Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Penguin (2010), Paperback, 272 pages
Description
All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn at their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create a real old-fashioned family life. But beneath its postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention.
Media reviews
In 16 distinct chapters, from various, smoothly spliced points of view, Lively moves back and forth through the family's history, filling in events that explain apparently casual references....
The success of these chapters is uneven, but several of them are brilliant, full of glancing humor and
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spot-on truths about the way families maintain the peace through a process of willful ignorance and disciplined forgetfulness. Show Less
Lively immediately plunges us into an entirely convincing world of bustling family life, yet at the same time keeps her distance with lethally sharp observations, and a tendency to watch more effectively than to inhabit. The novel follows no linear progression and has little plot: it swirls between
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memories, hints, and snapshots of later life, yet it is unflaggingly compelling....
Family Album manages to intrigue and delight, and to keep the reader captivated, racing along without obvious direction but with a very tight sense of purpose. The narrative is distanced to an extreme degree: we are reading an anthropological study of the English middle classes from the 1970s to the present, their traditions and tribal habits causing winces of delighted, uncomfortable recognition. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member vancouverdeb
Penelope Lively is gifted with the ability of acute observation, both of characters and the seemingly mundane activities of domestic life. Her writing is suffused with wit and sensitivity, and while the story is not plot driven, I was captivated throughout the read.
Allersmead, a large Edwardian
Father Charles is a somewhat detached husband and father, busy writing books on other societies, including how such societies raise their children. He ponders on societies where " the care and supervision of the children is more or less a collective affair." " The kibbutz has always seemed to him to have been a an eminently sensible arrangement" , as have African Tribal systems" in which all women keep an eye on all children, and men get on with whatever they do." p 37. From those quotes, you can get a good idea of Charles parenting style .
In contrast, Alison is an " earth mother". p19 "For Allison, Allersmead is a kind of glowing archetypal hearth, and she it's guardian." " All she ever wanted was children, a house in which to stow them , and a husband of course" p33.
As the story opens all of the children have grown up and left Allersmead. Interestingly none have children of their own, and all live lives very independent of one another. The family is far flung , physically and psychologically. Only Charles, Alison and the au pair, Ingrid remain at Allersmead,. Paul, the eldest son who tends to run into trouble, comes and goes from the family home.
Gina,aged 39, makes one of her rare returns home with her boyfriend Philip. Philip,the product of a very ordinary two child family, is fascinated by the large family that grew up at Allersmead, and so the recollections of family life begin. That sets off the individual and collective memories of all six of the children who grew up at Allersmead, each one with his / her own chapter though written in the third person.
The dynamics of the family in the past, present and future are captivating. Yes, there is somewhat of a dark , shadowy secret to the family , which, as in most families, is pretty much universally known to all, but never openly acknowledged.
It's always the mark of a fabulous writer , like Penelope Lively, when spot on observations and wit can keep the reader glued to the pages , while seemingly dealing with the mundane.
5 stars
Allersmead, a large Edwardian
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House in Britain, is where parents Charles and Alison Harper raised their six children, Paul, Gina, Sandra, Roger, Katie and Clare. The family also employed an " au pair" Ingrid, who interestingly remains with the parents long after all of the children have grown up and left home. Father Charles is a somewhat detached husband and father, busy writing books on other societies, including how such societies raise their children. He ponders on societies where " the care and supervision of the children is more or less a collective affair." " The kibbutz has always seemed to him to have been a an eminently sensible arrangement" , as have African Tribal systems" in which all women keep an eye on all children, and men get on with whatever they do." p 37. From those quotes, you can get a good idea of Charles parenting style .
In contrast, Alison is an " earth mother". p19 "For Allison, Allersmead is a kind of glowing archetypal hearth, and she it's guardian." " All she ever wanted was children, a house in which to stow them , and a husband of course" p33.
As the story opens all of the children have grown up and left Allersmead. Interestingly none have children of their own, and all live lives very independent of one another. The family is far flung , physically and psychologically. Only Charles, Alison and the au pair, Ingrid remain at Allersmead,. Paul, the eldest son who tends to run into trouble, comes and goes from the family home.
Gina,aged 39, makes one of her rare returns home with her boyfriend Philip. Philip,the product of a very ordinary two child family, is fascinated by the large family that grew up at Allersmead, and so the recollections of family life begin. That sets off the individual and collective memories of all six of the children who grew up at Allersmead, each one with his / her own chapter though written in the third person.
