Penmarric: [A Novel]

This book was recommended by TB so I took a chance. I threw it away after the 3rd chapter. It was not my type of book... the main character struggled with lust, openly. He was self focused and driven for the wrong reasons (probably because of his terrible mother and unusual childhood). He was 20 when I stopped reading, but she gave him the "sensibility" of a pre-school boy. Cried openly all day because a woman shamed him? That's not sensible, that's just immature. And, he had no true shame in what he did. I could tell it was a female author writing a male's point of view. Too feminine. Too skewed her way for me- I kept seeing her and not the character when I read. The story line didn't even pull me into it to go ahead and read the last chapter to see the ending. There was no character in this book that appealled to me.

Wow! What an engrossing novel to read! This was the first Susan Howatch novel I've read, but it certainly won't be the last. The scope and cast of characters is simply huge, and yet is handled in a manner that you're never confused as to what is happening. The way that the author changes narrators five times during the course of the book is fabulous! Just as fabulous is the way that the plot and characters mimic true English history during the 12th to 13th centuries, with some tinkering and creative license, of course! Mark mimics Henry II, Janna mimics Eleanor of Acquitaine, Philip mimics Richard the Lionheart, ect. Overall, the story is a very human struggle where nothing is black and white, life isn't always fair, and the past mistakes of others can have massive ramifications on future generations. This is not the type of novel that can be read in a single sitting, but if you're looking for a passionate and intelligent story that will make you think, I highly recommend Penmarric.

Penmarric was the third Howatch novel I read, and the one that got me hooked on her. The first was "Sins of the Fathers", which I liked very much and so, a few years later, I read its prequel, the Rich are Different, which I also enjoyed. But it was only after coming across Penmarric - completely by accident - that I woke up and took notice. Since reading this book I have gone on to read every single one of her following novels - thirteen in all, in succession! From the first page I was engrossed in the characters. The story begins with Mark, a rather dour man, who falls in love with Janna, a woman several years his senior. These are the two central figures of the novel, which later moves on to the next generation. Howatch proves herself to be a master storyteller with the ability to get under the skin of her characters in such a way that the reader can identify with them completely - a very rare talent. Her multi-character first-person structure enables us to see the unfolding story through the eyes of five characters in turn, and it is quite amazing how a character whom one has disliked when he or she was seen through the eyes of previous narrator suddenly takes on completely new dimensions when he/she comes on central stage. I know of no writer who does this as well as Howatch.The story is set in Cornwall and begins in 1890 and goes on to span the intervening years till WWII. It is a rich and multifaceted novel, well worth reading many times to discover all its layers, and a great novel for a group discussion. (...)

Both Pennmaric and The Wheel of Fortune are unique in the way Ms. Howatch creates a novel to mirror history. In this case King Henry (Mark), Queen Eleanor (Janna), Richard (Philip) and John Lackland (Jan-Yves) to name just the major characters. However, this technique does not distract from the great story-telling. I truly recommend this book and all of Ms. Howatch's writings.

I also read this first when I was a young teenager and was deeply moved and involved. I went on to read her other novels thru the mid-80s, until she changed styles and settings dramatically. This year, after 5 other trips to England, I finally traveled to the actual places in Cornwall that she fictionalized in her brilliant and engaging writing. I purchased a new copy of Penmarric at a small bookshop in St Ives, and took a very sentimental tour of the Cornish landscape - windswept cemeteries, old churchyards and sprawling mansions that I first visited as a child through her eyes. It was haunting, thrilling and quite sentimental to finally be there on my 40th birthday. This book is superb, enjoy it!