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Anna Book Ruth Rendell 9780451405494 Books

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Anna Book Ruth Rendell 9780451405494 Books

I first saw this book in a discount store in the late 90s, and barely scanned it, but liked what I saw. I checked it out of the public library and read it through three times. I didn't even know who Ruth Rendell was. I bought a copy at a local-owned bookstore to add to my permanent collection, and have read it many times. It is completely realistic. I've caught myself thinking that the Anna diaries actually have been published (like Anais Nin's) and that one of these days I'll have to buy a set, and catch Cary Oliver's "Roper" film on Masterpiece Theatre. Diaries, dollhouses, missing children (especially, as Anne points out, missing white, blonde, girl children) and gruesome unsolved crimes, are compelling elements when combined and used wisely. Rendell's use of Danish words and bits of Danish culture also help to give the story a wonderful sense of unity. She seems to do this with all her books, but particularly "Shattered Silk". I am not at all a big fan of fictional mysteries (real-life ones, like the Lindbergh Kidnapping, Little Miss 1565, or Amelia Earhart, are another matter) and don't even care for most Agatha Christie or Anne Perry. "Anna's Book" was so true to life that it crossed the "reality" line for me. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an extremely absorbing, intricate but very readable tale.


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Anna Book Ruth Rendell 9780451405494 Books Reviews

Let me first say. Ruth Rendell was an imaginative and first class writer. I found this book to be repetitive and boring in terms of the plot itself. I thought to myself. Convoluted plot which I figured out without trying. However, Rendell writing as Vine does so much research, in this case everything Danish and historical, I had to finish. It told me more about Rendell than other books. Her likes, dislikes, thoughts. etc. Yes, every book does this in some way, but for some reason, though I skimmed quite a few pages, I went back to extract many pearls from her brilliant mind
This is a long book that goes into an inordinate amount of detail about a fictional family tree. It’s like sitting down with someone you don’t know well and having them haul out the family photo album. To be polite, you feel you have to keep up as it’s pointed out who was the grandchild of whom, who lived at this house right after she was married, etc., etc. Let’s see, was Gordon a second cousin, or a first cousin once removed? I wasn’t sure how much of this I had to memorize in order to appreciate the main point and plot of this novel, when it might finally be introduced – which it wasn’t until past the half-way mark. I had to really concentrate in order to follow the relationships through the generations. The detail is dense, but not always evocative of time and place.

The narrative takes place over a sliding time scale. The reader is presented with excerpts from Anna’s diaries, starting in 1905. Then we are projected forward as Anna’s daughter, and then in turn her granddaughter, edit the diaries and usher them through the publication process.

Like the fictional Anna and her progeny, Rendell herself was of Scandinavian background. It seems likely Rendell was indulging in the comforts of wrapping herself in cool, close-grained sheets of reminiscence as she created this parallel world for her readers. In all of her books, she waxes very detailed about clothing – the fabrics, the matching colors, the kind of straps on the shoes her characters are wearing. She does this here too, but then adds that same kind of detail about London street names, the characters’ movements from room-to-room, from day-to-day.

After having been challenged to memorize the names of members of Anna’s family – we are then confronted with a second family tree to be memorized – that of Mr. Roper, Anna’s neighbor who was tried for murder in the early 1900’s. When we finally get through that second thicket of family history and get out into the clearing of the account of the Roper trial and into the account of one of Anna’s offspring’s search for her identity – things do pick up. These two prongs of inquiry may or may not be related. There is some clever reasoning involved in the research the characters do to find answers to their questions regarding guilt and origins.

The novel takes on a kind of “Daughter of Time” quality as the characters pore over the diaries plus news accounts and self-published accounts dating back decades. Except Josephine Tey’s book involved an attempt to find out the true nature of a real person, Richard III. Here the reader is invited to engage in researching fictional family ties.

