Arena

When I chose this title for our book group I was unaware that it was the last of five books, so at first we spent a lot of time referring to the family tree because it was hard to memorise the names of all the different families and their members. The Cazalet clan have come through WWII with reasonable success and kept the family firm going. As they move into the late fifties, social and political changes move too fast for them to comprehend, and the final ignominy of bankruptcy forces them all to re-assess family relationships and their place in the world. The story is very skilfully told in an understated manner and the natural reserve of the characters comes out through their conversation. It was not easy to sympathise with the adult characters who all seemed rather self-absorbed, but the children's lives and relationships are beautifully described. On average we gave it 8/10.