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Rating: 
Summary: A unique book that focuses on unique issues
Review: 'Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont' certainly does not deserve the obscurity it has been languishing in .It is a clear and well-written book that focuses on the loneliness and loss of dignity of the elderly treated with just the correct does of sentimentality and humour .I would recommend the book strongly for it is written with a lot of heart and a strong understanding of human nature
Rating: 
Summary: "Odd behaviour always fascinates me."
Review: In Elizabeth Taylor's marvelous novel, "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" Mrs. Palfrey is an elderly widow with one daughter who lives in Scotland. Mrs. Palfrey has led a very interesting life--largely overseas with her husband. She has little in common with her only daughter or her only grandson, Desmond. Circumstances force Mrs. Palfrey to move into a third rate hotel in London, the Claremont, and she joins all the other elderly residents there. Just as Mrs. Palfrey has seen better days, so has the Claremont hotel. Its chief attraction seems to be that it has reasonable rates. The residents are a motley crew of lonely people. Mrs. Palfrey settles into the established routine of the hotel and learns that a common pastime is to watch the world go by through the hotel's revolving doors. Mrs. Palfrey comes to the conclusion that "the disaster of being old was in not feeling safe to venture anywhere, of seeing freedom put out of reach." The residents seldom venture out, and they rely on their disinterested relatives to visit or pick them up for a rare and precious outing. Residents mill around the vestibule where menus are posted an hour before meals. The daily menus rotate through standard offerings, but the residents find this is a high point of their day--"Menus offered a little choosing and satisfactions and disappointments, as once life had." Author Elizabeth Taylor creates at once a moving--and yet surprisingly unsentimental novel, full of grace, charm, and poignant humour. The characters in the hotel largely create the humour--inevitable spats and petty resentments between residents and management erupt from time to time, and residents resent and envy each other's guests. There's Mrs. de Salis--the youngster of the group at age 60. She annoys some of the residents because she never stops talking. Mrs. de Salis even has her own bookie, and Mrs. Palfrey finds this resident somewhat "actressy." There's Mr. Osmond "beset on all sides" with the female residents. He's obsessed with writing letters to the newspapers on various subjects including--"decimalization, fluoridation, artificial insemination, the migration of birds, racial integration, drugs and thuggery." The paper made the gross error of publishing a letter once, and this encouraged Mr. Osmond to write on an almost daily basis. Mr. Osmond likes to bend the ears of the long-suffering staff while he regales them with ribald stories. Mrs. Burton is the resident lush, and her drinking habits both fascinate and scandalize, and there's Mrs. Arbuthnot--she suffers from the pain of arthritis, and her suffering doesn't help her personality. One of the most hilariously funny scenes occurs one evening when the residents compete for attention with stories of their operations. Mrs. Palfrey accidentally meets a young, unemployed writer named Ludo who's struggling with his first novel. This chance meeting is the beginning of an odd friendship that means a great deal to both of them. Mrs. Palfrey is considered a nuisance and a bother by her family, and Ludo's relationship with his mother--a "woman of loose morals and worse than that untidy thinking" --leaves a lot to be desired. Ludo becomes a substitute for Mrs. Palfrey's absent grandson, and Mrs. Palfrey assumes a substantial role in Ludo's life. "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is simply one of the best books I've read in ages. I loved its coziness, and admired its lack of sentimentality. Unfortunately most of this author's books are out-of-print for some insane reason, but this will not be the last Elizabeth Taylor book I read--displacedhuman
Rating:
Summary: "Odd behaviour always fascinates me."
Review: In Elizabeth Taylor's marvelous novel, "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" Mrs. Palfrey is an elderly widow with one daughter who lives in Scotland. Mrs. Palfrey has led a very interesting life--largely overseas with her husband. She has little in common with her only daughter or her only grandson, Desmond. Circumstances force Mrs. Palfrey to move into a third rate hotel in London, the Claremont, and she joins all the other elderly residents there. Just as Mrs. Palfrey has seen better days, so has the Claremont hotel. Its chief attraction seems to be that it has reasonable rates. The residents are a motley crew of lonely people. Mrs. Palfrey settles into the established routine of the hotel and learns that a common pastime is to watch the world go by through the hotel's revolving doors. Mrs. Palfrey comes to the conclusion that "the disaster of being old was in not feeling safe to venture anywhere, of seeing freedom put out of reach." The residents seldom venture out, and they rely on their disinterested relatives to visit or pick them up for a rare and precious outing. Residents mill around the vestibule where menus are posted an hour before meals. The daily menus rotate through standard offerings, but the residents find this is a high point of their day--"Menus offered a little choosing and satisfactions and disappointments, as once life had." Author Elizabeth Taylor creates at once a moving--and yet surprisingly unsentimental novel, full of grace, charm, and poignant humour. The characters in the hotel largely create the humour--inevitable spats and petty resentments between residents and management erupt from time to time, and residents resent and envy each other's guests. There's Mrs. de Salis--the youngster of the group at age 60. She annoys some of the residents because she never stops talking. Mrs. de Salis even has her own bookie, and Mrs. Palfrey finds this resident somewhat "actressy." There's Mr. Osmond "beset on all sides" with the female residents. He's obsessed with writing letters to the newspapers on various subjects including--"decimalization, fluoridation, artificial insemination, the migration of birds, racial integration, drugs and thuggery." The paper made the gross error of publishing a letter once, and this encouraged Mr. Osmond to write on an almost daily basis. Mr. Osmond likes to bend the ears of the long-suffering staff while he regales them with ribald stories. Mrs. Burton is the resident lush, and her drinking habits both fascinate and scandalize, and there's Mrs. Arbuthnot--she suffers from the pain of arthritis, and her suffering doesn't help her personality. One of the most hilariously funny scenes occurs one evening when the residents compete for attention with stories of their operations. Mrs. Palfrey accidentally meets a young, unemployed writer named Ludo who's struggling with his first novel. This chance meeting is the beginning of an odd friendship that means a great deal to both of them. Mrs. Palfrey is considered a nuisance and a bother by her family, and Ludo's relationship with his mother--a "woman of loose morals and worse than that untidy thinking" --leaves a lot to be desired. Ludo becomes a substitute for Mrs. Palfrey's absent grandson, and Mrs. Palfrey assumes a substantial role in Ludo's life. "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is simply one of the best books I've read in ages. I loved its coziness, and admired its lack of sentimentality. Unfortunately most of this author's books are out-of-print for some insane reason, but this will not be the last Elizabeth Taylor book I read--displacedhuman
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