The dynamics of the family in the past, present and future are captivating. Yes, there is somewhat of a dark , shadowy secret to the family , which, as in most families, is pretty much universally known to all, but never openly acknowledged.
It's always the mark of a fabulous writer , like Penelope Lively, when spot on observations and wit can keep the reader glued to the pages , while seemingly dealing with the mundane.
5 stars
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LibraryThing member JanetinLondon
This book shows a family’s past from the points of view of its three adults and six children, now grown up. Each person gets a chapter, some get more than one, and some key elements of their family “story” are told, sometimes from more than one character’s point of view. Gradually, more and
The jacket made it sound like there was some really terrible dark secret in their past which would be revealed and which accounted for the terribly damaged lives of the adult children. It sounded intriguing. Except….nothing really all that terrible happened, and, with one exception, the adult children seemed to be doing perfectly well. True, none of them were interested in becoming parents themselves, but they were mostly still quite young. None of them were serial killers, suicide bombers, religious fanatics, or child pornographers.
Okay, there were six kids, so they may not have always had all the attention they might have wanted. Okay, one was a bit mean and injured another deliberately when they were very young. Okay, their mother was more controlling than is ideal, as she pursued her own vision of a “happy family”. Okay, the father was generally pretty distant emotionally, and was very unsupportive of the eldest son, which did lead the son to have some problems. Okay, the big ones picked on the little ones and scared them sometimes. None of this is so unusual, or so evil. And the one “big secret” – big deal. I was expecting something BIG – murder, incest, child abuse, hidden insanity. I just wasn’t all that shocked, and I didn’t even get the impression that the kids were all that shocked.
I also felt the characters were a bit two-dimensional – there’s the “clever” one, the “glamorous” one, the “confused” one, etc. And the adults’ motivations were never fully explained, not even in their own chapters, so they never really made sense to me, just like they never did to their children (if that was the point of the book, to leave me as ignorant as the kids, it’s a pretty stupid one in my opinion.) Not much insight, at least not for me.
The book’s message seemed to be that on one ever knows the whole truth about someone else – how they feel, why they do what they do. Also, and maybe because of this, no matter how hard you try, no family can ever be perfect, and there’s always some damage done to everyone by events in their childhood. I think we all know this already, and for me the whole thing was a big “so what”.
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more detail is revealed. The jacket made it sound like there was some really terrible dark secret in their past which would be revealed and which accounted for the terribly damaged lives of the adult children. It sounded intriguing. Except….nothing really all that terrible happened, and, with one exception, the adult children seemed to be doing perfectly well. True, none of them were interested in becoming parents themselves, but they were mostly still quite young. None of them were serial killers, suicide bombers, religious fanatics, or child pornographers.
Okay, there were six kids, so they may not have always had all the attention they might have wanted. Okay, one was a bit mean and injured another deliberately when they were very young. Okay, their mother was more controlling than is ideal, as she pursued her own vision of a “happy family”. Okay, the father was generally pretty distant emotionally, and was very unsupportive of the eldest son, which did lead the son to have some problems. Okay, the big ones picked on the little ones and scared them sometimes. None of this is so unusual, or so evil. And the one “big secret” – big deal. I was expecting something BIG – murder, incest, child abuse, hidden insanity. I just wasn’t all that shocked, and I didn’t even get the impression that the kids were all that shocked.
I also felt the characters were a bit two-dimensional – there’s the “clever” one, the “glamorous” one, the “confused” one, etc. And the adults’ motivations were never fully explained, not even in their own chapters, so they never really made sense to me, just like they never did to their children (if that was the point of the book, to leave me as ignorant as the kids, it’s a pretty stupid one in my opinion.) Not much insight, at least not for me.
The book’s message seemed to be that on one ever knows the whole truth about someone else – how they feel, why they do what they do. Also, and maybe because of this, no matter how hard you try, no family can ever be perfect, and there’s always some damage done to everyone by events in their childhood. I think we all know this already, and for me the whole thing was a big “so what”.
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LibraryThing member queencersei
Allsmead is a large Georgian style home in the British countryside and serves as the main setting for Family Album. Allison and Charles fill Allsmead with their brood of six children. Troubled Paul, intelligent Gina, fashionable Sandra, inquisitive Roger, docile Kate and athletic Clare. Allison is
As the Allsmead children grow up they each seem slightly repelled and embarrassed by their large family. And at the heart, is a secret that everyone in the family knows, but is never openly discussed. Readers may ultimately be let down as the family secret is slowly revealed and confused as to exactly how the six children think they had it so bad growing up. By the end of the novel it is clear that despite what they may think, the Allsmead children had it pretty good and the family secret really isn’t that extraordinary or worth keeping.
