Marking Time [Audiobook] (Audio CD)

This is the second book of a four-book series about the relatively wealthy family Cazalet, a large British family in World War II England. The family consists of William and his wife Kitty, their four children, their spouses and grandchildren, as well as the servants and close friends and relations. He is always referred to as "The Brig" and she as "Duchy," short for the Brigadier and the Duchess although he has never been in military service, nor is his wife truly a duchess. Their children consist of three boys, all married, two of whom went to war (officers, of course) in the First World War. The daughter is unmarried and in love with another woman, but there is no lesbian sexual relationship.

The interplay of relationships, the sometimes-Victorian moirés and values, the amenities they enjoy compared to the lower, servant class, their views of world politics, war, education and marital and extra-marital sex are not only entertaining, but also instructive--for the author is obviously personally familiar with the environment and people she portrays. Howard was born in London and lives in Suffolk.

The first book, The Light Years, begins in 1937, in pre-war England. The Brig is head of a successful lumber company dealing in exotic hardwoods, and has brought his two WW1 veteran sons, Hugh (who lost an arm in the conflict) and handsome Edward (who is a sex-oriented rake who cheats on his wife and fondles his daughter) into the firm. His other son, Rupert is a schoolteacher and painter who lost a wife in childbirth and replaced her with a 23-year-old selfish airhead beauty whom his children detest. Eventually, Rupert also joins the firm. Each of the sons have children. Each summer they all go to the country and live together with the boys' parents, together with their servants and friends, including Rachel, the maiden sister who lives with their parents the year-'round, and her female "friend," half Jewish Sid, who would like their relationship to be more physical--but Rachel is repelled by any form of physical intimacy.

In this, the second book, the dreaded war finally strikes Britain and the family, and this is the story of their individual reactions to the changed situation. The book does not dwell on the military aspects, but rather on the home front, and the reactions of those who are left behind as the men go to their wartime duties. Again, the emphasis is primarily on the children's stories, and their attempts to grow up in a world turned topsy-turvy.

As with the first, the book is extremely well-written. The author has several other books, plays and movie scripts to her credit and her skill is not only obvious but well-earned. I am looking forward to reading the other two books in this series. At this writing, I have ordered the third, The Confusion, but am told that the last book in the series, Casting Off, is out-of-print, so I have ordered it from Amazon's used book service. We'll see how long it takes.

Joseph H. Pierre
Author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity

This second volume, while encompassing the entire family and its related branches, focuses primarily on Louise, Polly, and Clary---three young girls growing into womanhood in a time when everything is frozen, in a time that Polly describes as "the present seemed gray; the future black."

Although they may only be "marking time" and waiting for peacetime to let their lives resume, the normal course of daily events makes this a poignant novel to curl up with. One brother is missing in action and presumed dead, one brother faces the possibility of losing his wife to a terminal illness, one brother persists in his extra-marital dalliances and sexual abuse of his own daughter, and the sister continues her clandestine love affair. Babies are born, alliances are formed, and love looms on the horizon. Into this family comes a virtual stranger, Archie Lestrange, a longago friend of Rupert and Isobel's. His kindness, level-headedness, and good nature bring hope to the Cazalets and dreams of love to one of them.

At the close of the book, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and everyone settles in for a long and bitter war. Prepare yourself for a cliffhanger on the final page that will have you scurrying to order Volume 3 "Confusion."