This is only the second novel I’ve read by the prolific Rose Tremain and much like Islands of Mercy, it is a romantic bittersweet story about a lonely outsider. In this instance, that person is Marianne, a daydreaming teenager in 1950s suburbia who falls head over heels in love with the winsome boy-next-door, Simon. Only what would be just some teenage crush for many of us turns out, for Marianne, to be a lifelong commitment of her heart.

She and Simon don’t work out, obviously – he goes off to a life of compromises, missed opportunities, and sliding doors (like us all) – and though Marianne tries to do the same, this is a story of the secrets in her heart and how she – like us – tries to move on and make the best of what life sends our way.

For such a simple set up – and a short 200 pages – Absolutely and Forever is remarkably powerful. We stay with Marianne through the next thirty years or so of her life and those initial, “this is a bit obsessive” concerns melt away as Marianne’s quiet resilience becomes something to marvel at and empathise with.

And, of course, Rose is far too clever a writer to not layer this deceptively simple story with profound observations on the generational gaps, the soft and hard barriers to women’s emancipation, and the passing of time.

I genuinely recommend this book. Surprisingly powerful and a lovely whimsical, bittersweet sentiment to it.

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me although I have previously enjoyed books by this author.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Amazing read, I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Back in 1983 I acquired a copy of Granta 7: Best Young British Novelists. In it were short stories from the 20 novelists who were judged to be the next best thing. I went on to buy several of their novels and many of them have become life long companions. I get excited when I see that they have a new book coming out. One of them is Rose Tremain, every book she writes is very different but always excellent. Absolutely and Forever is her latest novel. It is a slim but satisfying volume. We meet Marianne in the late 50s aged 15 about to lose her virginity in the back of a Morris Minor to Simon. They go back to their respective boarding schools declaring undying love. Simon flunks his Oxford entrance exam and goes to France and never writes again. Marianne continues to love him, but marries Hugo. I rather liked Hugo. Now you need to read the book to discover just how and if love is Absolutely and Forever.

Synopsis —-How do you find the courage to make your own life?

Marianne Clifford, teenage daughter of a peppery army colonel and his vain wife, falls helplessly and absolutely for eighteen-year-old Simon Hurst, whose cleverness and physical beauty suggest that he will go forward into a successful and monied future, helped on by doting parents. But fate intervenes. Simon's plans are blown off course, he leaves for Paris and Marianne is forced to bury her dreams of a future together.

My thoughts - this book is narrated by Marianne it follows her love for Simon Hurst from a young girl of 15 Simon a few years older . And she loved him ‘Absolutely and forever ‘. However life happens he leaves , he marries and she still loves and adores him daily. Marianne had also met Hugo when they were young their parents were friends. Both use pet names for each other they call each other anthracite and yeti Hugo adores her . Can Marianne love him ?
This is about love , friendship, families , gender roles and the need for women to marry well ! it also explores the 50’s and 60’s beautifully and is stunningly written.
I loved this book and wish it had not sat on my shelf for as long but that’s what we do we get excited we buy on publishing day and we look at it with love! This is a book about love ‘Absolutely and forever’ A short book but one definitely worth the read !

A beautifully written story full of emotion, warm and life experience. A thought-provoking read that will have you reminiscing about your own teenager years.

What a brilliant, sad, uplifting little gem! I loved it - the retro setting brought to life beautifully with little details. The main character's voice, witty yet self-deprecating, insightful yet not really aware of her intelligence - and her personal growth to being able to see (and say) what she wants. I was sad when it ended but then quickly realised it was perfect, short, self-contained, elegantly written, a real tale of the time. Highly enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for the opportunity to read.

In the late 1950s when Marianne is 15 she meets and falls in love with Simon, losing her virginity on the way. When Simon fails his exam for Oxford and goes to live in Paris they correspond for a while but then he meets someone else and her hopes of marrying him are dashed. How will she continue, what will she do, she feels that she is a disappointment to her parents, will her live ever improve?
A sensitively told story of growing up.

A subtle yet emotive novella with the kind of writing that is so intentional with every word chosen.

The writing was wonderful, I felt like every word was thought about, and so deeply too!!! There are a few big things that happen in this book but it’s not wholly about what HAPPENS.

A moving, thought-provoking and clever book that makes you think (as well as laugh and cry). I really enjoyed it, even though I wasn’t expecting to from the description. Recommended.

Absolutely and Forever

Rose Tremain

I’ve no idea why I’m only discovering Rose Tremain’s writing now but I’m actually delighted as I know I’ve now got lots of lovely reading to look forward to as I explore her back catalogue.

