Review: 'Grandmothers' by Salley Vickers

I first heard about this novel when it was listed somewhere as a must-read. Admittedly, that is how I find many of my reads, but Grandmothers is a novel I potentially wouldn't have picked up otherwise. I'm veyr glad I was inspired to, however, as Grandmothers was a surprisingly heartwarming read. Thanks to Penguin Books, Vintage and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 11/7/2019
Publisher: Penguin Books; Vintage

The new novel from Salley Vickers, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Librarian 

Grandmothers is the story of three very different women and their relationship with the younger generation: fiercely independent Nan, who leads a secret life as an award-winning poet when she is not teaching her grandson Billy how to lie; glamorous Blanche, deprived of the company of her beloved granddaughter Kitty by her hostile daughter-in-law, who finds solace in rebelliously taking to drink and shop lifting; and shy, bookish Minna who in the safety of shepherd's hut shares with her surrogate granddaughter Rose her passion for reading. The outlook of all three women subtly alters when through their encounters with each other they discover that the past is always with us and that we go on learning and changing until the very end. 

Grandmothers is a beautifully observed, sometimes subversive, often tender and elegiac novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Librarian. 

Grandmothers don't get half as much attention in fiction as they deserve. Fairy tales are full of dead mothers, evil step-mothers and kind godmothers, but grandmothers are rather sparse on the ground. I struggled to think of a novel I'd read where grandmothers, or grandparents for that matter, played a major role. One of the things I've enjoyed about living in China is seeing how interconnected the different generations of Chinese families are. Grandparents are very involved in the lives of their grandchildren, perhaps more so than where I grew up and I can definitely see the benefits of that. Of course there are downsides to that as well, as the very reason that grandparents are so involved is because the parents themselves have to work a lot and can therefore not be as present themselves. I also have extremely fond memories of my own grandparents and it is undeniable they played a large role in making me who I am. I find myself remembering things about my grandmothers on an almost daily basis, which both adds to my missing them but also soothes the ache of it.

In Grandmothers Vickers introduces us to three different "grandmothers". While only two of them are technically related to the children they care for, each of them is infused with the stubborn love and dedication that I remember from my own grandmothers. The strongest personality of the three is Nan, a secret poet with a tragic past who is perhaps unconventional in the lessons she teaches her grandson. Blanche is losing her way when the novel first starts, but as she retraces part of her history she connects more fully with herself once again. Finally, there's Minna, who provides a safe haven for her surrogate granddaughter and consistently tries her very hardest. Grandmothers is a beautiful insight into the life of women we don't often hear about. At times Grandmothers does veer into the unbelievable. The grandmothers don't know each other at the beginning of the novel, yet become connected through the oddest of circumstances. It gives the novel an almost fairy tale-like feeling which disconnects it slightly from reality. There is also a sense of, perhaps, entitlement to Vickers' grandmothers that I can imagine will rankle parental readers.

Grandmothers is very readable, largely because Vickers' writing is very uncomplicated. Although the feelings she discusses run deep, her protagonists are children and the elderly, which seems to have led her to a rather calm and simple reading style. There are some very imaginative moments in this novel which were beautifully described and were definite highlights for me. I read Grandmothers in a single day, settled down with a cup of tea and stormy weather outside and it made the perfect, cozy read. It is easy to agree with the grandmothers' sentiment that they are undervalued, even if upon a second look some fo their behavior is rather questionable. Nan, Blanche and Minna aren't always likeable or right and although this adds some depth to the story, it isn't enough to make it a novel whose ideas linger on after the last page.

I give this novel...

3 Universes!

Vickers' story kept me hooked, even if I didn't feel entirely engaged by it. Part of the novel's attraction is a sense of nostalgia, as many of us have grandparents we fondly remember. Grandmothers, however, did leave me wondering as to what it's message was.