Vincent’s party is in full swing at The Steam Packet when Evelyn arrives, dressed to the nines. Her sister Moira, a friend of Vincent, doesn’t know she’s coming. and probably won’t be pleased but maybe Vincent will be as after all, he’s the one who invited her. The music is loud, it’s crowded and noisy as two worlds collide. This is post war Bristol Docklands with its workers are the bar and whilst many attendees are students like Moira and Evelyn, others are Bohemian, with other guests being at the posher end of the scale. This is an eclectic mix on this damp and chilly February night - how will the evening play out for the two sisters?

I really like the way Tessa Hadley writes and this is yet another book that I’ve enjoyed. Although this is a novella the author certainly packs a lot in. The storytelling is vivid and thoughtful and the two sisters are likeable central protagonists. Moira and Evelyn are quite the contrast, one is sophisticated whilst the other is somewhat gauche, Her inexperience is clear through her thoughts. The undertones and undercurrents of this mix of partygoers is palpable. There are thought provoking conversations which hat back and forth with clever use of language and entertaining repartee. The party is captured in full UHD thus it can easily visualise it in my mind’s eye.

This is an atmospheric novella and richly descriptive with the old pub in war damaged Bristol being particularly evocative. The subsequent day takes us to the sisters chaotic household and a Sunday lunch where the author captures some humour and later there’s a gathering in an old mansion of the same evening. Here the girls encounter a strange bunch, with a somewhat chilly reception which warms up in various ways as the evening wears on and readers witness how the sisters react to it all with some entertaining unfolding events.

Overall, the writing is powerful and the use of language is rich and clever. It evokes the postwar period with clarity both in Britain and elsewhere. It demonstrates the class system and gender roles and differences at this period of time. Although it’s an engaging and compelling novella, the best and most successful part of it is the party itself in my opinion.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to the publishers for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I don’t think I’ve read anything by this author, but I was blown away by this short novella. It’s acutely observed and there’s not a wasted word. It’s such a simple story; what happens when two sisters meet a couple of men on a night out. It’s a take for any time, but post war Bristol is captured and it’s easy to imagine these two, rather naive young women, being captivated by atmosphere and alcohol. Then there’s the aftermath. Finished in a single sitting and I was left wanting more.

A quiet novel that really packs a punch. I can't decide if it was too short or if the brevity of it all was what worked so good.
A simple story that has many layers as you start reading.

I think this was my first Tessa Hadley? I really liked this little novella about two sisters living in postwar Bristol – just such good writing and descriptions, and so evocative despite being such a quick read. Definitely keen to read lots more Tessa Hadley now!

Events unfold in this short book after sisters Moira and Evelyn meet Sinden and Paul at a party, but find them a bit creepy. However, the combination of youth, inexperience, hormones and alcohol leads the girls into unexpected adventures.
This book absolutely describes the horror of waking up with a hangover and remembering what you did the night before. It made me cringe for my younger self, and I am still thinking about it. Brilliant writing.
Highly recommended.

Easy read novella packed with pleasure and meaning. One to read and re-read

Tessa Hadley is an extraordinarily compact writer. This novella, charting what happens when two sisters go to a wild party at a dockside pub in post-war Liverpool, and later are invited to another party, a house party, could easily be a masterclass for many lesser writers whose books are four times the length of Hadley’s novella, whilst saying four times less!

Like a fine poet, Hadley has the ability to make each word, each phrase stack layers of meaning. She shows what the subject matters are – growing up, class politics, family dynamics, Britain at a certain time and place – without diatribe or exposition.

I came to this with a huge sigh of pleasure after wading through a bloated, overwritten, empty book which had been hard work, and offered little reward.

