"Duet for Three" by Joan Barfoot.
This was chosen by Sue.
She told us she had been very much influenced by one of her teachers, Miss King, who encouraged her to read books of all kinds, expanding her range at the age of 15 beyond Jackie Collins and similar, including this particular item.
They shared trips to the library and discussions on each new book.
Duet for Three and other books by Joan Barfoot were awarded prizes including the Mann booker prize in 2002.
Sue declared that parts of this book have stayed with her all her life!
The book is about the lives of three generations of women, living in Canada during the early 20th century spanning the two world wars.
June and her mother Aggie both had disappointing lives.
Aggie's expectations of having a baby and life as a teacher's wife were sadly unfulfilled.
Aggie's self-development after her husband's death are impressive.
The threat of the care home looms over most of the story with perhaps resolution at the end.
Frances, Aggie's granddaughter, does not appear much - though her home coming triggers the opening of a trunk that disgorges items that bring Aggie and June closer together than they have ever been.
The book created a great deal of discussion, much of it concerning how it touched us all personally
- triggering for many: the spectre of physical disintegration as we age, the accompanying feelings of humiliation felt by individuals as we lose our capacity to look after ourselves,
and resistance to potential enforced caring by our children and other relatives - or being forced into care homes.
Also the huge difference between women's lives then and now.
Various detailed comments from club members were noted including:
- not liked at all initially by some, especially the characters Aggie and June. Others however liked it very much, including Chris who declared it to be the best book this year! with yet others undecided.
- depressing: neither Aggie nor June appreciated each other's difficulties and achievements
- poignant, with very good descriptive passages
- it was too long and particularly, dragged towards the end - though another interpretation was that the rambling might have been intentional, with deeper issues under the surface
- expectations were completely different at that time: Aggie in particularly was a very disobedient wife and should have respected her husband's wishes
- the friendship between Aggie and Barney was particularly endearing
- why June ever married Herb seemed unbelievable: she was so strait-laced and Herb so obviously a likeable free-ranging traveller
- there was also a query over why Neil, a school teacher, wanted to marry Aggie, an uneducated farm girl
- some felt that the author did not really understand caring for an elderly person: all the lifting and moving at a time when there were not hoists to help; the availability of aids for dealing with bed-wetting
- it was also felt that the author did not understand Christian love either
- everyone enjoyed the use of language, though there was one comment that though the detail was brilliant overall it was like 'an old grey blanket'
- the relationships between the characters were very complex: Aggie was a strong, feisty woman who just got on with things.
June didn't have her mother's drive: she didn't work to fulfil her dreams.
She was also very repressed - possibly traumatised by the death of her adored father at a young age
- we entered the world of small town Canada, so different from small town England of the same era
GM, June 2025
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