Family Album is beautifully written. And as it comes in at under 300 pages, author Penelope Lively does a deft job of fleshing out her many characters. If anything Family Album may be too short of a novel. The Allison, Charles, Ingrid sub-plot could have certainly used more fleshing out. But overall the story flows very well.
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the earth mother. All she wanted out of life was a big family and a home large enough to put them in. An exquisite cook, Allison is happiest with her brood of children around and Au Pair Ingrid at her side. Charles is a writer, who seems bewildered and put off by his family and reacts to domesticity by either ignoring it or turning to sarcasm. As the Allsmead children grow up they each seem slightly repelled and embarrassed by their large family. And at the heart, is a secret that everyone in the family knows, but is never openly discussed. Readers may ultimately be let down as the family secret is slowly revealed and confused as to exactly how the six children think they had it so bad growing up. By the end of the novel it is clear that despite what they may think, the Allsmead children had it pretty good and the family secret really isn’t that extraordinary or worth keeping.
Family Album is beautifully written. And as it comes in at under 300 pages, author Penelope Lively does a deft job of fleshing out her many characters. If anything Family Album may be too short of a novel. The Allison, Charles, Ingrid sub-plot could have certainly used more fleshing out. But overall the story flows very well.
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LibraryThing member juli1357
This was my first experience reading Penelope Lively and I was very disappointed. If this hadn't been a book club selection, I would have given up half way through. Reading "Family Album" is the literary equivalent of watching paint dry. This is a book about families and the secrets we keep. The
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problem with FA is that between the third person writing style and the lack of response/quiet acceptance demonstrated by all members of the family, the reader ends up feeling very detached from the story. I didn't identify with any of these characters and I could have cared less what happened to them, including the death of a central character at the end of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member cat-ballou
To put this review in context, I read a galley. It was free. I liked the book quite a bit - enough to keep the galley, but not enough to spend more than $20 on a new book. Take what you will from that.
LibraryThing member nyiper
Making your way back and forth from the present to the past and back again through the eyes of different family members makes for a fascinating story. The audio version was wonderful. Alison. the mother, is a sort of Martha Stewart-like embodiment, striving for a constantly wonderful picture of a
As an added note to some comments in the other reviews, the audio version provides a completely different feeling about the family members---hearing their voices adds to their complexity and believability.
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perfect family in a perfect house with perfect food, etc., etc. But then there are the pieces of reality that keep happening, trying to disrupt her efforts. The secrets used to keep the picture perfect make for a psychological study of what it means to "be" this particular family.As an added note to some comments in the other reviews, the audio version provides a completely different feeling about the family members---hearing their voices adds to their complexity and believability.
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LibraryThing member theageofsilt
This was an enjoyable read. The family home, Allersmeade, is a much a character as the parents, au pair and six children. I was a bit bothered that the father, Charles, is never given a voice. I felt like he was "off the hook" in taking responsibility for the family situation. This is not a book
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for anyone looking for a compelling plot. It is about family dynamics and a secret that everyone knows and no one cares to discuss. Show Less
LibraryThing member pak6th
The six children of Alison and Charles have grown into adulthood, and scattered like the wind but the family keeps drawing them back. They remember glorious days of childhood, being loved and protected, playing in the garden and the dungeon like cellars, watching their parents and their au pair
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Ingrid interact. But there is a family secret, and as each discovers it each must reform their sense of family. Show Less
LibraryThing member nocto
Penelope Lively is definitely one of my must read authors of the moment. I loved this rambling tale of family life.
LibraryThing member janglen
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in a single day. It focuses on family dynamics and memory of childhood. The stories told by the characters are often about quite ordinary childhood incidents but each is used to reveal something more about the family as a whole. I found it totally
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absorbing. Show Less
LibraryThing member jackiemcd
The author has a nice style of writing and her story lines completely catch you up. Try any of her books, you won't be disappointed. [Aleta, patron]
LibraryThing member ltimmel
I loved this book-- most particularly in the way the writing conveyed the gestalt of one (large) nuclear family's life across decades, rich with concurrent memories conveyed through the voices of all it's members (some more than others, of course). I liked that this family's mysteries (and of
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course every family has its mysteries, never clearly elucidated in one clear, unambiguous "truth") are acknowledged and poked at but never revealed in some definitive form. A beautiful, though reserved, piece of writing--and provocative, as all beautifully written prose must be. I had the curious thought, throughout, that the mother, "Allison," reminded me of the characters played by Allison Steadman in Mike Leigh's films-- and that this family might have been one of Mike Leigh's families. Show Less
LibraryThing member jaaron
A large family -- six children, two parents, one au pair, who oddly remains through the children's growing up -- in an Edwardian mansion that is almost the main character. At least a chapter is devoted to each child as he or she grows up, as well as shorter chapters spent on parents and au pair.
