Absolutely and Forever is the story of unrequited love, wasted emotions and the duties and expectations placed on people. Marianne, a fifteen-year-old, is obsessed with Simon, who rejects her and moves to Paris where he marries and has a daughter.
The voice of Marianne is captured delightfully. Rose Tremain paints a mind picture of the era, the society and class of all the characters.
It's a short novel and the plot is no page-turner, but the beauty of the writing is the essence of this stunning work.
4.5 stars upgraded to 5

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rose Tremain never disappoints and this novella is an excellent read. On the surface, it’s a straightforward tale of a young woman's life and love in the 1950s/1960s and that period is beautifully evoked, but the plot also contains an tragic accident and a final twist. We see how Marianne is trapped within the expectations of her gender and class. Her lacklustre performance at school and her parents' disappointment in this undermines her sense of self-worth, her teenage love Simon leaves her and she settles for marriage to good, kind Hugo although she struggles with her continuing feelings for Simon. In the background is her loyal friend Pet, a fierce activist, who eventually convinces her that she must make a radical change and the story ends, somewhat abruptly, on a positive note as Marianne takes control of her future.

The writing is wonderfully precise and the characters and places are brought vividly to life. Marianne's experiences must mirror those of many young women at that time. Many may have conformed to the expectations of their social class and just got on with it (rather like Marianne's mother): others may have found a way to grasp their independence and a good few will have formed the bedrock of the growing feminist movement. I would very much like to know what happens to Marianne. And to Simon.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the arc.

“She told me one day that I was ‘wise for my years’, which was a thing absolutely nobody had ever thought or said about me ever before, including myself”

Imagine, if you will, an Enid Blyton character from her mid-teens onwards, and you have a good idea as to what to expect from Marianne. Her life revolves around loves loved and loves lost. She is incredibly naive, rather spoilt, and would be quickly obliterated by any feminist in debate. Yet, somehow, as much as I found her utterly ridiculous, I couldn’t but be charmed by her. Watching her grow up, mature, suffer the endurance exercise that can be life, it was a little heartwarming, a little heartbreaking. I underestimated her.

“ ‘I don’t know what I want to do. I think I might prefer to die.’ Hugo said, ‘Really?’ ‘I don’t know. The trouble about dying is that the means to bring it about seem a bit hard to arrange.’ ”

Set in the 1960s, this is a character study of a 'nice gal' who tries to find herself through unrequited first love and sensible marriage. .Ideal for fans of character-led literary fiction.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Marianne is an only child from a privileged background. When she meets Simon Hurst at a party she falls in love, but an unexpected failure derails all her hopes of a future with him, although her love endures. First person narration gives intensity and complexity to Marianne's thoughts and feelings, poignantly exposing her lack of self-worth as she repeatedly disappoints the expectations of her parents. However, others see her differently: feisty, classless Petronella who shares her love for horses, and pragmatic Hugo, the son of family friends with whom she bonds on a shared summer holiday, care about her and provide emotional support, offering the chance to live a more fulfilling life....
So thoughtfully are the characters developed that the reader feels genuine empathy for them and cares about what happens to them, in the way that Marianne's two most faithful friends care about her. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to my book group.

A powerfully crafted story of teenage first love and the effect of its unrequited conclusion on a young life. It could only be set in the heady days of the 1960’s with the burgeoning youth culture and rebellion against old fashioned parental authority. I was taken back to my own secretarial school hatred of the boring typewriter ‘exercises’ and shorthand scribbles I could never quite decipher, all beautifully captured among the excitement of that time and the early days of feminism. Immaculate characterisation and evocative atmosphere. Highly recommended.

(Spoiler: I loved every minute of this novel - until the very abrupt end - I wanted to know so much more about Marianne’s life and where it takes her.)

Absolutely and forever by Rose Tremain
Thank you Netgalley for a ARC for an unbiased review.

This novella I found is what I adore about Rose Tremain's writing. The way a few words can be so powerful that you will be reading it with emotions that rattle through you.

