A Family Failing

by Honor Arundel

Book Overview

After spending the summer in a commune, a teen-age girl in Scotland feels better prepared to cope with the conflicts in her own family. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0840762569
• ISBN13: 9780840762566
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

GL - > Excellent

This book tells the story about Joan who is 19 years old. She has a brother Mark, who wants to live in a comune. Her mother Joanna receives the opportunity to go and work for a television station and to tell some jokes in a television program, this to the dislike of her father. He thinks it's quite low content and is jealous of the career of his wife. Her father is an intelligent left wing journalist. He loses his job due to the new style of writing which is required from him, but to which he doesn't want to give in. After some quarrelling at home between Joanna and her husband, it's more and more clear that both can't live anymore with eachother. Crucial moment is when the husband asks to go for a job to the Shetlands. Joanna prefers to remain at home to wait for a new opportunity at tv. Joan joins her dad after living together in a comune with her brother and learning how to live in group. The novel, as many of the novels from Honor Arundel is realistic, direct taken from life as it is. You can easily recognise situations and problematics from day to day life. The break up between Joanna and her husband feels to me a bit exagerated. The elements given by the author are not enough for me to believe in a no return situation. The way Joan views her situation and compares it to the other characters is unique. Funny how a girl at the commune, who plays the piano, takes on life. She consideres working is playing the piano to the dislike of all other persons. The end is happy because Joan goes back to her father, although it's clear that he doesn't want to return to London.