Rainy Days and Books in the Netherlands
The autumn in the Netherlands is damp and cloudy. Well, it is damp and cloudy everywhere. However, I enjoy walking the canals of Amsterdam or Den Hague on a drizzly day. The warmth and comfort of an indoor café a direct and welcome contrast to the damp and chilly weather. After an hour or so of wandering outside, enjoying the autumn foliage and the last few blooms which refuse to give in, ducking inside for a cup of tea is a relief and a luxury. As I unfurl my cold stiffened fingers around a warm cup of tea I often find myself searching in my bag for whatever book I have brought with me.
Sometimes, I guess my future mood correctly and the book matches my inclination as I sit inside sipping tea. Other times, I just read whatever I have and I am content to experience a story, even if it does not pair perfectly with my emotions or the weather.
Today, I was reading Robert Harris’ latest thriller, The Second Sleep, in which Christopher Fairfax seems to spend a lot of time outdoors in the rain. And yesterday, Amy Sackville’s Painter to the King, which features the opulent interiors of seventeenth century with their warm fireplaces.
However, were I at home, I would have made a different choice. Recently, I have been finding the comforts of lives intensely lived in small spaces to be the perfect rainy-day companions. Most of these books are by women who are slowly being forgotten in the literary landscape. And rainy, chilly weather makes me want to reread every book on this list as I am comfortably ensconced in a café; watching the rain and drinking fragrant loose-leaf teas.
The Books …
Orkney by Amy Sackville
This book is intense and lonely. Written in Sackville’s characteristic first person and unreliable narrative voice, the story centers on an older professor and his young wife. The professor is our narrator. We see his happiness on his wedding day. His joy at taking his wife to bed and her first sexual experiences. His confusion over his bride’s choice of honeymoon destination. His constant need to see her, even if it is through a small window. His jealousy over her interactions with others. Through is eyes we see her obsession with selkie and mermaid tales; her preoccupation with the sea. The windswept Orkney Isle comes to vivid life through Sackville’s description of the cold, the rain, and the roaring coastal waters. The professor watches all of this from indoors; from the comfort and warmth of a tiny cottage on the shore. This is the perfect and sinister rainy-day companion by a modern master.
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
The quartet in this case are two men and two women, Norman, Edwin, Marcia, and Letty, whose only connection is they share an office. They all do different work, eat different things, and live different lives. And yet they are connected through this shared space. All are nearing retirement age and they will soon lose this connection with each other. And while they have some connections in the world outside, they seem to be tenuous at best. After their retirement, Letty and Marcia are forced to react to the world. Letty choses to engage with the world and Marcia withdraws from it. Norman and Edwin respond solely to the loss of Marcia and Letty in their daily lives. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1977, this novel is a minute masterpiece by an author largely forgotten in the more dramatic literary landscape of today. This novel is perfect for an afternoon indoors, in autumn, while you enjoy a cup of tea and watch the worlds of these individuals slowly change, most for the good while one ends tragically.
A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor
No, not that Elizabeth Taylor. The Elizabeth Taylor who was a well-known English novelist in post-war United Kingdom. The book is an intimate portrait of village life in the aftermath of the war, several years on. There are still fortifications on the beach and there are not enough men. The village is full of women who live in each other’s pockets and know each other’s business. One of them is even, unwittingly, sharing a husband with her neighbour. Their daily dramas play out against the swelling sea. Pour yourself a cup of tea, curl up with a blanket, and let Mrs. Bracey’s accurate speculations pull you into the harbour.
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Aconleigh is filled with odd characters. The cold manor house in the Cotswolds is home to the Radlett’s, a family of eccentrics, although they would ardently eschew the title. The only relatively pedestrian individuals are Fanny, our narrator, and Aunt Emily, who has charge of raising Fanny while her mother gallivants across the globe cultivating husbands the way others would gardens. Fanny narrates the loves and losses of Linda Radlett, her exuberant and brash cousin. From her youthful desire for love and passion through two failed marriages and finally, the love of her life. Filled with laughter and tragedy, the novel is a unique look at upper-class life in Britain during the inter-war years, especially the role women played. And if you love this book, there are two more to enjoy in the series. This is especially ideal for windy days with a blanket. As the wind shakes your windows read how Uncle Matthew Radlett rails against society and wakes his family with opera played very loudly.
The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald
This book was shortlisted for the 1990 Booker Prize and is Fitzgerald’s third nomination for the prestigious literary award. The book is Fred and Daisy’s whirlwind romance after getting in a bicycle accident together. The first section of this slim volume concerns Fred’s life at St. Angelicus College as a physics lecturer. The second section is Daisy’s life in London and their romance as it evolves when she moves to Cambridge. The third section is the trial of the farm cart driver who caused their cycling accident. The book is an intimate look at the twists and turns of the human heart as it falls in love instantly and irrevocably. This book is perfect for a rainy day, while you are comfortably ensconced indoors Fred will have problems attempting to find a dry place to store his bicycle in St. Angelicus’ shed.
Happy Reading …
The autumn brings with it the desire for the close comforts of home; tea, quilts, and books. And while I travel, nothing is cozier than a Dutch café, a cup of tea, and a good book. Happy Reading!