We begin with Marianne and her boyfriend, Simon. Although from a good middleclass background, there is still a gulf in class and to a lesser degree, age between them.
Marianne is naive, and for a lot of her life, her naivety stays through to her adulthood and shapes decisions she makes.
Simon plans to go to University and Marianne to remain his girlfriend evaporate, when his life unravels because of failed exams. This leads him going to Paris, with Marianne left heartbroken.
How she navigates her life, as a result of this heartbreak but also the conflicting relationship she has with her parents, are the core of what this story is about, as it shapes her both as a child and as an adult.

We have tragedy and Marianne facing her life choices as she gets older, that Rose Tremain pulls together in a moving way.

As with other novels by Rose Tremain, her writing pulled me right into the story, and left me thinking about long after I'd finished reading.
This might be a novella, but it brings with it the impact longer stories can give.

5/5 stars 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟 for yet another thought provoking, intensely moving and absorbing story from Rose Tremain.

This subtle and short novel has the power and depth of a story twice as long. Rose Tremain captures and crystallises the emotions and suppressions within the life of Marianne Clifford and the people around her ( middle class England in the late 1950s into the 1960s). The story follows Marianne from the age of 15 when she falls in love with Simon Hurst and embarks on a brief but intense relationship which controls and defines her over the forthcoming years. When Simon moves to Paris after failing his university exams, Marianne is left to endure the “torture” of teenage love and rejection and the wrath of her parents as she struggles to enter the world of “acceptability “As her life moves forward, she is still trapped in the thoughts of what might have been .. The world around Marianne changes as the sixties progresses - guided by her friend Petronella - she is aware of the freedom and liberations that are evolving but somehow she falters.Personal tragedies and changes in circumstance move Marianne forward but the power of the past is never far from her mind…
Moving, tragic in so many ways and yet the final sense of freedom permeates after the book is complete - another masterclass in quality literature

Set in the late 50's and 60's in the UK or "You, Kay" as Marianne, our central character will refer to it. Marianne, a sarvastic and self deprecating but loveable character is obsessed with her first love, Simon Hurst.
This, first love is so strong in fact that it tarnishes and haunts her journey into adulthood.

Marianne's story covers many decades in her life, but she remains naive and young of mind and never truly finds her place in the world.

The dialogue is smart and funny and serves well to develp the characters quickly as well as give an insight into the era in which the story unfolds.

An easy, enjoyable read, Marianne reminded me a little of Eleanor Oliphant, who was of course completely fine, except in a different era.

Thanks to @netgalley and Penguin House for the early E-ARC, this book is available in September to buy! .

An interesting look in to the mind of a young woman, coming of age in the early 60s and pursuing a love that really was unobtainable.
On the face of this story was a young woman who probably is impacted by her environment in that she wants to fall in love, marry, and just be nothing (possibly influenced by the rigid patriarchal society she lives in) but a mother or housewife, although that even seems a stretch.
Admittedly, I didn't really like the character or gel with her. Maybe it's a generational thing. I felt like she wasn't very understanding, she was very selfish and she was in a dream world most of the time. I'm not saying we have to like every character but she wasn't really a main character at all. She was, forgettable. Maybe that was the whole point of the book.
There was a little twist in the story but I saw it coming right at the beginning, almost immediately. So I wasn't surprised at all by it.
All in all, a lovely easy read however it didn't quite land for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this advanced copy.

Another great book by a wonderful writer. Very readable and Mar out Anne is a wonderful complex character who falls in love with the unobtainable Simon. A story of unremarkable people that keeps you gripped through out. Shorter than most books every word is a treat

Sorry, but I was disappointed in this book. Marianne was spoilt and self-obsessed, the story went nowhere and the ‘Little England’ attitudes really irked me. I have loved every other previous Rose Tremain novel but sadly not this one .

I really enjoyed this - great characters and very well written but the ending was very abrupt! Recommended.