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Some are fairly engrossing, others, less so. A bit formulaic, but hard to put down. A much better job explicating the children than the parents. Show Less
LibraryThing member ccayne
I loved this book when I was reading it. I was captivated by the characters and the setting. When I was done, I was filled with questions. Alison and Charles, parents of six, along with Ingrid the perpetual au pair and more all within the walls of Allersmead. The children are all grown and look
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back at their childhood. What struck me was this all seemed to be Alison's vision of family which she imposed on everyone, like it of not. That vision was the guiding force - not the individuals who were the family. Ironically, in the end, there didn't seem to be much family. Most of the children did not keep in touch with each other or their parents. Alison and Charles did not have much of a marriage. Alison and Ingrid had a better partnership, despite the fact that Ingrid was the mother of the youngest child in the family. The value of each child as an individual didn't seem to exist - they were just part of the whole. Charles was a man on his own lurking in the family home - writing, sometimes drinking, isolated either by Alison's overwhelming vision or by his own choice. There didn't seem to be any one thing which led to all the children, except Paul, removing themselves from the family but there it was. It's a very interesting book. Show Less
LibraryThing member DubaiReader
Astutely written.
This was an interesting study of a large family in rural England, living in an old, crumbling mansion. I loved the earth mother, Alison, devoted to her children, whose only aim in life was to be matriarch to a large family.
Her husband, Charles, was a somewhat cliched version of the
The six children also had the support of Ingrid, an au pair, who had been with the family for years and still remained, even after all the children had left.
This is a largely character driven novel, with the old house, Allersmead, looming large in the background.
Each person has a chapter of their own, providing back-story and further details, but do we really need quite so much information? As an audiobook, it was a bit confusing and I would probably have awarded an extra star if I'd been reading it rather than listening, simply because of the complexity of the family relationships.
As the, now adult, children come home to visit Ingrid and their parents, we start to see the flaws in the family dynamics. In addition, we are drawn forward by the knowledge that there is a family secret to eventually be revealed.
Not a gripping story but entertaining for the astute observations that Ms Lively provides. We are the fly on the wall as these nine people interact through the years.
This was an interesting study of a large family in rural England, living in an old, crumbling mansion. I loved the earth mother, Alison, devoted to her children, whose only aim in life was to be matriarch to a large family.
Her husband, Charles, was a somewhat cliched version of the
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distant father, surrounded by constant noise and hubbub, yet almost unaware of it. Somewhat ironically, he was an anthropologist, studying the interactions of distant societies and how they raised their children.The six children also had the support of Ingrid, an au pair, who had been with the family for years and still remained, even after all the children had left.
This is a largely character driven novel, with the old house, Allersmead, looming large in the background.
Each person has a chapter of their own, providing back-story and further details, but do we really need quite so much information? As an audiobook, it was a bit confusing and I would probably have awarded an extra star if I'd been reading it rather than listening, simply because of the complexity of the family relationships.
As the, now adult, children come home to visit Ingrid and their parents, we start to see the flaws in the family dynamics. In addition, we are drawn forward by the knowledge that there is a family secret to eventually be revealed.
Not a gripping story but entertaining for the astute observations that Ms Lively provides. We are the fly on the wall as these nine people interact through the years.
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LibraryThing member dablackwood
I waited for this book to come up at the library and was surprised to find that I really didn't enjoy it. In fact, I didn't finish it which is rare for me. I found it boring. I really didn't care about the characters and nothing much happened. I know the genre and usually love these sorts of books,
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but maybe there were too many disparate characters and it just didn't come together. I did like the memory of playing in the basement. I could see the family dynamic working there with each child unofficially assigned a role - but I just got bored waiting for something to happen. I think I'd like to try it again at some point in the future. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ameise1
This is a wonderful and thoughtful written family story. It's written in a kind of retrospective from each family member. The most interesting thing is that the offspring's point of view, how their childhood and the family life were, is very much related to each other whereas the adult's view is
There is also a family secret, nobody is speaking about, but everybody knows about it. Only in the end the offspring is discussing this matter. There is a major solidarity among the offspring which helps them to be independent. A death in the family brings all members together and is also a restart.
