was a book to be enjoyed, but the character storyline was missing. I do want to reiterate though, that the reader who hasn't discovered Penelope Lively is missing one of the best contemporary novelists of our time. prisrob