The Peppered Moth

What a great book! This is the third novel I have read by Drabble, and I am convinced that she is one of the greatest living writers today. When I bought this, I was skeptical because I saw that it was heavy on the narration, with very little dialogue, and the story jumps around between three generations, not told in a linear fashion. But as I started to read, the story effortlessly unfolded before me, like the book was reading itself. I found nothing forced, nothing out of place. Drabble's use of language and deft handling of the multi-generational story is masterful. Unlike other reviewers here, I was unaware that this book had anything to do with Drabble's personal life until I read the epilogue, so I was unencumbered by any such considerations. While this may not be the novel to start with if you have never read Drabble before, it is a must read for any Drabble fan.

It's been a few months since I read the Peppered Moth, but I still think about this book. I've always been a Drabble fan and believe that this book, though not well received in the U.S., is her magnum opus. I found the truths in this book to be universal--and reading about Bessie illuminated the life of my great aunts and grandmother, Jewish women from Poland. While their experience may seem unlike Bessie's, I felt that Drabble spoke to the experience of educated women born at the beginning of the 20th century--those women who did not have it in them to battle the conventions which constrained them. While so many reviewers spoke of Drabble's disdain for the character based on her mother (disdain which comes through clearly in her earlier novels), I felt that through her exploration of her mother's world (or the "nurture" part of this nature/nurture equation), the book provides a realistic yet loving (or perhaps more forgiving) portrait. Like other readers, I found it refreshing to once again encounter Drabble's intelligent voice.

THE PEPPERED MOTH is layered with subplots and ideas. Expect to stay with this novel for a while--even after reading the last line. Drabble creates multi-dimensional characters and uses select words--I've come to think of "fug" as Drabble's own and won't mess with it. Janice Daugharty, author of LIKE A SISTER

Drabble's novels all reflect a level of intelligence missing in much writing today. The Peppered Moth is no exception. It's a compelling story and fascinating character study, intelligently written. Afterwards I felt I knew all the characters personally and wished I could pick up the phone to chat with them. There are too few books written these days as excellent as this.

Although I'm not familiar with Margaret Drabble's other books and therefore can't make comparisons to her previous works, as other reviewers have done, I was riveted by this novel. It seemed to me to get off to a slow start, but by around page 75 the story, with its well-executed time shifts, its atmospheric depiction of a specific time and place, and its complicated (if gloomy) cast of characters, had me mesmerized. The writing is wonderful. Some have commented on deficiencies in the book that they attribute to Drabble's difficulty in writing about her mother with any kind of consistent tone. The author admits to those difficulties in her afterword (which I found fascinating in itself), but I think her struggle strengthens her narration. People like Bessie, particularly if they are our mothers, cause us an enormous amount of inner conflict, and this conflict is apparent in Drabble's style, which does waver a bit. This isn't a happy read, but it has its rewards, and the story is staying with me. The side-plot relating to mitochondrial DNA was interesting and provided a metaphor for the continuity of generations as well as a vehicle through which Chrissie and Faro considered their lives and their relationships.