I sometimes struggle with Novellas / short stories as they can feel unfinished or missing details but The Party is a perfectly formed, detailed story about two sisters and a chance encounter at a party. Evelyn and Moira are close in age but very different people and not always close as sisters, however the events that follow the party open themselves up to each other and the what the world can offer them.

I loved every page.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Party

I do like to read novellas. When done right, it’s lovely to get the richness and complexity of a novel packaged in such a handy and brief format.

And so it was with Tessa Hadley’s latest, The Party.

Set in post-war Bristol, two sisters, Moira and Evelyn, as different in looks as they are in personality, over the course of a weekend, do a great deal of growing up when they meet the older and more sophisticated Paul and Sinden. Being introduced into a world so very different from their own, the sisters experience a night of debauchery and thus learn a fair bit not only about themselves but the greater world that awaits them.

A Bildungsroman packaged in such a wee format, it lacks neither depth nor sophistication and leaves you with the same sense of satisfaction that an accomplished 300-page novel might do.

The Party is a short novel, set in a beautifully realised wintertime Bristol just after World War Two. Two middle class sisters are at university, but living at home with their mother. Moira is the older, studying art and Evelyn is studying French. Evelyn looks up to and envies Moira for her sophistication, but is actually the more interesting of the two sisters.

Moira and Evelyn go to a bohemian jazz party in a dockside pub and pick up (or are picked up by) two affluent men who invite them back to their mansion in their Bentley. The sisters escape the first invitation, but accept a follow-up invitation the next day and are drawn into the louche goings-on of the upper classes.

A recommended read for lovers of character and setting.

I enjoyed this novella, but it didn't grip me, the author told a well worn story, but for me there was little original to elevate it above others. Despite the fact that it was well written, I wasn't sure that by the end I felt I knew the sister's particularly well or really cared about them.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

The Party by Tessa Hadley

In post-war Bristol, two sisters attend a party which sets in motion a series of life-changing events. Tessa Hadley packs a punch with this short novella, covering an impressive range of themes. I enjoyed it so much that I wished it were the opening of a much longer novel! Very highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This is a novella so concentrates on just one night in post war Bristol and two sisters attending "The Party." It is very mannered and although well written I just wasn;t that interested in the sisters and the minutiae of detail oft he setting and guests. I usually really like Tessa Hadley books but this novella didn;t quite grab me.

A beautiful novella describing the coming of age of two sisters set in the post war years. Incredibly well observed and exceptional writing. Highly recommended.

A beautifully written, short, but impactful novel. Hadley writes so beautifully I wish this novella was longer but it's beauty really lies in it's simplicity.

Highly recommended

I hoped this would be in the same category as the novellas of Claire Keegan, but I’m afraid it wasn’t. It isn’t bad, it’s okay.
Thank you Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

The most subtly sophisticated novella, restrained, insightful and compelling. Part of me wished this was the opening of a much longer novel, but in reality it's brevity is a key to it's success. Perfection.

First, let’s wind the clocks back to 2003. The place is Bath. I’m studying for my Master’s. My teacher is Tessa Hadley. Accidents in the Home* has not long come out in paperback, Everything Will Be All Right’s appearance in hardback is imminent.

I remember a feedback session in her office. Ms. Hadley (never ‘Tess’ or ‘Tessa’) stands approx 5 foot nothing and seemingly manages to drop the word ‘bourgeois’ into every other sentence. There is a galley copy of a New Yorker story laid on her desk. (‘They make you work VERY hard, you know.’) The proof is annotated so heavily it looks like a chicken stepped on an ink pad and walked all over the paper.

I said something about how proud she must be to place her work in the magazine - Alice Munro had to wait decades before her talent graced its pages. She immediately froze, stared at me directly, and told me that without Alice Munro there might have been no Tessa Hadley (or something like that). I then mentioned William Trevor finally breaking into the magazine with ‘Torridge’ in 1973. ‘Oh William Trevor! I’ve never read him’, she said - and I was genuinely surprised. Oddly, she didn’t seem to like John McGahern; he was too much of a CAS (‘crusty auld sod’).

I graduated, left Bath, noted Ms. Hadley’s increased backlist on the bookshelves over the years, and that was that. (Assuming we don’t count a brief spell of ‘Did you see…?’ emails to received when she published a story about a student who, like myself, hailed from Birmingham.)

So picking this novella for my next review was something of a catch-up. I rather hope the novella form makes something of a comeback, given Claire Keegan’s recent success - imagine something like the old Faber & Faber pocket poetry series as a model!

It’d be fair to say that Ms. Hadley shares Munro’s fascination with petty frustration, rivalries, being brighter than your immediate peers (especially men) and insecurity. Her default protagonist is female, higher educated, left-ish, likes French literature or Henry James, and worries incessantly about her looks. Men are idiots, but what if the idiots don’t like me?

