Larchfield: The moving, gripping and wonderful debut about finding human connection

Thank you to Quercus books for our reading group copies of Larchfield by Polly Clark.
This a deeply moving story of a woman’s struggle with motherhood, loneliness and longing. The structure of the book is clever, with a chapter dedicated to each character; Dora and Wystan who both face struggles in the small claustrophobic seaside town of Helensbugh. Halfway through the novel, the worlds of these two poets collide with devastating consequences.
A clever, well written book, very atmospheric that lingers even after the last page.

We actually gave the book 3 1/2 stars

We discussed this book on the 4th June 2018.
There were seven members present to review this book and we all enjoyed it but some more than others.
We loved the wit of Wystan and we identified with the emotions and loneliness of both characters which we felt the author portrayed with a keen realistic eye.
Two members had mixed feelings about the book, one because of the “meetings” between Dora and Wystan which she felt were too unreal. This member always dislikes the alternating chapters method of storytelling and she tends to read all of one person’s chapters then read all of the second persons chapters, she doesn’t usually find this prevents her enjoyment of the book.
We all identified with Dora’s emotions while pregnant and after the baby was born, so easily understood all of her story. The relationship with the neighbours was unpleasant and keenly described, but we wondered how the natives of Helensburgh might feel as they read how they are portrayed in the book.
One member felt this is the best book she has read in ages, she describes the book as “a beautifully written compassionate book” with a lyrical quality throughout.
We would give it 3 ½*

This book was not for me. It took me a long time to understand that the author was juxtaposing two time zones and I was completely muddled by the ending when the zones seemed to overlap.

The author and Auden are both poets, which I understand, and some of the first part of the book reads very well. I struggled to finish this. It did appear to me that the author was intent in writing a story based on Helensburgh as she now lives there and found that Auden had as well.

Thank you to The Reading Agency for sending Macclesfield Library Reading Group 10 copies of Polly Clark’s novel “Larchfield” in return for honest reviews. “Larchfield” sparked a great discussion and was much enjoyed by the group who discussed the themes of loneliness, poetry, characters and the perception of the world by a depressed mind. Some of our group’s thoughts below;

“I enjoyed the book. A sensitive book of two isolated poets living in different timelines I felt it was very well written and vividly portrayed the loneliness and isolation of two different people.”

“I enjoyed the book; I didn’t really understand that there was a time difference. I enjoyed the story. Thank you.”

“An interesting account of two people living in similar worlds of isolation and despair in their own individual ways.”

“I felt the different times didn’t work-the whole book felt it was written in the 1930’s even Dora’s story. The story echoed other novels I have read.”

“Two central characters, Auden and Dora, in different time zones fight against isolation and misunderstanding. Around their characters is a web of other people’s stories which I found more realistic.”

“This was not a success for me in terms of overall execution-language, characterisation and although I liked the structure the people were stereotypes.”

“A good story that provided a platform to think about how it feels to be out of step with what society expects.”

In 1930, a young man, torn apart by his illegal desire, stands on a deserted Scottish beach. Wystan H Auden is longing to be a great poet: longing too for someone who understands him. He scribbles down his telephone number, puts it in an empty milk bottle and flings it into the tea.
Decades late, Dora Fielding stands on he same beach, lost and desperate. Struggling to cope alone with her baby and suffocating in the small town [Helensburgh], she yearns for connection. This is when she finds the message in the bottle. And calls the number.
HVBG review: The 'Larchfield' story comes to life through the two main characters; Dora and Auden by using (mainly) alternate chapters, a literary device that works really well for this story. Larchfield is the school where Auden has taken up a teaching job and although a published poet, he needs to earn a living through teaching and this is where some of the book's real highlights are to be found. Auden's novel approach in getting the interest of the boys to focus in his lessons provides a generous amount of humour in a novel that can be pretty dark at times.
Auden struggles to survive in a heterosexual society and his occasional jaunts to Berlin provide a view of an alternate reality for him, although one that is fraught with danger as Auden's tale is set in the early 1930s when the Nazi party are making their presence felt.
Dora, lonely, isolated, and struggling to cope with neighbours who appear friendly at first but seem to be plotting Dora's downfall, enters Auden's world and finds an ally.
The group didn't find this an easy read and there are lots of challenging themes: child abuse in public schools, post natal depression, isolation and adjusting to new environments. However, we all agreed that this was a good book to read with a very engaging story line. We really liked how Auden was depicted and we empathised with Dora's life and the challenges she was struggling with.
As the book group discussed this novel it was lovely to discover that the area we live in has a link to Auden, as he stayed at Lord Crewe Arms, Blanchland, during Easter 1930 (within the period in which the book is set). Many years later Auden wrote that 'it is a number of years now since I stayed at the Lord Crewe Arms, but no other spot brings me sweeter memories' (W.H. Auden 1954).
Rating: 'Larchfield' was a great book to read and review in the book group as there was so much to discuss...scores were generally pretty high with one 5+ and several 4.5 out of 5 for this book. A couple of members scored lower (3.5).

This book is about two characters, one real and one fictional. Both are poets and both spent a part of their lives in Helensburgh, separated in time by a number of decades. Wystan (WH Auden) spends two years as a schoolmaster at Larchfield School for boys in the 1930s. His narrative is loosely constructed around facts which are known about his time there. Struggling with the need to repress his homosexuality yet falling hopelessly in love, Wystan longs to escape the strictures of public school and find a more convivial place to complete his current book. 21st century Dora is newly married and pregnant. She moves to Helensburgh with her husband Kit, full of aspirations and excitement about their new life in which she dreams they will live as a happy family unit and she will flourish as a poet. The reality for Dora is somewhat different and moving from city life in England to a small Scottish town brings challenges that begin to take a toll on her sanity. As both their lives start to unravel the story unfolds, told from the point of view of both characters in alternate chapters.

This is an unusual debut novel and whilst I am full of praise for the author’s creativity, I cannot truthfully say that I enjoyed the book. I am not sure why, but I found it quite dull in places and found the writing style, which was quite poetic, did not sit comfortably with me. One of the problems with the plot was that the (somewhat inevitable) connection which is forged between the two characters was very contrived and, in my opinion, not entirely successful. Also, the second half of the book is full of angst and is not a particularly comfortable read. The downwards spiral into despair and overwhelming mental turmoil became a little draining. Finally, I think plausibility was stretched pretty much to breaking point, particularly with Dora’s narrative which just didn’t ring true with me at all. The situation with the “neighbours from hell” just seemed too far-fetched to be credible, even taking into account the fact that we are seeing it through Dora’s eyes and she, in this case, is an unreliable narrator.

On the plus side the book has big ideas. Linking two characters from different eras is a fairly ambitious concept, especially when one of the people is a real historical figure who will be known to many readers. This concept has been implemented in a creative way. However, for me it just didn’t quite work which was a shame.

On the whole I found this book disappointing. The lyrical prose was not to my taste (I gather the author herself is a poet which may contribute to this) and the plot was too imaginative to be convincing. I don’t think it is necessarily a bad book, just not for me.