Mr.Golightly's Holiday

Fiction readers with a sweet tooth and a high tolerance of Anglican whimsy are offered much beguilement in Sally Vickers' new novel Mr Golightly's Holiday. Set in the Devon village of Great Calne, it records the events observed, and in part precipitated, by Mr Golightly, the author of a work once famous but now tending to be overlooked, who has elected to settle himself in this community for a while. Mr Golightly himself, a rumpled, elderly figure arriving in a half-timbered Traveller van, is a familiar enough version of "the male author"; Great Calne, an apparently idyllic village with a wide range of carefully differentiated characters, but underneath seething with unseen discontents and rivalries, is itself another easily summoned trope--the kind of community now perhaps most commonly encountered in fictional terms in TV shows. This is handy, for Mr Golightly decides that the best way of dragging his great work into the limelight of popularity and relevance is to recast it as a soap opera. In the event, he makes little headway with this project because, of course, the affairs of the village become all-absorbing and gradually draw him in. And so things unfold, as the characters carefully established by Sally Vickers work out their destinies in a mixture of social comedy (some of it very sharp), melodrama, nature mysticism and visionary redemption that delivers far more than the opening paragraphs can suggest. Moreover, the precise identity of Mr Golightly, while not exactly part of the plot, is disclosed gradually and may come as a surprise to some.

It should be said that this is not really a novel, although it does offer many of the satisfactions of a novel. It is a fable with distinctly eschatological overtones, and as such runs the general risks of the genre, most of which are successfully negotiated. --Robin Davidson

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twee? u wouldn't believe it - Rated
I can't believe this got published. Couldn't make it to the end, lol didn't NEED to. This really is pitiful faux-spiritual rubbish.

Inspirational - Rated
Mr Golightly's Holiday works on two levels: on one, the account of the eponymous hero's holiday in Great Calne and on the other...why, that would ruin the plot! Suffice to say, that if you are a fan of Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, then this is the book for you. Vicker's prose is clear and light yet the mesaage deep and thought- provoking. It is the first of her work that I have read but certainly not the last. Vickers deserves to be ranked as one of the most highly acclaimed modern novelists.

Very disappointing - Rated
I acquired this book via a special offer from The Times, and after reading all the accolades, was expecting great things. What a disappointment,then, to find the book wildly over-written, with a very contrived, implausible plot and two dimensional characters. I only finished the novel (and it was a struggle) in order to be able to form a full and fair opinion. I shall not be reading any more of Ms. Vickers' work.

A disappointing read - Rated
I really looked forward to reading this book as I had just read two of Ms Vicker's other novels. However, getting through the book is extremely hard work. I never give up on books but, for the first time in years, I am sorely tempted to give in. Reading it is extremely hard work. The characters are all one dimensional and the book is written in an irritatingly whimsical style - most unlike her other work. A word of warning, if you enjoyed Miss Garnet's Angel and Another Side of You, you may not necessary relish this book.

Amazing!! - Rated
What a totally amazing book. I am at heart a cynic, and so had I known before starting this what it really was about I would have almost certainly passed it by. There are no words to describe my admiration at what Salley Vickers has achieved with this most unusual book. I envy those who have yet to read it.