I have now read several books by Hadley, and always have the same sense of slowing down my reading with her, not rushing, savouring every morsel. I always read her in sippets, as it were, because her writing exists for me on many levels at once, and letting paragraphs play through my mind and imagination before reading further, reveals what otherwise might be missed

She is not, in any way, a difficult read – her precision and clarity make her deceptively easy to page turn, her narrative drive is excellent, but, as stated, the pleasure and depth in her writing ought to receive lingering, attentive reading.

The Party started off really strong. Hadley’s writing has a beautiful flow, and she builds characters with such care. But that’s where it stopped for me.

Feeling as though we only got started, this to me felt more like the beginning of a novel than a complete story.

As a first-time reader of her work, I was left wanting more and wondering if I missed a hidden meaning. Maybe I need to try the authors full work rather than a novella.

I was excited about reading this - Tessa Hadley is one of my favourite authors and, after ploughing through some very big books recently, a novella sounded a delightful prospect.

The writing is everything I expected. Tessa Hadley is very good at evoking place and the world of the two young protagonists, Moira and Evelyn, in 1950s Bristol sprang vividly to life. The relationship between the two sisters is interesting as they navigate their way from adolescence into adulthood. The world we see through their eyes is much like that of teenage students in any era: the attraction of the more dangerous characters they encounter, the categorising of people according to looks and social class, the practising of performing and testing selves who are yet unformed.

But ultimately none of the characters are at all likeable and I was relieved not to have to spend much time in their company.

I was puzzled by the title: there are in fact two parties. The first, in a pub, is far more interesting than the second, in a decaying stately home which plays out in a very hackneyed way.

For any reader coming to Tessa Hadley's work for the first time, this doesn't give much sense of the power and artistry of her early work, especially her novels.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.

No idea why everyone was expecting this novella to be similar to Claire Keegan's works, that makes no sense. Anyway, it's very far from those.
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It started off strong and we got to see the two sisters Moira and Evelyn in different situations and it was clear it was building up to something, but there were 40 pages left when things started happening. And the ending was just... is that all?
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Thanks Netgalley for the copy!

A beautiful, nuanced, interesting story of two sisters poised on the edge of independence and all that entails. The characters are skillfully created and the novella has real heart.

‘The Party’ is a beautifully written novella about two sisters seeking new experiences in post- war Bristol. Moira and Evelyn have different talents; the former is at art school whilst the latter is studying French at the university. One evening they come across Paul and Sinden in a jazz club. Unimpressed by the men’s wealth and upper middle-class accents, the girls enjoy a daring escape at the end of the evening, ‘…landing in a crunch of gravel…in that filthy salty bitter underworld of dark…her palms stung from the sharpness of stones.’ The sisters spend Sunday at home, relaxing after church and a family lunch. When the four of them meet again, reluctantly on Evelyn’s part, nothing has changed. The men are just as unappealing.

Tessa Hadley’s ability to create character out of a few wonderfully chosen phrases is particularly well suited to the novella. Despite the brevity of the work, readers will quickly know and understand what motivates the girls to behave as they do, even whilst the latter barely understand their own choices.

At the end of the story, ‘they appeared just as they most aspired to appear, veiled and opaque and desirable like the mysterious women in a French film’. And there is something of the black and white French film feeling about the narrative overall. However, this is wonderfully undercut by Hadley’s use of comedy, not least after the party, when the girls find humour in Evelyn’s darkly hilarious prediction for their future. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Genres are a nightmare at times. Logically this is historical fiction, which basically just tells you the world around the story is in the past. In this case it's post-War. At a rough guess I think the two sisters, Evelyn and Moira, would've been born pre-War. Maybe even their younger brother Ned too... But he isn't too important to the story really, it's about the sisters, especially Evelyn. You could argue it's her coming of age story in fact, but as a novella there's not much room to develop that greatly. Maybe it's as simple as saying that this is simply fiction and leave further fretting to librarians trying to optimise their shelves. It's a good read however you want to categorise it though. It does the novella format well with delicious descriptions and atmosphere. Evelyn is an engaging character who, and this is where I dislike the coming of age category, seems to know herself pretty well. She may be more introverted than Moira, and that difference in character manifests in a degree of uncertainty which drives the plot, but deep down she knows herself. She feels more mature quite often too. But that sibling dynamic is captured well and ultimately delivers the story that unfolds.

