Story 2/5 Structure 3/5 Overall 3/5

Thanks go to Netgalley and Chatto & Windus for my advance copy.

This became a more interesting read as the novella progressed. I have not read any Rose Tremain before, and as such I did not know what to expect in terms of style and story.

The narrative revolves around Marianne, the only child of a middle-class couple. At the novel’s beginning, she is a naive fifteen-year-old looking about to fall in love for the first time. It is the 1950s with its idealistic view of marriage and the family, where a young woman’s goal is to become the wife to a suitable young man, and mother to his children.
The novella progresses through her heartbreak into adulthood, marriage and the swinging sixties. But for Marianne, the swinging sixties and all its connotations pass her by. She is turning into her mother, a woman she despises.

The opening 20% of the novel is written in a simplistic style, much like a teenager to her secret diary and reflects Marianne’s love-sick trials and tribulations. However, as a reader, this is frustrating, it appears as a superficial series of, ‘this happened, then that happened.’ There is no insight. If I were not reviewing the novella, I would have left it unfinished.
As Marianne recovers from the break-up with her first love, Simon Hurst, she begins to mature and so does the writing style. The last chapter is far more engaging as she deals with the long-term effects of her unwavering love for Simon and the repercussions of not talking within her family.

Unfortunately, this final chapter is not enough to save the whole novella. There are moments when the story becomes more interesting but they quickly sink back to mundane, much like Marianne’s life. As other readers mentioned, the ending is abrupt and I too wondered if I were missing some pages.

Set in the 1960s, the story centres on Marianne Clifford, daughter to stiff upper lip parents, in the conservative confines of middle class Berkshire. What I loved about the book was Marianne's quirky, off the wall personality. As always, Rose Tremain's writing is skillful and thoroughly engaging.. A sweet coming of age novella that I really enjoyed.

It's always said that first love is formative and this is especially true for Marianne. Marianne falls in love very deeply and this relationship dictates the rest of her life going forward.
Set in the 60s when sexual freedom was becoming possible for women, this novella follows Marianne's course through life. She often has "inappropriate responses" and I was left wondering if she might be diagnosed nowadays with autism or ADHD ?

Her life is beset with tragedy as losses compound . Marianne, however, shows amazing resilience and turns to writing. She is writing a story of a South American pony which becomes a metaphor for her life.
If literary fiction is characterised by the reader filing in gaps and participating actively with a text, then this IS literary fiction.

Secrets unravel in this beautifully observed novella. Tremain is ALWAYS worth reading

Having been so excited to read Rose Tremain’s latest work, it’s safe to say I wasn’t disappointed.
She perfectly captures not just English life in the 60s but the indescribable feeling of being in love, through a narrator that we want to hate but can’t help relating to - and emphasising with. I’ve given it 4/5 stars because there were moments where the story did seem slow and almost too mundane (on the flipside: that does make it all the more realistic..) but otherwise I would struggle to find any flaws in this novel.

We first meet teenager Marianne in the 1950s, and the era and place (small town England then London in the swinging 60s) are beautifully portrayed. Absolutely and Forever is a gentle and touching account of Marianne’’s first and enduring love for Simon, a local boy who dreams of going to Oxford.and promises to always love Marianne.
The impact of his betrayal are sensitively told by Marianne herself in a relatable and sensitive way. Her voice is powerful and feels very much of the era. My heart went out too her, with the missed opportunities and compromises she makes. A gentle and touching read I definitely recommend.

I do love Rose Tremains writing- all of her novels have been so good, and this didn’t disappoint despite being a short quick read- so much is packed in here! All about that intense first love experience and how it can endure, the obsessive feelings for Marianne don’t alter even as she grows up. A great read

Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain is an enjoyable novel with an endearingly flawed narrator dealing with love, loss, friend and family relationships, different stages of life.

Rose Tremain is such a gifted author. She’s able to nail period detail and a real feel for the era, regardless of the time frame of her historical setting. Absolutely and Forever is set mainly in the late 1950s to mid 1960s and is the story of Marianne’s coming of age. Her background is upper middle class with a grumpy and cold father and a self centred and disinterested mother. Madeleine has friends from a similar background but realises their shortcomings and takes up with a friend from a different background. It’s fascinating; as the story unfolds the way Marianne’s view of life is subtly changed by meeting people from a different circle; they are politically and socially aware and the scales fall away. Although not entirely as Marianne’s life is shaped by her obsessive love for Simon. He’s from a well off family and Marianne dreams of how their lives together will unfold. Needless to say, it doesn’t go to plan.

