Bitter Orange

Claire Fuller's moody and arresting novel, "Bitter Orange", beautifully reveals and ultimately resolves, the story told by Frances Jellico as she lies dying. Frances, through Fuller's luscious prose, narrates what happened to her during a few weeks in the summer of 1969, just after her mother, an invalid, dies; Frances having nursed her for ten years. With her sudden freedom, 39 year old and socially inexperienced, Frances, take a job evaluating and reporting on the gardens of an English manor house called Lyntons. Frances meets, and is immediately beguiled by, Peter and Cara, who have come to evaluate the contents of Lyntons for its American buyer. Frances also meets the local vicar, named Victor, who is facing a crisis of faith. These are the first friends Frances has ever had.There are only 5 characters in "Bitter Orange" and one of them is Lyntons itself; a crumbling decaying ruin of a rambling atmospheric mansion. Although there are whiffs of Shirley Jackson, Daphne Du Maurier, and Charlotte Bronte, here...Fuller is to take full credit for the measured suspense, the disquiet, the perfect pacing of the story. We know that we aren't getting the "full picture" from either Frances or Cara, but expect twists! Inconsistencies will be resolve, and juicy mysteries will be revealed; I couldn't put "Bitter Orange" down until the shocking end.If you'll indulge me on a mini-review of the cover art: while the vivid oranges and greens of the cover painting are gorgeous (oranges are indeed a recurring metaphor throughout the novel), if I were choosing the cover I would have selected a moody and darkish watercolor or blurry photo of an old Palladian bridge through the trees - more gothic than garish.

This was a richly atmospheric and unsettling novel. I found it to be incredibly depressing and heart wrenching. Claire Fuller has a wonderful writing style and it felt like I was reading an old classic, not contemporary fiction.Frances Jellico goes to live in the attic of Lyntons, a rundown mansion in the English countryside, to work and document her findings. She quickly becomes fascinated with the couple living in the rooms below her. She realizes that she has a peephole in her bathroom, and can watch their lives unfold. As the summer continues, Frances befriends Cara and Peter, and quickly learns that all is not right in their complicated relationship.Peter and Cara are the first friends Frances has ever had in her 39 years, making her an extremely vulnerable and heartbreaking character. I felt so much unease as I read the book, and I was not prepared for the devastating ending. I love Claire Fuller's beautiful writing, and I will read whatever she publishes.

I did enjoy this book, it has all the ingredients of a popular formula - a woman looks back at the one golden summer of her life, the only time she was loved and had friends. Ingredients include a romantic sinister setting, food, alcohol, a few cryptic notes, some secret spying, an unreliable narrator and some star-crossed lovers. However the formula is not well-executed, because I didn't get much of an image of the house compared to Manderley (Rebecca), for example, which I could navigate tomorrow if I found myself there. Also for people who sat around talking so much about their past (or imaginary past) they didn't put much thought into their actions on the day.There are a few missing links in the story. Frances, the narrator, had presumably gone her whole life without making a friend and there's no real reason for this apart from an unpleasant mother. For someone so isolated without much education, she somehow is offered a job that requires some specialist expertise, demonstrating that she must have had some level of confidence and drive... but nothing of that is shown. There's no logic to why she is suddenly so comfortable with these strange neighbours, when she must have had neighbours and schoolmates in the past. Also why was she so passive about what was clearly going on with all those beautiful objects? As it's a familiar formula, just a few extra sentences here or there might have smoothed out the logic.The other thing that bothered me was the timeline. Frances was 39 in the story's opening, yet 20 years later, it sounds like she's on her deathbed as an elderly woman. It's a long way to the end of the story to figure out that detail. I think the story would have been more logical if she had been reminiscing on her sickbed from 40 years later.SPOILER ALERT:I don't know how she got permission to be buried where she was, after all those years and in those circumstances!!

"From the author of Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange is a seductive psychological portrait, a keyhole into the dangers of longing and how far a woman might go to escape her past.From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them—Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens. But she's distracted. Beneath a floorboard in her bathroom, she finds a peephole that gives her access to her neighbors’ private lives. "The book was very slow starting at first but once I began seeing more into Frances' life before moving to the country, I began understanding why she acted as eccentrically as she did.The end totally blew me away - I did not see it coming. I would have liked to have more story with Cara -not from just her point of view but...all in all....great read.