It's well crafted and engaging. Easy to rewards but still rewarding. And as a novella I found it fits the format well. It doesn't feel rushed, it doesn't feel like a preview of a novel waiting to be written. It's a story within itself. And whilst I've no doubt this could have been developed into a full novel, it feels well balanced in this format and well suited.

Tessa Hadley's 'The Party' is a very enjoyable novella, exploring class, sexuality, societal expectations, reactions to loss, and the coming of age of two women just after the end of the second world war.

Evelyn and her older sister Moira attend an art student's party where they meet Paul and Sinden - men from a different class and level of experience - that both repel them and intrigue them. Later, invited to a party at the Paul's family mansion, it is difficult to tell whether Evelyn and Moira become play things, or equally use those present to broaden their own experience.

Hadley is a very clever writer, who is able to focus down on very small periods of time and in a small number of pages explore a wide variety of serious themes.

The setting of this novella, in post war Bristol, is perfect in terms of atmosphere and period detail. The plot is straightforward: two sisters go to a pub together, meet some upper class men and then later in the week go to a party at one of the men's homes. But the subtlety of the relationships, the class differences and the longing of the girls, on the cusp of womanhood, for experience and just something 'more' is conveyed in delicate detail.

I enjoyed this short book, and it has stayed with me. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

I enjoyed this novella - a story of two sisters, Evelyn and Moira, in post-war Bristol, two girls who are striving for different things but end up being brought closer together at the end of the book.
The story focuses on bookish Evelyn who is studying a French degree in Bristol. One night, she goes to a party as a sort of 'add on' to her sister Moira - she is the more confident and lively of the siblings. At the parts in Bristol's harbourside, the girls become acquainted with two men - and Evelyn doesn't like these men, finds them threatening and unpleasant. Later, both girls are invited to a rambling mansion in another part of Bristol - and the debauched evening marks a change in both girls' lives, perhaps bringing them closer together.
I like the way Hadley marries the social classes of the time - and how she creates an evocative sense of place. My only criticism is the length - I would like the story to have developed more, but I guess it ends on a suitable note - a perfect novella in that respect.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a delectable novella that works by exercising a sense of restraint. The post war atmosphere is captured perfectly in a tale of two sisters who attend a party in a Bristol pub, then eat lunch with their mother who is preparing for a social function with their unfaithful father. Finally the young women attend a party with a group of louche cousins and their hangers on.
It starts off quietly and captures the transition from youth to adulthood. The action is quiet but builds to a crescendo that carries a sense of dread but also hope.
Perfection.

I very much enjoyed reading this book which reminded me of my younger days and how the classes were separated. It did feel as if the book should have been longer and not necessarily a novella because there could have been more to tell. It tells a story of two very different sisters who cross the class barrier and how they cope when attending a party. There were consequences and regrets.

Beautifully written, wonderful characterisation. I could see this as a Play for Today popular back in the 1970s. I really enjoyed this book, a coming of age for 2 sisters and quite the parody of the class system post war.

Tessa Hadley is one of the UK’s greatest living writers and The Party exhibits her trademark panache for language and delicate character-building, but then it stops: it felt like the opening chapters of a full novel, rather than a fully-realised novella in its own right. The Party undoubtedly makes for a positive addition to Hadley’s wider, excellent body of work if positioned alongside the greater whole, but I do wonder whether the average reader, having picked this up on its own from a bookshop, might be left with a sense of anti-climax, wondering if they have missed something allegorical within it.

An interesting short novel about two sisters who have a life-changing experience when they attend a party. They get taken up by a sophisticated and older group and get coerced into actions they would regret. They come through it with more of an insight into life than they had before.