I demolished this tale in a couple of sittings; there’s a final twist which I didn’t see at all and left me almost literally gasping. Rose Tremain has created a host of compelling characters, full of foibles and strengths and I felt part of Marianne’s journey into adulthood. It’s a story filled with acute observations about life and relationships and it left me wondering….

I'm a huge fan of Rose Tremain. She always surprises with her books. You never know what you're going to get next. And I just loved this!

It's set in the 1960s and felt to me in the spirit of 'I Capture the Castle' with its wistful, melancholy coming-of-age and failed love affairs. A novella, the story is slight, but it's so enjoyable and immersive. I loved it and was sorry to come to the end, though was glad Marianne had a resolution.

Marianne Clifford is the daughter of a colonel and his self-obsessed wife. She is young and impressionable when she falls for Simon Hurst. He's 18, a few years older than her and destined for great things, doted on by his parents and admired by others in their social circle.

Simon and Marianne vow to be together always, but Simon's life takes a different course. He leaves for Paris so Marianne moves to Chelsea and tries to make her own way. But she can never let go of her dream of Simon.

We have a wry, ironic, self-effacing narrator in Marianne. She claims to be ignorant, insignificant and unassuming, her life measured in terms of how she is perceived by others, but she is so much more. As we read between the lines, we long for the scales to drop from her eyes.

It's a brilliant book which I loved reading for the simplicity and ease of the storytelling, but which has stayed with me long since, and where I want to meet Marianne once more.

Being slightly younger than Rose Tremain I related to her latest novel although my background was very different. Although 80 years old she captures the essence of young love and how a first love can dominate someone's future and, in the case of Marianne, to her detriment. The book made me smile and the writing was smooth and polished. I was disappointed by the rushed ending. Thanks to NetGalley and Chatto & Windus for the opportunity to read and review Absolutely and Forever.

Moving and clever.
Almost from the moment Marianne meets Simon she imagines a life together with him. She loves him 'absolutely and forever' . Set against a compelling backdrop of the 50's and 60's and the immense social changes of the period, Rose Tremain's brilliant writing compresses her story into a novella which illuminates her growth from a naive fifteen year old through tragedy and betrayal to a woman who has known obsession and a touch of bitterness. Marianne compares her life with her mother's and yet knows she just has to get on with it regardless of how different she had hoped it would be. There is a delicate irony in the title which later turns upside down the things she has clung to all her life.
She is cleverer and more dogged than she knows and ultimately, it seems as if she might learn to accept her life as it is and break free from old comparisons and obsessions.
This is a delicately beautiful book and I recommend it.
Reviewed as a free copy from NetGalley

Absolutely and Forever, with its eye-catching cover graphics and 1950s setting, reads like a classic novel but with a modern, fresh twist. Tremain is 80 years old and apparently mined her own upper-middle class English upbringing to write a coming-of-age novel which, while uber-posh, is also warm, wrily funny and authentic.

Main character Marianne is 15 when we meet her in the 1950s, and hopelessly (absolutely and forever) in love with Simon Hurst, a wealthy young man with the world at his feet, until he fails his Oxford entrance exam and is promptly shipped off to the Sorbonne in Paris by his parents. Marianne yearns for him for years, drifting from school to secretarial college to marriage, never forgetting her first love. Life takes unexpected turns though, and secrets and dreams that remain buried in the past are destined to rise to the surface.

In lesser hands, this novel might peter out but Tremain, a former Booker Prize shortlistee and Womens Prize winner, has a deft touch and brings a complexity and emotional depth to Marianne's character and to her parents' relationship, that makes this short novel (177 pages) an atmospheric, engrossing and moving read. I enjoyed everything about it other than the curiously abrupt ending - the last paragraph had me convinced my copy was missing some text.