Not for the first time, having read a Claire Fuller book I immediately started to re-read it, conscious that in urgent pursuit of the story I may have missed something of its delivery. Which I had. The narrator, Frances Jellico amost broke my heart with her social ineptitude, her yearning to have and to be a friend, her self-consciousness, and yet her lack of self consciousness, as evidenced by the cardboard hat made for church attendance, her hopeless over-dressing for her first dinner with her neighbours, and the outfit that she wore to dine out with Peter. His supposedly well-meaning remark "don't worry that people were staring at your outfit tonight" seemed like an exquisite act of cruelty almost. The relationship between the narrator and the mis-matched couple, who seemed desperate to play out their intimate lives in front of a relative stranger, seemed fraught with danger. Had Frances been a more confident 'together' person, would they have pursued her friendship? I doubt that. The ending was shocking and unfair, and it came too soon. Well done, Claire Fuller. A sensitive and perceptive work.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Claire Fuller's style of writing. This is one of the few authors who produces writing that makes you need to 're-read only to discover even more depth the second time around. Bitter Orange's quirky main characters have so much hidden depth it left me wanting to understand their back stories just a little more than is given away. Just when you think you understand were the story is going, in comes another twist. I read this book with ever changing emotions for the main characters. Be prepared for something between compassion and disgust. The best book I have read in 2018.

If ever there was an illustration of why three into two don’t go – because there’s always one left over – then Bitter Orange is it. Told in a series of flashbacks by a narrator whose memory (or truthfulness) cannot necessarily be relied on, the events of one momentous summer are gradually revealed to the reader. Only towards the end of the book does the true nature of what occurred and its consequences become clear in what, to this reader at least, came as a startling revelation.Arriving at Lyntons, Frances is friendless, the product of a solitary upbringing who has has spent recent years solely responsible for the round the clock care of her sick mother, now deceased. She is immediately drawn to the two other occupants of the house who seem keen to welcome her into their lives. However, the relationship between Peter and Cara is a curious one – at times, intense and passionate, at other times, fractious. There are things about their relationship that don’t ring true or seem to be part of some sort of performance being put on just for Frances. Becoming confidante to Cara, Frances begins to suspect the secrets Cara reveals to her may be either fantasies or beliefs she has convinced herself of in order to wipe out the memory of past trauma.I loved how the house with its air of dilapidation, decay and abandonment became an unsettling background presence to the story being played out within its crumbling walls with their peeling wallpaper, under its leaky rooftops and in its expanse of overgrown gardens and neglected buildings. It injected a real Gothic feel to the story, making Frances’ strange imaginings seem somehow possible. A toilet flushing in the night, scary? The author managed to make it so!The book explores the idea of the need, indeed compulsion, to do penance for past deeds – both actions and failures to act – and how not everything is what it seems (like the bitter oranges of the title). As it turns out, small actions can have unintended and tragic consequences.

Great book. Super fast delivery. Thank you.

I don't usually read literary fiction because I struggle with the lack of plot, however many of my fellow crime authors praised this title so I bought it to see what all the fuss was about. It is obvious that Fuller became a published author through an English literature or creative writing degree and not as many do through experiential genre writing because it is rich, flawless, taut and tempered writing that has a very fluid plot. By that I mean, as a reader, I expected the book to lead me to a conclusion that involved a crime, and guessed it would involve the murder of someone. However, I found this title more of a psychological exploration. Hence why I've listed it as a literary thriller. The suspense and tension one would expect from such a novel is there, but because of Claire's literary knowledge I found it did not contain the the typical arcs associated with genre fiction. Although her writing is engrossing, observational, and descriptive, Bitter Orange is more of a slow-burning character study on the lead up to a crime rather than a lengthy prose-filled (padded) investigation into how or why the protagonist does what they do. Although I was pleasantly surprised to find that the individuals motivation was revealed and was authentic to them and plausible in reality. The end is neatly tied and I enjoyed the journey.

I came to this novel hoping for a psychological thriller, with a voyeuristic narrator at its heart. What I actually discovered was that it was more than a little lacklustre for me. Rather than being a book I was eager to pick up, it turned out to be a book that became a little like a chore to pick up. After 70 pages, which took me a week to read, I decided that I was beaten, and that it would make more sense to choose something from my ever-growing to be read pile.

