THE VIEW FROM TOWER HILL

by John Braine ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1970

Let's be kind to each other, pet, because nobody else is going to be."" -- thus one of Clive Lendrick's two mistresses in a novel of adultery in which none of the characters encourage kindness and Mr. Braine himself seems to waver somewhere between censure and consent. In fact ever since he hit the Top, calculation has yielded to compromise and incentive to complacency. What could be more complacent than the marriage of Clive and Robin who have money, looks, children and the home at Tower Hill which they fill with Victorian furniture. Going on into the second decade, however, the holes in the lace antimacassars become only too apparent -- there is a need for excitement elsewhere which Robin finds with an early lover and Clive finds with the sharp-nailed Vicky and momentarily with the artsy-bookish Ruth. Throughout the price tags of class and the misgivings of middle age (which Braine can notch with such fidelity) only emphasize the limitations of all of his participants. He returns Clive wisely, after some mawkish and ugly scenes, to Robin and Tower Hill, endorsing the creature comforts which it represents. It may be just this glossy illusion of substance which makes Mr. Braine's novels as readable as they are.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward-McCann

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1970

Categories: FICTION