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Coral Glynn  By  cover art

Coral Glynn

By: Peter Cameron
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
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Publisher's summary

Coral Glynn arrives at Hart House, an isolated manse in the English countryside, early in the very wet spring of 1950, to nurse the elderly Mrs. Hart. Hart House is also inhabited by a perpetually disgruntled housekeeper and Major Clement Hart, Mrs. Hart's war-ravaged son, who is struggling to come to terms with his latent homosexuality.

When a child's game goes violently awry in the woods surrounding Hart House, a great shadow - love, perhaps - descends upon its inhabitants. Like the misguided child's play, other seemingly random events propel Coral and Clement into the dark thicket of marriage. Coral Glynn explores how quickly need and desire can blossom into love, and just as quickly transform into something less categorical.

©2012 Peter Cameron (P)2012 Dreamscape Media, LLC

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

"We All Want More But Few of Us Get It"

I am very fond of gothic elements in my novels and also enjoy books about manners. Coral Glynn: A Novel by Peter Cameron is rife with both. It is dark, brooding and has an eerie sensibility.

The novel begins in 1952 with Coral Glynn, a visiting nurse, arriving at Hart House to care for the aging and dying Mrs. Hart. She has terminal cancer and is not expected to live very long. The house is also inhabited by her son, Major Clement Hart, who was seriously burned and had his legs injured in World War II. Also residing there is a sour-mannered housekeeper and cook named Mrs. Prence. Shortly after Mrs. Hart dies, Clement begins a relationship with Coral and they decide to marry quickly.

On a walk in the woods near Hart House, Coral runs into two children playing a 'game' that is very sadistic. A girl is tied up to a tree with her hands and legs bound. A 10 year-old boy is throwing acorns and pine cones at her. She has abrasions on her face and body. Coral is drawn to the scene by the animalistic cries of the girl. When Coral arrives there, the children state that they are just playing and that she has nothing to be concerned about. Unfortunately, Coral does not report this to the police and this has dire consequences for her.

Clement has a close friend, Robin, a man he has known since childhood, who is in love with him. It is alluded that the two of them had a homosexual affair when they were younger. However, Robin is married to an exuberant woman named Dolly who tries to take Coral under her wing. Coral confides in her and the advice she gets is not helpful to her well-being. There is the air of repressed sexuality between Robin and Clement throughout the book though Clement refuses to discuss the past and Robin wants to bring it up.

The marriage goes as planned but shortly afterwards everything goes awry and, because of the incident in the woods and a past incident in Coral's life, she gets in trouble with the police. Clement and she agree that it is best for her to go to London immediately and correspond with him through Dolly and Robin.

Coral is not a vivacious woman nor does she have the qualities that draw people to her emotionally. She is lonely, frightened and all alone in the world. She is an orphan and her brother was killed in World War II. She is, however, attractive. Basically, she is a lost soul. "Who knew what one wanted and what one didn't want?" Coral devotes most of her life to nursing and appears to have no other interests. Her relationship with Clement is dry and malnourished. There is no passion nor is there any drive.

The book has a very unexpected ending which I loved. It put things more into perspective regarding Coral and showed a part of her personality that was not in evidence during the rest of the book.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit but I had to ask myself at the end, what does this all mean? What is the lesson I am learning and what is the intent of the author? Perhaps the intent of Mr. Cameron is to tell his story and no more. The story speaks for itself and leaves the reader scratching his head but smiling at the same time because of the enjoyment gleaned from the telling.

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Weak

Weak, hesitant, unconfident, timid, unassertive, boring, frustrating are words I would use to describe nearly every character in this book.

Maybe because of this I missed the point of the story but really couldn't find one. Thankfully it was only 6 hours long or I would have given up on it. I just wanted to give everyone some Zoloft and see if they could be even a tiny bit happier with life.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

strange seed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Coral confused me. I would have liked to gain a better understanding of her personality. It seemed like it ended abruptly.

Would you be willing to try another book from Peter Cameron? Why or why not?

Yes but I wouldn't seek one out.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I felt there could have been more to it. I did not undersand her relationship in the end. It didn't seen to fit into the story.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A pleasant surprise

I listened to this after hearing a radio review compare it to Jane Eyre and though the stories aren't similar per se, I was not disappointed. It was if the story were going to explode at certain points there were so many people straining to be polite and NOT saying what was on their minds. A great listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A sleeper!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This novel starts slowly and as the characters develop, it gathers interest and momentum. The plot starts out as a predictable ho- hum comedy of manners and things spin off in an unpredicted direction. The reader at first sounded hopelessly pompous to me, but by the end, I felt that the reading style complemented the writing.

I recommend this little jewel for anyone who has a six hour drive or six hour plane flight. Fun, fun, fun.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Coral Glynn?

The epilogue was quite effective.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

See above. I am not especially predisposed to like this kind of Brit accent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The two main characters meet in London after some time apart.

Any additional comments?

See above.

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