All Change: A Novel (Cazalet Chronicle Book 5)

This is the last book in this series, and I found myself wishing there was just one more. I have really enjoyed reading the whole series, on my kindle. It is an interesting look, into the lives of several members of the same family during a time of great upheaval , in the world. Prior, during, and after World War two. It was interesting to me to see the treatment of the one member of the family who happens to be gay, and her relationship with her partner. It is done very well, without graphic description. If you like series, about families, and history, I think you will really enjoy reading this one.

Elizabeth Jane Howard died on 2nd January so this is the last we shall hear of the Cazalets. I finished reading the fifth of the Chronicles and wanted to know more - a recommendation for any novel. However, I am grateful to have come this far, and perhaps it would be fair to say that the pre-and early post-war novels in the saga are more interesting. In those there is perhaps still hope that the young Cazalets whom we met in the earlier novels can make better lives for themselves than the four Cazalet brothers and their wives. That they do not is chilling. After all, they have survived the war, they have careers, or the option to do so, and their personal lives are lived in easier circumstances. However, there is an air of pessimism about the young people as they mature. Perhaps some parts of Elizabeth Jane Howard's life are reflected in some of these portrayals, with their lack of direction, unsatisfactory love affairs and feeling of incompleteness. On the other hand, other facets of her life are also reflected in the successes they enjoy - writing, beauty, initially joyful love and sensitivity to beloved friends and family. Read in conjunction with 'Slipstream', Howard's autobiography, the Cazalet Chronicles are an accomplished saga of human endeavour as well as a great social history of pre-and post-war England.

I read the Cazalet Chronicles years ago and loved them so was delighted to discover there was a No 5. I hesitated before purchasing it as many of the reviews suggested that it was only half a book as the first section was a recap of the previous 4. Absolutely not! I picked it up, regathered my senses and though I did have to pop back a few times just to remind myself who was who and what was what I was soon totally immersed in the book and loved every paragraph of every page. Would that there would be a No 6 such is my gluttony for good writing and great story telling.

I read the first four books of The Cazalet Chronicles as they were published - and despite moving several times (including from London to Sydney) they were books i could never bear to part with. The Cazalets felt like family. So i was thrilled to hear that Elizabeth Jane Howard was taking up the story once again. I was not disappointed - the author is as sharp and witty as ever and her characters as real. Some had not turned out as i expected (Neville) and some that i would like to have been reacquainted with, were absent (Christopher). But others (Polly, Rachel, Edward and Hugh) were just the same, and it was like meeting up with old friends. There was one storyline i wished EJH had not included - and it left me wondering if attitudes towards potential incest were ever so naive. However, as in the other books, it was the children's voices that felt the most true; EJH writes children with such accuracy - from Georgie (who seemed uncannily like his older brother Neville at that age, only with parents and a menagerie) to spoiled, ghastly Laura (how did any of the other children tolerate her? How did the adults? I imagined much eye rolling!). As with the other books, it was Rachel i felt most kindly towards - for she had devoted her life to others and continued to do so even as her world crumbled. As the brothers failed to modernize their business practice, and the next generation made assumptions about their birthright that could not be supported, it was Rachel who made…

Oh, I have such mixed feelings about this book. I absolutely adore the series. I've read books 1-4 twice since I first discovered them after seeing the BBC series in 2001. And in anticipation of this release, I re-read them a third time. That may have been my mistake. Howard clearly intends this fifth volume for people who have read the rest of the series--but perhaps not recently. The first half of the book is largely a recap of book four, with constant digressive reminders of who did what, when, and somewhat repetitively so. The story only starts to develop tension and interest in the present towards the middle, but some disagreements get resolved too quickly to have any weight. There is at least one frustrating error, as another reviewer notes; Howard talks about Simon's twin dying at birth (it was Wills's). This generation of small children is not well differentiated either by name or personality (Clary's Bertie and Zoe's Georgie are confusingly interchangeable) and the trio of girl cousins (Polly, Clary, Louise) are the least interesting versions of themselves. Our views into their new lives are glancing at best, focusing mainly on the daily travails of married life and motherhood (or in Louise's case, mistresshood). The most compelling storylines for me were Rachel's and Edward's. The Castle cousins are completely left out, save a passing mention of Christopher's monkhood, and I felt that the repetition in the first part of the book might have been replaced with some…