Frances Jellico lies dying in a hospital bed in the present day. She has flash backs to 1969 when she was asked to go to a large, dilapidated country house to assess the gardens for its new owner. She leaves London just after her mother dies - a mother who she had taken care of on her own for a long time. Already there when she arrives are Cara and Peter. He is an antiques expert, and Cara is his wife.There is such a lot going on in this book: Cara and Peter have a strained relationship, Cara is clearly unwell; the vicar in the local church is not happy in his work, and Frances seems completely incapable of understanding relationships - her upbringing seems to have been very sheltered.This is such a good story. I enjoyed uncovering the layers and the last few chapters were stunning and completely unexpected.

Bitter Orange is brooding and atmospheric. It's the story of Frances, now an old lady in an end of life care unit, reminiscing about the events of the long hot summer she spent at Lyntons, a derelict country house. She was employed by Mr Liebermann, the rich American who has recently purchased the property, to catalogue the garden buildings and statuary. Also at the house are Peter and Cara. Peter too has been commissioned by Liebermann - to assess the condition of the house. Despite being older than these beautiful young things, Frances is rather naive having spent many years looking after her domineering invalid mother and she soon falls under the hedonistic couple's spell. As they investigate the overgrown ruins (and the wine cellar) things slowly start to unravel. It's a totally immersive read, with the sense of place and time imparting a claustrophobic feeling of melancholy and impending doom.

Frances Jellico, an unreliable narrator of Claire Fuller's new book, reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant and Susan Green (the heroine of "The Cactus") - somewhat naive, socially incompetent and dying to have a friend and/or a lover. And it looks like she is about to get both - except... Things do not go as planned, or as Frances hoped them to go - or chose to believe they would unfold.I was very impressed with Claire Fuller's writing - it was rich, dramatic, wonderful. I couldn't put "Bitter Orange" down - not least for the beautiful writing. I could almost picture the decay, the strange atmosphere, the eeriness of the estate where the story took place.A twist in the end was somewhat predictable. But it is not for the twist I enjoyed the novel.

Couldn't put it down, beautifully written. I could picture the decaying house and strange atmosphere as the plot unfolded. Clever twist at the end.

This historical gothic fiction novel was such a quick read and a good one that kept me hooked and suspicious to the end. We follow the troubled protagonist find her feet in a social setting unknown to her and run away with her fantasies a little. She's been lonely all her life and feels finally set free and understood, enjoying her life with her new friends - even if they are a little weird and potentially lying to her about their past. The settings are well-described and the house and gardens are a beautiful setting for the creepy story! Even when we're enjoying ourselves with the protagonist, we have a primal sense that there’s something troubling under the surface of all the interactions. Highly recommend!

This book was recommended for our book club .I have never read Any of Claire fullers books before so I was looking forward to this one . It has to be one of the worst books I’ve ever read !! Our book club struggled all the way through . I couldn’t make head nor tail of it , if I didn’t have to read it I would of put it down long ago . Very boring and dragged on . I just couldn’t wait to finish it . And our book club had the same opinion.

Bought this book thinking it was another one with a similar title but read it anyway While it was good for me to read something different I found it a very slow burner with unlikeable characters who seemed stereotypical to me There were no plot twists or reveals that were unexpected or couldn’t be worked out and the whole thing had a depressing, slightly boring feel. I’ve given it 4 stars as this is a subjective review from myself who, as I said, wouldn’t have chosen this book and others might get more from it

Clearly this novel has been on the whole very well received. It is not a bad book, but as the best of the negative reviews says, it is derivative and ultimately lacks originality. It is well enough written, but as some other readers I find the final sections anticlimactic. A really strong finale might have lifted the book into the 4 category at least. The author is not of the calibre of the impressive Sarah Waters, but an acceptable read.

Although I was initially intrigued by Frances and what had happened in her past, I found that I couldn't warm to any of the characters or decide who could be believed. It was a very atmospheric book focussing so closely on a small cast of characters and with a closed room feel in the dilapidated house. There were parts of the book, particularly towards the end, which took me by surprise and that was cleverly done. I know others have loved its slow burn revelations but overall the pacing didn't work for me.