Tremain's new novel is Trespass. Set in the Cevennes region of France, Trespass is about grotesque family relationships, collusion, shame, deception, land disputes, revenge with a capital R and a nasty discovery on the river bank. Successful garden designer Veronica Verey and her less successful painter partner Kitty are among the many Brits who have made this area their second home. Veronica's brother Anthony is a rich, disillusioned, 60-ish retired antiques dealer who moves in with Veronica and Kitty while he hunts for a suitable home/showcase in the area for his beloved antiques. His interest in possibly purchasing a dilapidated farmhouse is the catalyst for the events of the novel. It was the childhood home of siblings Aramon and Audrun. Aramon is an addict letting alcohol lay waste to his life. Audrun is surrounded by cocoon of bitterness and destruction. The setting being England in the 1660s, alongside the characters’ story, we see also the plague and the fire of London. We observe not only the antics of the king, but also the life of the poor and the insane. The tale draws you in. The atmosphere of the times is captured, in the guise of an engaging story. The second half of “Restoration” is much different from the first with Tremain focusing more on the story than of the deeper character study of the first half. Although this doesn’t significantly decrease the merit of “Restoration”; it does somewhat change the impact of the writing. The writing style does its job: it tells the story. Usually we think of the story as plot. There is a plot here, but, for me, it was the vehicle for giving us characterization. I wasn't very far into this when I thought "Finally! Again I have a book that is more characterization than plot." I'm glad there are all types of books that I read because of one of these three elements (writing style, characterization, plot) but I realized with this how much I have missed good characterizations. Although subjective, I found the descriptions of Merivel’s dreams/nightmares to be tedious and not necessary to the plot. Not only do these not add depth, but Tremain over utilizes the tactic.

Trespass by Rose Tremain | Goodreads

Most is believable, except for the end and a few other details, for example a man with a visible heart that can be touched. Which is where I want to send these goddamned woman novelists who, when they are absent an idea, think it's perfectly okay to portray their fellow women as victimvictimvictim of horrible, slimy men. It's shouting down the well to say this, but do you not see, Womankind, that this is INSULTING TO *YOU*?!? No woman I know...not one, without exception...is a victimvictimvictim by virtue of her womanliness. Each and every one of the women I know is strong and capable. I resent on their behalf the unquestioned rightness of this kind of claptrap built on the false dichotomy between male abuser and female abused. The only quibble I have with this book is a maddening habit of Tremain’s to write "and now he, Anthony" or "now that she, Kitty...." when we know who’s being written about. The reference is distracting. Even though grammatically correct, this habit really got on my nerves and it reminded me of something a lesser writer would do, not someone of Tremain’s status.With wonderful skill, [Tremain] shows the ripples that circle these two unhappy people...brilliantly evoked Sarah Hayes, Tablet One of the things I liked about this book was that despite the presence of many bitter and/or disturbed, destructive people. the book held on to a meaningful sense of hope about the world, beauty, and human life. The characters in Trespass are vivid and sometimes downright awful but they are not cardboard figures that can be simply dismissed. Even the children, including the bullied Melodie while being (to me) generally unlikable, show glimmers of beauty and potential to growth. Prison can be, in some ways at least, a place of growth and loss can both cripple and release, sometimes both at the same time. Trespass" is a dark book, not the one I could love, and still I couldn't help but admire the author's capacity to create these dark characters which I feel will haunt me for a long time now.

Rose Tremain - Book Series In Order Rose Tremain - Book Series In Order

Most splendidly narrated by Rupert Degas, we are introduced to the young Robert Merivel and his rise and fall through glittering seventeenth-century society. Tremain expertly maintains the suspense. As one would expect from so gifted a storyteller...much more is on offer than the pleasures of detection Pamela Norris, Literary Review I've obviously heard of Tremain before, if only because I've noticed a sizeable line of her books in a book shop every now and then. I knew about the volume of work but I couldn't have told you anything about the subject matter. Onto that subject matter... You may be familiar with the Restoration and Charles II. Or maybe not. Regardless, Rose Tremain gives this historical period double-meaning in her novel, “Restoration”. Trespass revolves around five middle aged characters: two French siblings, Audrun and Aramon, who share a secret past, an English garden designer and writer, Veronica, and her lover, a mediocre watercolorist, Kitty, as well as Veronica’s brother, Anthony Verey, a London antiques dealer in his middle sixties, who has come to France to try to salvage what’s left of his life. While Audrun and Aramon are more or less estranged, Veronica and Anthony have remained very close.The Publisher Says: In a silent valley in southern France stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Aramon, the owner, is so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London. When he sets his sights on the Mas, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion. Along the way, Tremain gives us a history lesson of the Cévennes. She tells us about the decline of the once thriving silk industry, the poor working conditions Audrun once endured in the underwear factory in Ruasse, the way the Cévenol people never hoped for more than what they already had. But it’s the sense of isolation, of ever-present menace that really captures the spirit of the area and adds to the darkness of this book. The woods of holm oak and beech and chestnut and pine are lovely, but Tremain never lets us forget that its loveliness is fraught with danger. This could have been awful, but it is rather good and there are some very funny passages; watch out for the Indian Nightingale and Merivel's attempts at painting (inventing impressionism in the 1660s only to be ridiculed). Audrun, however, living in her shabby bungalow, can’t bear to leave the land she loves despite the fact that the Mas Lunel holds many bitter memories for her. In fact, possessing the mas is the one thing that keeps Audrun going from day-to-day.