Fans of writers like Clare Chambers, Tessa Hadley and Nancy Mitford will enjoy this one. 4/5 stars

I love Rose Tremain and this latest Novella did not dissapoint, a compelling story of Marianne as she tries to figure out her place in life, she never quite gets over the end of her relationship with her first love Simon as a teenager. She allows the heartbreak to shadow her life, almost waiting for the time that Simon realises they should be together until events open her eyes and she prepares to move on and do something for herself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Absolutely and Forever.

For me this was a novel of two halves - I will state them in Tremain's terminology and as part of the main character (Marianne's ) life cycle in the story - LOVE/GRIEF ASYLUMS
I am not sure I liked Marianne one bit in her early years - spoilt, unaware of her parent's real lives and existence beyond disrupting her plans but yet supplying her with education at a boarding school, riding lessons and all other material wants. All this subsumed because of her 'crush' on Simon met over drinking 'cider cup' at a house with friends who are called Rowena and Petronella.
I found the 'class' of people beyond awful at times yet something troubled me about the scenario Marianne seemed to perceive as she selfishly indulged her love affair especially when Simon 'flunked his Oxford exam' and in true romantic hero style fled to Paris to write a novel.
As he left Marianne had to get real - although this was again diverted by her parents payment of secretarial school, a basement flat and time to live life in early 1960s London of Carnaby Street and the King's Road.
Tremain is the expert of niche locations beautifully described and the London of those times and the trials of young women were well written.
But the novel for me bloomed as grief settled into her life - loss in many forms takes its toll and a newer, more emotional mature Marianne lived up to the great finale of the plot.
This is a different type of novel for fans of Tremain in some ways. I am usually more drawn to her historically based books but once absorbed into Marianne's world I sunk into it as she did and accepted the conclusions that life would eventually reveal.
A joy.

Absolutely and Forever is a lovely little book that was quite different from anything else I’ve read lately.

Marianne is 15, and has fallen headfirst in love with Simon Hurst - an Oxford hopeful with fantastically floppy hair. Marianne is our narrator, and we follow her through the 50’s and 60’s, as she moves from her country boarding school to London to attend secretarial college.

It’s a simple coming-of-age story (I seem to have read a lot of those lately!), and a really quick, enjoyable, and entertaining read. Marianne is witty and funny, but also naive and sheltered - she freely acknowledges her lack of worldliness, whilst doing absolutely nothing to rectify this.

It explores quite a lot of social themes, such as feminism and classism, and whilst the overall tone is quite light, there are some quite bleak moments too. I also feel (although I don’t know for sure because I wasn’t alive) that Tremaine captured the era so well.

I found myself engrossed in Marianne’s journey of self-discovery, and I was really rooting for her by the end!

If you want a lovely quick and easy read, I’d really recommend Absolutely and Forever!

'Absolutely & Forever' is a searching coming-of-age story, exploring identity, the main characters' sense of self, lost loves and opportunities. It is strongly reminiscent of Tremain's 1997 novel, 'The Way I Found Her'. The writing in the current novel (in light of its brevity, arguably more accurately called a novella) is simple and straight forward, only becoming a touch sentimental and melancholy when the main protagonist, Marianne, thinks about her lost love, Simon.

In summary, 'Absolutely & Forever' is a quick, undemanding read. Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is such a wonderful book. Set in the 1950s and 60s, it charts the first love affair of Marianne with Simon as they met at local parties during the school holidays. Simon is destined for Oxford and they have their future mapped out. When things don’t go according to plan and Simon is sent to Paris, Marianne must decide what to do with her life and find a way to get over him.
It’s a short novel narrated by Marianne, with the awareness and experience of looking back on events. It’s so beautifully written that it held me totally captivated as that story unfolded. A definite must read.

I absolutely *loved* this book! It was so heartfelt, original and engrossing. Brilliant characters that inspire so much compassion and, ultimately, really break your heart. A truly great read, and one that I'm sure will ultimately become a classic.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

I very much enjoyed this tender coming of age story of the all consuming effects of first love. The story perfectly captures the essence of middle class life in the 50s and 60s, and the characterisation is wonderfully drawn such that you feel you are transported entirely into Marianne’s world. Whilst only a short book, it is full of beautiful writing and multiple themes that will have you mesmerised and not wanting to leave Marianne.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House UK, for an arc in exchange for a review.