Smut

Starred review from October 24, 2011
Bennett’s charming, sneaky little work of fiction, two novellas concerning two middle-aged, middle-class British matrons, unfolds in comfortingly cozy prose, drollery that entertains and implies an inoffensive yarn, allowing the unsuspecting reader to be gobsmacked when sex rears its carnal head. In “The Greening of Mrs Donaldson,” a 50-something widow supplements her modest income by performing as a mock patient for medical students and by taking in young lodgers at home. When boarders Andy and Laura run short of funds one month, they offer to have sex in front of Mrs Donaldson in lieu of rent. Intrigued, she accepts their offer, “t which point she had (and almost heard) that slow deep pumping of the heart she had not felt since she was a girl. ‘Life,’ she thought.” When word of this reaches her employers at the hospital, the knowledge alters her persona in surprising ways. In “The Shielding of Mrs Forbes,” the title character dotes on her handsome son, Graham, a banker who disappoints her by choosing for a bride Betty Green, older, wealthy, and “not nearly as good looking” as him. A turn of events so often used to end things happily is only the beginning of this twisting tale, as Graham, who has a penchant for random sex with young men, sleeps with “Gary,” a male prostitute, the night before his wedding. Blackmail follows, and Betty teams up with her father-in-law to get to the bottom of Graham’s increasingly erratic behavior. The story comes full circle when Gary visits Mrs Forbes. Bennett (The History Boys) finds abundant droll humor in his characters without patronizing them (quite the opposite; he’s endearingly sympathetic), and captures the intimacy of a natural storyteller talking directly to the rapt reader.

January 15, 2012
Kinky hijinks rattle teacups among the British bourgeoisie in the latest from Bennett (The Uncommon Reader, 2008, etc.). The book consists of two stories, "The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson" and "The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes." While no more a hottie than Margaret Thatcher, widowed, cash-strapped 55-year-old Mrs. Donaldson rents out a bedroom in her home to a young couple. Her daughter's skeptical--"The first condom in the loo...and she'll soon change her tune"--but student lodgers Laura and Andy are presentable. This proves crucial, when, behind on rent, they present Mrs. D. with barter--a presentation of themselves, feckless, doing the deed. My heavens! Even more so, when she finds herself agreeing. But things have changed since hubby ("an unobjectionable man") departed, and Mrs. D. is spreading her wings. For one thing, she's taken a job at the hospital, enacting, for doctors-in-training, roles of ill patients, and when the part demands disrobing, she discovers a curious willingness. Soon she's hooked on the in-house freak show; when L. and A. depart, she mourns its loss. She gets on with life, though, perhaps a tad wiser...and warmer. In Bennett's next tale, Betty is smitten with fiance Graham Forbes, dashing, doting and younger, but seems in no way wise to something awkward: He's gay (he spends the night before his nuptials with a boy named Gary). The Forbes folks initially pooh-pooh the match (they suspect she's Catholic!), but Graham, who'd married for money, in time startles himself by actually liking Betty: She's sharp, funny and understanding, and, with his sweetheart, the novelty even of hetero-sex is nice. Eventually, Graham's secret comes out--as do others ("Mr. Forbes still from time to time sleeps with his daughter-in-law and leads a vigorous fantasy life on the internet..."), but the Betty/Graham union continues satisfying. While the message in these bagatelles isn't clear, it probably has to do with acceptance. Odd and oddly charming.

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December 1, 2011

Two charming novellas by British playwright, actor, and author Bennett (The Uncommon Reader) make up this slender volume. In the first, "The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson," a respectable widow gets her daily dose of excitement by delivering Oscar-worthy performances to medical students, playing the roles of patients with a range of medical symptoms and conditions. This keeps her busy until her lodgers, a medical student and her boyfriend, behind on the rent, offer her payment in the form of a sexual performance, allowing her to be the voyeur. Hilarity and self-discovery ensue. In the second story, "The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes," another proper but less sympathetic matron is dismayed to learn that her good-looking son is about to marry a woman she considers too plain for him. Never mind that the fiancee is rich and brainy. And never mind that her narcissistic son is actually gay. Protecting Mrs. Forbes from that knowledge becomes the focus of everyone connected to her. Hilarity and subterfuge ensue. VERDICT As when Mr. Forbes gets turned on by murmuring naughty words like arse and fanny to his prudish wife, the smut here is of the tamest variety. Bennett's stories guarantee deliciously wicked fun. Recommended for all.--Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
Bennett is best-known for The Madness of King George (1991) and The History Boys (2004), acclaimed, sophisticated plays brimming with deadpan humor. This mildly smutty volume contains just two stories, which lack the barbed wit of his earlier work. In the first, The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson, we are given a peek inside the life of a prim widow who opens up her spare room to some horny young medical students more than willing to get creative with their rent payments. In the second, The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes, we meet an overbearing shrew who henpecks her deflated husband and micromanages her self-absorbed son's life, turning a blind eye to the semi-obvious fact that he prefers the company of men, even as he enters into a closeted marriage. Bennett's views of the repressed British middle classthe keeping up of appearances, the slumbering vivacity of middle-agers, and the hidden shame of homosexualsseem at odds with the modern setting. However, most characters are crisply drawn and should please fans of his seasoned style.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)