For the first half of this novel the focus is on the Mayhoods, a young couple, Arthur and Florence, both architects. It is England in 1952 but they are keen disciples of ‘organic architecture’ as set out by American legend of the profession, Frank Lloyd Wright. To that end they combine their nascent practice with developing and running a small farm.
We get some back story, and it is Arthur’s that is relevant. He is an ex-Borstal boy made good, and he wants to give others the same chance. He recruits a couple of apprentices from a correctional institute, who happen to be siblings, Charlie and Joyce Savigear. As they settle in, the focus changes to the Savigears. Again there is a back story, but it is Joyce’s continuing connections to the criminal fraternity that takes the plot forward.
The 1950’s setting has an
authentic period feel to it and the prose is easy on the eye. The insight
provided into the Borstal system is interesting to a point, less so the
architectural practice backdrop. The characters of Arthur, Florence, Charlie,
and Joyce are well drawn, but it is only Joyce’s criminal escapades that lift
the plot above the mundane. Not even a late cameo appearance by Frank Lloyd
Wright himself saves the, to me, rather limp ending.
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