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Rating: 
Summary: A bit of a disappointment
Review: In the novel, "Loving Without Tears" Angel is a 47 year old widow with two children--Julian and blossoming 18 year old Slaney. Angel has managed to surround herself with people who will do her bidding, and run her domestic life efficiently while she selfishly manipulates them to never leave her side. WWII took Julian away, but as the book begins, Julian is expected home. Angel, Slaney, Oliver (the Owlbeg estate manager), Finn Barr (handyman/butler), Birdie (Housekeeper), and Tiddley (cousin) all wait impatiently for Julian to arrive home and for life to resume. Julian, however, returns with fiancee, Sally, an American widow. Sally's presence and Julian's new relationship throw Angel's plans into complete disarray. Angel and Sally are immediately at war, and the prize is Julian. As I read this book, I remembered the play "Dinner At Eight." The novel "Loving Without Tears" reminds me of that play--the novel has the same sort of pacing, and the main character, Angel, seems to have walked straight off of the set of a 30s drama. She's overdressed, pretentious, and somehow or another has managed to hoodwink everyone in her life in this conspiracy that she's some sort of idol. Everyone worships her, but no one likes her. The main problem with the novel is its execution--I tend to find nasty characters far more interesting than nice ones, but if they're nasty, they at least have to be interesting, and wit helps. And Angel is ... well, boring. There is little or no introspection. She is simply shallow, selfish, and vain. At the same time, the other characters are rather flat and uninteresting too. The story had a promising plot, but it really failed to interest me. "Loving Without Tears" was a tremendous disappointment after the perfection of "Time After Time"--displacedhuman
Rating:
Summary: A bit of a disappointment
Review: In the novel, "Loving Without Tears" Angel is a 47 year old widow with two children--Julian and blossoming 18 year old Slaney. Angel has managed to surround herself with people who will do her bidding, and run her domestic life efficiently while she selfishly manipulates them to never leave her side. WWII took Julian away, but as the book begins, Julian is expected home. Angel, Slaney, Oliver (the Owlbeg estate manager), Finn Barr (handyman/butler), Birdie (Housekeeper), and Tiddley (cousin) all wait impatiently for Julian to arrive home and for life to resume. Julian, however, returns with fiancee, Sally, an American widow. Sally's presence and Julian's new relationship throw Angel's plans into complete disarray. Angel and Sally are immediately at war, and the prize is Julian. As I read this book, I remembered the play "Dinner At Eight." The novel "Loving Without Tears" reminds me of that play--the novel has the same sort of pacing, and the main character, Angel, seems to have walked straight off of the set of a 30s drama. She's overdressed, pretentious, and somehow or another has managed to hoodwink everyone in her life in this conspiracy that she's some sort of idol. Everyone worships her, but no one likes her. The main problem with the novel is its execution--I tend to find nasty characters far more interesting than nice ones, but if they're nasty, they at least have to be interesting, and wit helps. And Angel is ... well, boring. There is little or no introspection. She is simply shallow, selfish, and vain. At the same time, the other characters are rather flat and uninteresting too. The story had a promising plot, but it really failed to interest me. "Loving Without Tears" was a tremendous disappointment after the perfection of "Time After Time"--displacedhuman
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