Strange Music

August 13, 2012
The uneventful second installment in the Dower House Trilogy (after The Dower House) follows the lives of a community of Holocaust survivors after they've settled into a "capitalist kibbutz" on the series' titular historic English estate. The residents represent a "powerhouse" of elite architects, artists, authors, and musicians, all of whom are looking to usher Britain into a new state of post-WWII prosperity. Unfortunately, Macdonald's promising set-up fails to pan out. Though touted as a Felix Breit novel, the narrative is populated by far too many protagonists, none of whom receive sufficient developmental attention, and a surprising lack of drama permeates the story like dead air in a long-abandoned manse. Additionally, Macdonald has a tendency to forgo action, privileging instead page after page of repartee. Overall, the book feels more like an artifact of the times than a proper novel. Fans of the series who are curious to see how Felix and company have fared since the last book may appreciate the author's latest, but Macdonald's bland music will likely repel more newcomers than it attracts.

May 15, 2012
An exploration of the day-to-day world of a disparate group of people rebuilding their lives in postwar England. 1949 finds famous sculptor Felix Breit and his wife, Angela, a sound recording expert, both concentration camp survivors, living in a semi-communal group at the Dower House estate with architects Adam and Sally, Willard and Marianne, and Tony and his French, non-architect wife, Nicole. Also in residence are Felix's former lover Faith, a publishing executive; writer Eric and his Swedish-born wife, Isabella; economist Terence and his wife, Hilary; and BBC cameraman Arthur and his wife, May--along with an ever-growing group of children known as The Tribe. The group, whose politics range from conservative to Communist, get along despite their endless provocative discussions about Britain's, and indeed the world's, future. Many in the group are still struggling to overcome their wartime experiences. Although Felix and Angela have the bitterest memories to deal with, the arrival of Marianne's father, a Nazi-loving aristocrat, changes her life. Ambitious Faith finds a husband whose job at the BBC is a cover for his activities as a spy. And the addition of a young artist with a string of lovers adds spice to the community. By 1952, when the story ends, rationing will have ceased, a huge effort will have begun to rebuild England after the wartime bombings, and the future of commercial television will have presented opportunities for several Dower House denizens. Although nothing much seems to happen in the second installment of the Felix Breit saga (The Dower House, 2011), the times are exciting and the characters well-enough drawn to whet the appetite for more.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 15, 2012
In his The Dower House (2011) sequel, MacDonald depicts Britain's postwar industrial and personal upheavals, joys and disappointments, consolations and gaping wounds while exploring the complexities of communal living. Eight families, some with children, have settled at the Dower House by the late 1940s, despite their feeling less like a community and more like flat dwellers who share a garden and three electricity meters. Some do victory dances at the news of dead Nazis, while camp survivor Angela thinks, Camps? . . . The very word is an insult . . . . Those places were gaping wounds opened into hell itself, and howls in anguished mockery at a documentary of executed SS officers and accomplices. Others make babies and thow parties, smiling to free themselves from the last decade's shadow. Throughout these interwoven lives, the Dower House moves into the 1950s with a lingering question: Can hope ever salve the wounds of the past? The third installment, Promises to Keep, will appear soon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)