Mr Golightly’s Holiday

Nicely posted book, which is in good condition. It won't get read for a few weeks now, so can't comment on the main thing...

It becomes apparent quite quickly (to me at least) who Mr Golightly really is, although it's never stated explicitly. As a tale on its own, without the religious allegory, I think it still stands up as an enjoyable yarn. Mr G is described as an author on a rural sabbatical, trying to work on an update to his only big successful publishing effort to date.The plot involves the various intrigues of the people and places in a village in rural Devon, and Mr Golightly's often unwitting and unwilling role in these. Not all of the characters are likeable, but I found them all quite credible. It's not my favourite Salley Vickers novel, but well worth a read.

I read this again at a time of some personal trauma. I'd liked it the first time; this time I loved it. It's the gentleness and humanity of it I think; the understanding of loss and sadness and the wry humour. I appreciated the references more too - I hadn't recognised the betrayal of Judas when I read it the first time. Still frustrated by the long chapter on the devil's argument., though, which is too clever for me. I'm an atheist, so don't be put off by the religious theme; just read it because it's worth reading and you'll feel better for having done so.

This book is a rare gem. The prose is so beautiful, and in its descriptive passages so delicate, it's rather like reading poetry or listening to music. It doesn't take many pages to identify the enigmatic main character. Salley is good at giving clear clues, quite a few of the names are a give away.Mr Golightly was recommended to me whilst on holiday myself and having read some of Salley's books and met her at a literary festival I downloaded it to my kindle and began reading...but so slowly. It is one of those books that made me want to savour the writing; the depth of thought that went into it; to look up unfamiliar vocabulary (uberty); to make notes; to read parts aloud; to think which Old Testament prophet gets cut off in a drought (five letters) a crossword clue; to stretch my love of it out for as long as I could. It is a book to share with others so I have done.

I bought this book at the recommendation of my father. He said, 'do not, under any circumstances, look at the end before you get there'.Having read it, that's what I say too - and avoid reviewers who 'spoil' like the plague until you've read the book.Briefly, it's a simple, charming tale about a writer who books a cottage on Dartmoor, in Devon, in order to overcome his writer's block. There is wit, mystery and excruciatingly accurate depiction of the wild Devon country side, as well as the unique attitudes and comments typical of rural Devon in this book.But, there's something else.If you love a puzzle and would have done well at Bletchley Park, and especially if you know your Bible, you have a treat coming.

Mr Golightly arrives in a small Devon village and his kindly manner and deeds seem to have a positive effect on all the villagers. So far, so good and the characters really come to life. The main problem for me was that Mr G's true identity was rather too obvious from the start and Salley Vickers did rather labour the point!Read this if you like the author's style of writing. There are superb descriptions of the Devonshire countryside too. The plot is rather plodding but there is a satisfactory outcome for (almost) everyone.

This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read; a 'milestone' book in one's life, and that very rare kind of book which makes one want to start and read it again, immediately after finishing it.I look at the reviews here and cannot understand how some sad people can give it one star, and, seemingly, display an almost childish glee in misunderstanding that which is reasonable straight-forward.The book is written beautifully. Salley Vickers is a master story-teller who paints wonderful pictures with carefully chosen words. In places, her prose almost runs into poetry and warrants reading aloud to really get the 'taste' of the words as they flow. Sadly, all this seems to be lost on so many reviewers and I find it hard to understand.Clearly, too, there are quite a few reviewers here who seem to be of the 'New Atheist' persuasion and object to the underlying 'religious' aspects of the story (and who seem to enjoy writing 'spoilers' into their reviews). It's hard to come up with anything sensible to say about such people, who, in my experience, can be worse fundamentalists than the most evangelical Jehovah's Witness. My advice is to ignore the one star reviews and read the book.

This book is most lovely. It is a microcosm of English village life, with characters who are exagerated just enough to make them funny or tragic as required. The style of writing is excellent. Descriptions magical.The only thing which marred reading it was having previously read a review in which the main purpose of the story had been disclosed, so thank you to the reviewer who chose to do this. Once known this information could not be unknown. It has taught me not to read reviews in future prior to reading. That really negates the need to read reviews at all, but if full plots are to be revealed I would rather not have my experience and enjoyment ruined.