Beth Bonini's Reviews > After Julius

This is a difficult novel to talk about without giving too much away - and it is important, I think, to let the storyline unfold without knowing too much about its various revelations. Author Hilary Mantel has spoken about how well-constructed Howard's plots are, and that is definitely the case with this novel. It all takes place over the course of a weekend visit, but the past is important - and with the exception of one outsider character - a young man called Dan - all of the other characters are closely bound. The three female characters are Esme, who is 58 - and her daughters Emma (27) and Cressy (37). In different ways, all three women are aimless and emotionally frozen; they have all been affected by the death of father and husband Julius - who died in the war - but it's more than that. The other male character is Felix - a doctor in his early 40s. Twenty years before, Felix had been having an affair with Esme, and this is the first time they have seen each other since a very abrupt ending.

Howard is wonderful at detail and atmosphere - everything from clothes, to manners, to interiors and dialogue. In many ways, this novel reads like a period piece; not just because of the way she captures post-war London, but more importantly in the way she describes the relationships between men and women. Having just read a biography of Howard, I was very aware of some of the parallels between the character of Cressy and Howard's own life. It makes for quite painful reading. The book could be described as a comedy (or more a tragedy) of manners, but the rawness and honesty of the emotions make it feel so much more than that. I felt quite devastated after the last few chapters.