Claire Fuller's Reviews > After Julius

I love EJH's writing and this was no exception. Two adult daughters go home to their mother's house for the weekend, one of them bringing with her a stray poet she's picked up. Also staying is their mother's old lover, and so the stage is set for a disasterous weekend. Her characterisation is perfect, as are the minor surprises along the way. What didn't work so well was the ending: I felt that EJH wanted everyone to end happy(ish), and so it felt surprising and rushed. It's also very of it's time (view spoiler)[ The two daughters having found love / marriage, promptly give up their jobs, and one of them is very roughly (as in physically) persuaded to have sex, which I think would be written very differently these days. (hide spoiler)]
In the middle we learn the story of how Julius the father / husband died, and it is a very poignant story.