‘Absolutely and Forever’ is a wonderfully written exploration of rejection and family trauma. Rose Tremain’s central character, Marianne, falls deeply in love with beautiful sixth former, Simon, when she is only fifteen. The reader is encouraged to accept her strength of feeling, unlike her parents, but it is not until much later in the novel that we come to appreciate why she is desperate to commit herself to him at such a young age. When the handsome prince leaves for adventures in Paris, the abandoned princess grows ever more disconsolate. The secretarial college education she is told to pursue after failing in school (despite being astute, incisive and witty) does not excite her; nor do her fleeting sexual encounters in London’s swinging sixties.
Tremain’s portrayal of Marianne (I can’t help but think of Leonard Cohen’s 1967 iconic ballad) is superbly nuanced and tender. Here is a girl brought up to be defined by her value as a wife and mother who is so much more – isn’t everyone? However, because of her family’s circumstances, her own poor choices and her inability to take responsibility for her own happiness, she is approaching her thirties as an emotionally stunted, unskilled housewife. She must face the truth in order to set herself free.
This may, at first, appear to be a ‘slight’ novel. It is no such thing. Another wholly involving, incredibly moving, and thought-provoking story from the incredibly talented Rose Tremain.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage, for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

What Tremain is good at is conjuring a sense of time around which her characters circle, and Absolutely & Forever is such a great example of this. Character, Marianne, encompasses everything that was middle-class 1950s/60s. You might, if you're looking for something to criticise, talk about stereotypes and cliches, but, see, THAT WAS WHAT IT WAS LIKE THEN. People were like that, and so the obsession, the falling 'preggers', and getting married to someone who wasn't all that bad but still being riled up with obsession for another is the plot that lies within this, essentially, historical tome. Do we really have to say anything about the quality of the writing? I mean, it's Rose Tremain, for God's sake, so... go figure. I loved it. I mean, I expected to love it, and I did. Brilliantly done and highly recommended. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

A wonderful book written with such warmth and experience! Rose is a wonderful writer and her books have always been a joy ro read! This one made me question, observe and clarify some of my experiences in life! Would recommend

This novella from Rose Tremain is a sharp reminder of the agonies of all- consuming adolescent love.
15 year old Marianne is besotted with Simon, a clever and attractive 18 year old who is due to sit his Oxford entrance exams. When their plans are frustrated she has to find a way to carry on even though she can’t envisage a life without him.
The story, narrated by Marianne, shows her as sweet and trusting, although rather naive. As she gets older she becomes far more shrewd than she gives herself credit for.
It’s a well written character driven tale about friendship, as well as having to settle for less and the secrets we hide even from the ones who love us most. I enjoyed reading it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books for an ARC

Rose Tremain writes beautifully. I have read most of her fiction and have never been disappointed. Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy. I wanted to read it as Rose Tremain will be discussing it at the Wimbledon book festival in October. I have read that this book is loosely based on her own teenage years. I would love to know more about that and hope she talks about it. However, I notice that she has already written her autobiography- « Rosie » which I must now read.
The protagonist is called Marianne and is from a very upper middle class background. This in itself makes interesting reading. Marianne loves obsessively a guy called Simon. This obsession lasts for many years. It would be a spoiler to say how that ends. The story is not always a bundle of laughs. Marianne has a complicated relationship with her parents. She marries a childhood friend but an accident ends in tragedy. She has one close friend but as often happens, friends’ lives take different directions.
The beautiful writing kept me engrossed throughout.

What an enchanting little book this is; watching a young girl going through adolescence with nothing more than a need to love and be loved in return. The story evoked memories of teenage years, being love struck and all the goes wit it. Marianne is the charming and somewhat naive teenager but possesses the ability to carry on through her young life searching for distractions to combat her love pangs for a boy that although true at the time, had fallen in love with another. Complex characters, episodes of amusement but underlying is the real world where what we want is not what we get. Not my usual gentle, but all the same a joy to read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Random House for this ARC e-copy.

Outstanding! Rose Tremain has once again delivered an undoubted modern classic. Such a wonderfully crafted, emotionally infused storyline absolutely littered with spot on historic detail. Loved it!