Product Description

A subtle and entertaining tragicomic love story. Julian as a small boy is taken on the perfect Cornish holiday. When glamorous American cousins unexpectedly swell the party, however, emotions run high and events spiral out of control. Though he has been brought up in the forbidding shadow of the prison his father runs, though his parents are neither as normal nor as happy as he supposes, Julian's world view is the sunnily selfish, accepting one of boyhood. It is only when he becomes a man -- seemingly at ease with love, with his sexuality, with his ghosts -- that the traumatic effects of that distant summer rise up to challenge his defiant assertion that he is happy and always has been.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10427 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
'Like the sea he describes so well, Patrick Gale's clear, unforced prose sucks one in effortlessly ! he is excellent at the telling detail and description.' Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail 'There are no false notes in this book.' Marie Claire '"Rough Music" ! is an astute, sensitive and at times tragically uncomfortable meditation on sex, lies and family!. a fabulously unnerving book! a hugely compelling writer.' Independent on Sunday 'It would be churlish to divulge more of the plot, suffice to say that it is as ingenious in design as it is generous in spirit.' Sunday Express 'Patrick Gale's novels grip tightly, like swaddling clothes, stunning the reader into a state of lolling, contented absorption. How does he do it?' TLS '"Rough Music", like its predecessors, belongs to a broad canon of works by English rural moralists. Think Austen, Hardy or Murdoch ! His plots -- seemingly effortless, but closely structured -- resemble Iris Murdoch's ! Gripping, elegant and wise.' Independent

About the Author
Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight in 1962. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester. He now lives on a farm near Land's End.

Customer Reviews

Family Holidays with a Twist
I bought this book two years ago because it was about Cornwall, and a part of Cornwall I know. It was unputdownable! I wasn't expecting it to be about gay men, and mothers having affairs with brothers-in-law. I was intrigued with each step back and forth the author took me. Reliving the family holiday in the 60's with the journey taking all night because the M4/M5 hadn't been built! then the up to date holiday with the role reversal - son looking after parents. Quite fascinating and now I've bought the latest Patrick Gale to read on holiday.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!
From the first few pages I was utterly captivated as the author drew me back into a long forgotten childhood. Gale's descriptive style of the Cornish sea and surroundings had me entranced and I was instantly intrigued by the obvious mysteries surrounding the characters. I especially enjoyed the way he used two storylines, one set in the past and one in the present, in each alternate chapter. This book was poignant and thought provoking - the description of Frances's descent into Alzheimers particularly moving. Absorbing, compelling and wonderful, I recommend this book to everyone.

I couldn't put it down!
This is a beautifully crafted book in which two generational strands alternate, gradually interweave and finally converge. The characters are entirely credible and perceptively drawn, especially the mother and the main character as a young boy who evokes universal feelings of childhood. A book which is both touching and wise. Utterly absorbing.