I so enjoyed this atmospheric, engaging and poignant novella. Poor Marianne! The first cut really is the deepest.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to discover great books!

Marianne is only 15 when she falls hopelessly in love with clever handsome Simon. She is convinced he will be her happy ever after but plans don’t work out that way. Marianne has to try and forge a path for herself that matches her feisty inner core when 60 s society does not make independence easy.

A gripping read with a few surprises along the way.

This is a relatively short book, but despite that it does pack quite the punch! I had to read late into the night to finish this book as I needed to know what happened, and there was one or two shocks along the way that I just did not see coming. In fact I lay awake for the next couple of hours thinking over the book and was left with an overwhelming feeling of sadness for the main character. Not always that a book has quite as much an effect on me.

The premise of the book is quite simple, girl meets boy, they develop a relationship and she declares that she will absolutely and forever love him. However life doesn’t quite happen the way they, or at least she, perceived it would and the book tells her story.

I found this book to be totally engaging throughout, and have had to give it a day or two before I could give it a final rating. The characters are so well-written and you end up caring significantly for the main character. Her parents are shall we say ‘interesting’ and I liked the way they were written back into the story towards the end, and the impact this had on Marianne. This whole book centres around the theme of relationships and how important the right relationships are to us.

Having thought on it I strongly recommend this book but can see why one or two people wouldn’t; enjoy the book. I have yet to have read a book by Rose Tremain I haven’t enjoyed, but this book has made me want to get to more of her other books I haven’t read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Small but mighty is how I'd describe Absolutely and Forever. To write a book that contains so much without being lengthy, is so hard to get right. But this story is written exquisitely.

A love story that doesn't have the predictable happy ending, it does however end on an optimistic note which I really appreciated as there was a lot of darkness. Unrequited love is extremely painful and I really felt Marianne's grief. A love that stayed with her absolutely and forever. And I did not see the twist coming, but it all made sense when this was revealed.

Understated, elegiac and extremely moving.

I love Rose Tremain's style, she makes Marianne an interested observer on her own life.I
Marianne is sent to a girls boarding school, her parents are distant and critical. Marianne herself at fifteen in love with Simon a handsome older boy, when they have sex in the back of his car, it confirms to her that this is true love. Marianne is upset when Simon fails his Oxford entrance exam and goes to live in Paris, she still imagines herself marrying him.
Marianne meets Hugo when their parents holiday together, they become friends. Simon marriages his French girlfriend when she becomes pregnant.
Marianne goes to secretarial college, she feels a stranger in her own life and eventually agreed to marry Hugo. Tragic events in her life lead her to rethink her future.
A novel which is very much of the age it portrays, with no much choice for women except rebellion.
Thank you Rose and NetGalley.

Rose Tremain ever disappoints and this novella is no exception. Teenage love and all that goes with it; timeless and so well written that I suspect women of all ages will be able to relate to it, even many decades after they were teens or first in love! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Random House for this ARC e-copy.

Absolutely and Forever is a flawless depiction of first love, the all-encompassing emotion of teenage heartbreak, and later in the novel, a study of unrequited love and the various forms that it takes.

Tremain beautifully captures human emotion, in a way which feels raw and unsettling and entirely impossible to put down. I found myself truly understanding these characters, whilst not necessarily liking them wholly due to the honesty and fallibility that Tremain weaves throughout each persona that she introduces.

Aside from our narrator's teenage melodramatic anguish, there is not a significant amount of 'action' or drama in the novel, and it is entirely more an internal monologue where we learn far more about our narrator's true desires through the things that she often wants to say, but does not dare. This creates a feeling of falseness, like she is pretending to be somebody that she is not, and the reader finds themselves hoping that she finds a way to escape the role she has forced herself into and find her true happiness

This novel truly had me hooked and I read it in one sitting. I cannot wait to read more by Rose Tremain.

This is such a beautiful short novel and I adored it. I loved learning about Marianne and seeing how she navigated her world. I felt for her when her first love left her and she had to navigate how this left her. I had my suspicions about her lover but I could see how Marianne would never suspect this to be the case. It's such a poignant novel about trying to find happiness, how settling can be done with the best of intentions but doesn't always work out. I was rooting for Marianne to find happiness for herself and adored the way snippets of her own writing were woven throughout this novel. I loved this novel and I highly recommend it!

I loved this book, it completely absorbed me from beginning to end. Quality writing, a brilliant story @md an unexpectedly dour ending which I won’t give away. Superb!