Books
by Sybille Bedford
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A Legacy |
Like Jigsaw (bwl 27 and 39) this enthralling novel is semi-autobiographical. Set in Germany, France and Spain, it traces the history of Bedford's family before WW l. Her father was a German aristocrat her mother a Jewish-German who was partly English. Based on fragments, memories, hints and half revealed secrets there is something Proust-like about its style but happily minus the longueurs. If you enjoyed The Hare with Amber Eyes, I think this is one for you.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 61 Summer 2011) |
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Jigsaw |
For those whose lives span the 20th century, this novel-cum-memoir is a poignant reminder of how time flies. For the young 'uns, it's a beautifully written life, whizzing along in top gear, to and fro through Germany, Italy, France and London, full of pathos and touching fun. For all the speeding years, Billie - whose life we follow - has time, in her own words, for 'revealing and necessary details' . . . and she 'stops and stares'.
(Joan Jackson - bwl 27 December 2004) |
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Jigsaw - An unsentimental education |
This 'novel' reads more like autobiography (as Bedford's afterword admits). The child Billi is shuttled from Germany to Italy, to London, to the South of France, picking up what education she can from ravenous reading and the conversation of intellectuals and artists settled in the Midi between the wars. Central in this atmospheric evocation of a lost age is Billi's evolving relationship with her brilliant, unmaternal and ultimately tragic mother. Fascinating, powerful and moving.
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 39 April 2007) |
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