Product Description

Beautifully rejacked edition of this wonderful novel from the best-selling author of 'Miss Garnet's Angel' and 'Instances of the Number 3'. Many years ago Mr Golightly wrote a work of dramatic fiction which grew to be an international best-seller. But his reputation is on the decline and he finds himself out of touch with the modern world. He decides to take a holiday and comes to the ancient village of Great Calne, hoping to use the opportunity to bring his great work up to date. But he soon finds that events take over his plans and that the themes he has written on are being strangely replicated in the lives of the villagers he is staying among. He meets Ellen Thomas, a reclusive artist, young Johnny Spence, an absconding school boy, and the tough-minded Paula who works at the local pub. As he comes to know his neighbours better, Mr Golightly begins to examine his attitude to love, and to ponder the terrible catastrophe of his son's death. And as the drama unfolds we begin to learn the true and extraordinary identity of Mr Golightly and the nature of the secret sorrow which haunts him links him to his new friends. Mysterious, light of touch, witty and profound, 'Mr Golightly's Holiday' confirms Salley Vickers's reputation as one of our most original and engaging novelists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15244 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Fiction readers with a sweet tooth and a high tolerance of Anglican whimsy are offered much beguilement in Sally Vickers' new novel Mr Golightly's Holiday. Set in the Devon village of Great Calne, it records the events observed, and in part precipitated, by Mr Golightly, the author of a work once famous but now tending to be overlooked, who has elected to settle himself in this community for a while. Mr Golightly himself, a rumpled, elderly figure arriving in a half-timbered Traveller van, is a familiar enough version of "the male author"; Great Calne, an apparently idyllic village with a wide range of carefully differentiated characters, but underneath seething with unseen discontents and rivalries, is itself another easily summoned trope--the kind of community now perhaps most commonly encountered in fictional terms in TV shows. This is handy, for Mr Golightly decides that the best way of dragging his great work into the limelight of popularity and relevance is to recast it as a soap opera. In the event, he makes little headway with this project because, of course, the affairs of the village become all-absorbing and gradually draw him in. And so things unfold, as the characters carefully established by Sally Vickers work out their destinies in a mixture of social comedy (some of it very sharp), melodrama, nature mysticism and visionary redemption that delivers far more than the opening paragraphs can suggest. Moreover, the precise identity of Mr Golightly, while not exactly part of the plot, is disclosed gradually and may come as a surprise to some.

It should be said that this is not really a novel, although it does offer many of the satisfactions of a novel. It is a fable with distinctly eschatological overtones, and as such runs the general risks of the genre, most of which are successfully negotiated. --Robin Davidson

Review
'As profound as it is immensely readable.' Mariella Frostrup, BBC Radio 4 Open Book 'A compulsively readable novel.' Observer 'Vickers writes like a haunted angel.' The Times 'Full of charm.' Independent on Sunday 'Salley Vickers is a writer whose subtle intelligence and unobtrusive command of narrative I always enjoy. She sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand, and she knows how the world works; and these qualities are much rarer than they should be. She's a presence worth cherishing in the ranks of modern novelists.' Philip Pullman 'Few novelists would dare tackle the theme of Salley Vickers's third novel; fewer still would pull it off so triumphantly. I am speechless with admiration.' John Julius Norwich

The Times
'Vickers writes like a haunted angel.'

Customer Reviews

It's a winner!
I think Salley Vickers has done it again and for those of you who are fans of the first two books you won't be disappointed with Mr Golightly's Holiday.Ms Vickers finds 'the voice' in this book and as the omniscient narrator she cleverly allows us to warm to some characters and dislike others.A thread of intrigue weaves its way lightly through the book as we follow the very likeable Mr G. on his 6 month get-away-from-it-all holiday on Dartmoor. He has been a one hit wonder with his first book and needs to revamp his style in the face of stiff opposition in a changing world.I was awestruck by the final revelation and immediately wanted to re-read the book to check out the well laid clues.This book will bear a second if not a third reading as the meanings are multi layered and the lightly woven thread becomes one of great depth.
As a Devon resident my only gripe is the typos in the frontispiece map, the residents of Okehampton(Okenhampton!) will be horrified as will residents like me of the Tamar (Tamer!) Valley....small price to pay for such a good read.

Scintillating and Enlightening
I loved this book. I read it to a friend who had had an op and could not use her eyes. She had read Salley Vickers's other two novels and adored them. So, not expecting anything much, because I am cynic, I read it to her. I must say Salley Vickers was new to me but I can't think why. Either this book is a well kept secret or I missed something when it came out (or maybe I was on holiday like the eponymous Mr G?). It has a brilliant premise, which is very subtle and resonates long after you have finished the book, and is full of very clever references and allusions. But Salley Vickers has the knack of never seeing to put her readers down. In fact, she seems to expect a high level of emotional intelligence while making you think hard about rather profound matters and at the same time being a very accessible read.

The prose is lucid, the ideas original, the tone witty and ironic. A thoroughly accomplished book. Terrific stuff. More soon, please, Salley.

Fable and Fantasy not for Me!
I just cannot get into this!! It is very unusual for me to give up but five chapters is enough to tell me that I just cannot read anymore. If I had read the Amazon reviews properly before starting, maybe I would never have done so? Reading what Amazon has to say, along with my own efforts to try, I have learnt that this is not really a novel but a Fable. Amazon says and I quote that 'One needs a high tolerance of Anglican whimsy to enjoy this'
I just do not feel like reading a novel that is full of allergorical and theological undertones at this time and the soap-opera of the villagers lives just did not catch my imagination.
Just maybe, another time and another place I would try again.