It was perhaps unfortunate for Rendell that this book was published just before DNA match-ups and online ancestry search services became available. This newer technology makes all of her characters’ later 20th century ponderings and plumbings seem sort of useless. If they could have just waited a few years.

However, if you enjoy escaping from your own world and being transported into the details of other people’s lives, whether or not these details have any relevance to a driving plot line – then this is the book for you. If, however, you feel the pressure of “So many books, so little time” – you might want to avoid this rather time-consuming tome.

If you do decide to take the plunge, here’s a partial “Cast of Characters” list such as I wish had been included in the book so you don’t have to hunt back through pages as you read this over the course of several days and weeks -

Anna the matriarch of the Westerby (pronounced “Vester-bew) family, the author of the diaries that posthumously make a big splash in the publishing world. She is also known as “Mor” (from the Danish word “Mormor” for “Grandmother”);
Rasmus Anna’s husband, also known as “Far” from the Danish word for “Grandfather;”
Mads Anna’s son who dies young;
Knud Another of Anna’s sons – who likes to be called “Ken;”
Maureen Ken’s wife
Mogens Another of Anna’s sons, killed in WWI – liked to be called “Jack;”
Swanny Anna’s eldest daughter, actually “Swanhild” who works on getting her mother’s diaries translated and published;
Torben Swanny’s devoted husband;
Marie Anna’s youngest daughter;
Ann The narrator of this book, Marie’s daughter, Anna’s granddaughter - who inherits the job of getting Anna’s later diaries in shape for publication;
Cary Oliver a TV production executive – Ann’s early friend who ended up stealing Ann’s boyfriend;
Hansine Anna’s maid;
Joan Sellway Hansine’s daughter;
Paul Sellway Joan’s son, Hansine’s grandson – returns to the family circle to help study Anna’s diaries for clues;
“Uncle” Harry Duke Anna’s devoted platonic friend;
Gordon Anna’s great nephew;
Alfred Roper Anna’s neighbor accused of killing his wife in the early 1900’s;
Maria Hyde Roper’s landlady, mother of Lizzie;
Lizzie Roper daughter of Maria Hyde, ill-fated wife of Alfred Roper;
Edith daughter of Alfred Roper, a child he wasn’t much interested in;
Florence Fisher maid in Hyde-Roper household;
George Ironsmith another resident in the Hyde/Roper household.
A good read!
Don't know why but I just couldn't finish this book. Will give it an other chance later but for now it's on the shelf.
Great book. Super price and service.
This was the first Rendell book that I came across while being stuck at an airport. And it started my Rendell-mania. What distinguishes Rendell from the various mystery/suspense writeres, is her talent and ambition to create not only a suspensful plot, but also to infuse the novel with athmosphere. In Anna's Book the reader gets close not only to Anna, but to the life and physical and emotional difficulties immigrants in England encounter.
I first saw this book in a discount store in the late 90s, and barely scanned it, but liked what I saw. I checked it out of the public library and read it through three times. I didn't even know who Ruth Rendell was. I bought a copy at a local-owned bookstore to add to my permanent collection, and have read it many times. It is completely realistic. I've caught myself thinking that the Anna diaries actually have been published (like Anais Nin's) and that one of these days I'll have to buy a set, and catch Cary Oliver's "Roper" film on Masterpiece Theatre. Diaries, dollhouses, missing children (especially, as Anne points out, missing white, blonde, girl children) and gruesome unsolved crimes, are compelling elements when combined and used wisely. Rendell's use of Danish words and bits of Danish culture also help to give the story a wonderful sense of unity. She seems to do this with all her books, but particularly "Shattered Silk". I am not at all a big fan of fictional mysteries (real-life ones, like the Lindbergh Kidnapping, Little Miss 1565, or Amelia Earhart, are another matter) and don't even care for most Agatha Christie or Anne Perry. "Anna's Book" was so true to life that it crossed the "reality" line for me. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an extremely absorbing, intricate but very readable tale.