Mariana

Currently reading: Persephone No 2 - Mariana by Monica Dickens

"When Mary went downstairs, Denys was in the hall, finishing a drink. 'Can I have one?' asked Mary, to prolong the time in which they would be alone together. He ordered two cocktails and then they each had another, and by the time Mary pushed through the revolving doors into the street, she felt very light-hearted; and as if her cheek bones were higher than usual, and she must smile."

After seeing this book described as being a funny, readable, perceptive account of a girl, Mary, encountering life and love, I was really expecting to be engrossed by an enjoyable read but was disappointed. The ending had me gripped, as did the account of the 8 year old Mary getting herself home by tube from central London late at night, but the bulk of the book was just tedious. Mary did not come across as likeable so I didn't really care what happened to her.

Mary's mother's life as a widowed single parent, who "bluffed her way into the job of teaching dressmaking at a Domestic Science College" and by the end of the book is owner of a dress shop in South Molten Street, would have made a far more interesting tale!