Jumping the Queue (King Penguin)

by Mary Wesley

Paperback, 1988

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Genres

Collection

Books

Publication

Penguin Group USA (1988), 217 pages

Description

A "quirky, sad, and very funny" novel about suicide, matricide, and an unlikely love, from one of England's best-loved authors (The Guardian). Determined to end it all after the death of her husband, Matilda Poliport's carefully laid plans to kill herself are derailed when she comes to the rescue of another potential bridge jumper--a notorious young man on the run for having murdered his mother. Faced with the choice of either turning him in to the police or continuing on with her suicide attempt, Matilda makes the obvious decision and takes Hugh Warner home to stay with her while they both sort out what to do next. As Hugh and Matilda find surprising comfort in each other, secrets about Matilda's deceased husband are revealed, leaving Matilda to face some very uncomfortable facts about her life. And as the pair plot to help Hugh escape the law, they will both need to face the truth about themselves and how far they are willing to go for each other. This "virtuoso performance of guileful plotting, deft characterizations, and malicious wit" showcases the talents of Mary Wesley at her caustic and comical best (The Times, London).… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member jim.fahs

Humorous and sad all at the same time. This is one book I would love to rewrite, just to make the ending happier.

5 more

LibraryThing member Smiler69

Mary Wesley has become one of my favourite British female authors since I discovered her last year. This is not a happy story by any means, as it starts with our protagonist Matilda Poliport who's been widowed for a few years and having lost her cherished husband, with four grown children who

refuse to visit her, has decided the best life has to offer is behind her. When the novel begins, she is just putting the last touches to a major housecleaning as she is carefully putting into execution her meticulously planned suicide. Her beloved pet gander Gus is sold to a farmer, where he'll ostensibly be happy with a harem of six geese, and she's off to her favourite secluded beach to have a picnic of brie and Beaujolais before taking sleeping pills and swimming into the tide. But of course her plans are foiled when she meets Hugh Warner, an attractive 30-something man on the run from the police and known all over the media as "The Matricide". She saves him before committing his own suicide attempt and brings him back to her cottage to hide away, where of course, a most unusual relationship will develop. Relationships are Wesley's strength, as is writing from a mature person's perspective on life, but mature not so much in the sense of having acquired bundles of wisdom as having lived life fully and being past caring what others think and feeling free to impose one's personality on others. Which of course makes for fascinating characters. I don't know if Matilda is necessarily a likeable character, since we learn she has mostly lived her life denying all the uncommonly unpleasant things that have been thrown her way, but thanks to Wesley's subtle skills it is impossible not to form an attachment to her AND the matricide. Of course, we're not to expect a happy ever after given the ingredients this story is made up of, but that hardly matters, as Wesley succeeds in creating another thing of messy and unruly beauty.

Show Less

LibraryThing member juniperSun

Woman about to suicide gets involved in matricide.
Noted during my 1980's attempt to read every book in my small town library.

LibraryThing member Northern_Light

This book tells the story of Matilda who is interrupted in her suicide attempt when she comes across Hugh who is on the run from the police. Rather than hand him in she takes him home and there the adventures begin.

I loved this book which you would think would be depressing given the subject matter

but instead is actually very life-affirming in places and full of pathos. I loved the fact that it didn't feel the need to make the character nice but gave them weaknesses and foibles which seemed more realistic.

My favourite character was Gus who always made his prescence known.

A brilliant first book by this author at the age of 70.

Show Less

LibraryThing member raizel

Matilda and, even more, the reader slowly discover surprising details about the people in her life. Nonetheless, the book ends with lots of unanswered questions---perhaps because that's the way the world works. I was hoping for a happier ending.

LibraryThing member katiekrug

Mary Wesley writes odd little novels, firmly grounded in her very British-ness, but often with twists and ambiguities that set them apart. Her characters can be unlikeable but never unsympathetic, which is something of a feat in my opinion. This one is about an older woman whose plan to kill

herself is thrown into disarray when she meets a younger man hiding from the police after killing his mother. It's about aging and family and how much we really know those closest to us. In these two characters, Wesley explores the misunderstandings and misperceptions of life, as well as its disappointments and quiet joys. This was my fourth novel by this underappreciated author, and I am glad I have several more sitting on my shelves.

Show Less

Fewer