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completely different rather like a misty-eyed one.There is also a family secret, nobody is speaking about, but everybody knows about it. Only in the end the offspring is discussing this matter. There is a major solidarity among the offspring which helps them to be independent. A death in the family brings all members together and is also a restart.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
Allersmead was once the home of a family with 6 children, husband, wife, and au pair. The novel is not told form the perspective of any singular person but instead alternates through various voices until we see a complete pictures of the family. There is even a secret that is known but not
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discussed. I loved the descriptions of the food and the moments in the kitchen which are quite prominent throughout the novel, but the writing style was a bit choppy for me although I realized that it was simply a literary style that does not work for me. It's a novel some will read and devour and others will abandon. Its short length makes it one that many will want to give a try. Show Less
LibraryThing member maggie1944
I struggled to finish this book before January turned to February. I read it as a part of the British Authors Challenge, and I am glad I did! It is not a book which grabbed me and would not let go; somedays it was all I could do to read a couple of pages. In the end, about 2/3 of the way through, I
I liked it that she even occasionally gave the family house a point of view and in the end I loved the house the most of all.
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finally began to appreciate the family, and the characters, and could see glimpses of what Ms. Lively was getting after. She thinks a lot about "memory"; and seeing the same stuff from all these different points of view.I liked it that she even occasionally gave the family house a point of view and in the end I loved the house the most of all.
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LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
Not as engaging as the other books by Lively.Hidden secrets in the childhood past of the 6 siblings come forward at an adult reunion. The father's dysfunctional distancing and the mother's efforts at pretending everything was all 'happy families' come unravelled.
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Penelope Lively is one of my favorite authors, and this novel did not disappoint. Gina, the oldest daughter of Alison & Charles, brings her partner Philip to meet her parents and stay the weekend at her childhood home, Allersmead. Philip, an only child, is fascinated by Gina and her five siblings,
This was an excellent character study with a few “aha moments” in the storyline, making for a quick and satisfying read.
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and begins to draw stories out of her. It’s obvious Gina’s family has more than its share of dysfunction, but most of it is masked until Lively expertly reveals a detail, and until those details start to add up and connect. As each family member’s character is developed, Lively shows how the same incident can affect each person in radically different ways. And of course there was a huge family secret which was a constant, unspoken presence which everyone pretended to ignore.This was an excellent character study with a few “aha moments” in the storyline, making for a quick and satisfying read.
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LibraryThing member MHanover10
Was disappointed with this book. Not sure why I even read it, it was so boring. You would be reading the book in a narrative voice and then all of a sudden it would be in the first person of one of the characters. It was very disjointed and just blah.
LibraryThing member Triduana
I just couldn't get into this book. All the characters were introduced at the same time, which I found a little confusing, and had to keep referring back to see who everyone was. I didn't understand why the tense kept changing between past and present. Maybe it becomes clearer further into the
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book, but it didn't hold my attention. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ellemir
Okay, a family with six children, an aloof father and a mother who seems almost obsessed with creating a facade of happy family life. Add an au-pair who never left the family, even when the children are grown up. And of course there is a dark family secret that is never mentioned, but everybody
But I was disappointed by this book. The characters were stereotypical and missed depth. The constant changes of narrator and timeline made it impossible to get into the book, to identify oneself with one of the characters or even to care for one of them. The complex relationship between family members is not fully explained. A lot of questions remained without an answer.
The title of the novel was well chosen. The family is presented in snapshots of their life, it feels almost like skimming through an album of family pictures.
I liked the writing style, though. I will definately try another book by this author. Many of them got better reviews than this one.
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seems to know about it. Sounds interesting.But I was disappointed by this book. The characters were stereotypical and missed depth. The constant changes of narrator and timeline made it impossible to get into the book, to identify oneself with one of the characters or even to care for one of them. The complex relationship between family members is not fully explained. A lot of questions remained without an answer.
The title of the novel was well chosen. The family is presented in snapshots of their life, it feels almost like skimming through an album of family pictures.
I liked the writing style, though. I will definately try another book by this author. Many of them got better reviews than this one.
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LibraryThing member ErikaHope
I enjoyed the writing very much- but unfortunately these children/characters often come off as tiresome and whiny. Maybe as I just finished reading about a WWII POW I'm being a bit harsh. I look forward to reading her other books. She has good insight and a way of sketching out different
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personalities. Show Less
Awards
Costa Book Awards (Shortlist — Novel — 2009)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction & Poetry — 2009)
Language
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
272 p.; 7.72 inches
ISBN
0141041226 / 9780141041223