This is rather the meat of the novella’s text. It’s post-war Bristol and two sisters are attending a party. One, Moira, is older, more confident, and less interesting. The other, Evelyn, is younger, brighter, gawkier (‘girlish and gauche, however hard she tried’) and more endearing. Evelyn longs for a lover of her own, and burns with the shame of the inexperienced. Something, surely, must happen now that she’s started university - (‘where surely she would thrive, because she was clever’). It’s rather refreshing to see characters in English fiction who aren’t arrogant, obnoxious, or worse, Londoners.

The party the sisters attend is central to the story but not its entirety, which surprised me. (Abigail’s Party this isn’t.) I imagined the party would tease out the faultlines in the two sisters’ relationship, expose their hidden similarities and then finish, with a hint or two about their likely futures before the last full stop. Some may feel the second chapter lacks the power and immediacy of the first. Suffice to say we should remember the old maxim: be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. Ms. Hadley writes with power and clarity and triumphs when writing about failure.


*I still have my copy, signed ‘To Ryan, the only person I ever knew who finished Finnegan’s [sic] Wake!’

A novella about two sisters, Moira and Evelyn, who have contrasting qualities.
The novella focuses on two different parties and in the second one, something life changing happens.
The prose, especially in the first parts was very skillful and atmospheric.
Some of the characterisation was well done.
Overall, I wished to rewrite the plot, with some of the same characters in the first party, and never have the second one.

Perfect for fans of Claire Keegan and John Boyne!

Tessa Hadley’s book, though brief in length, carries the weight and complexity of a much longer narrative. Through her meticulous attention to location and historical context, Hadley creates a richly textured world that immerses the reader fully in the lives of the characters. Her skill in developing both atmosphere and character is exceptional, as she vividly brings to life the sibling dynamic at the heart of the story.

Moira, the elder of the two sisters, is an art student deeply embedded in her bohemian circle. She is confident, self-possessed, and influential, particularly within her own family. In contrast, her younger sister, Evelyn, a French student at university, is far less sure of herself. As she navigates the delicate line between adolescence and adulthood, Evelyn conceals her insecurities with carefully constructed lies to her parents. The book captures a key moment in Evelyn’s journey: a wintry night when she makes her way to a takeover party at The Steam Packet, a Bristol dockside pub, hosted by the enigmatic Vincent.

The sibling dynamic is complicated by Evelyn's growing envy of Moira’s assuredness and her impatience to mature into adulthood. The sisters encounter two seemingly worldly men—Sinden, an older, unattractive figure, and Paul, a younger, wealthier man who is drawn to their presence. While the men don't quite fit into the artistic crowd, their attention towards the sisters is palpable. Moira and Evelyn manage to evade their advances during the party, but when Paul invites them to his mansion, Moira accepts, pulling a reluctant Evelyn along with her.

At Paul’s home, they are introduced to a cast of characters, all largely unlikeable but fascinating in their own right. Among them are Hal, an American; Tommy, who suffers from poor health; Podge, a weak and ineffectual figure; and Doll. The events of that evening and night serve as a turning point for the sisters, profoundly affecting their understanding of themselves, their relationship with each other, and their future paths.

Hadley’s book offers a surprisingly expansive scope for its short length, touching on themes of familial insecurity, religious undertones, and societal expectations. The narrative also delves into their mother's fragility and their father’s extramarital relationship, as well as an emotionally charged visit to The Mission to see Mrs. Magnus, a woman who has suffered a stroke.

This book is a deeply immersive and emotionally charged historical read, offering a vivid portrayal of sibling relationships. The characters, with all their flaws and complexities, draw you in effortlessly, making it difficult not to become fully engaged with their struggles and transformations. Hadley's writing is elegant and deliberate, making this story linger long after the final page is turned.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

There wasn’t much in terms of plot or characterisation, and where the writing was rich in the first half, it was a little underdone in the second half. Still, a quick and entertaining read.

Whilst this is a short novella from Tessa Hadley, she manages to make it feel longer than it actually is, through her dense details of location and historical period. Her artful ability to sketch characters and atmosphere is remarkable, you feel like you really know the siblings at the heart of the story, Moira, an art student, an intrinsic part of her bohemian circle, self possessed and making an impact, particularly in her family. Her sister, Evelyn, is a French student at the university, is less sure of herself as she spins her calibrated lies to her parents, excited as she makes her way on a wintry night to a Bristol dockside pub, The Steam Packet, for a takeover party hosted by Vincent.

An anxious Evelyn is impatient to travel the distance from being a child to that of being an adult, envious of Moira, the sisters get caught up with 2 different, apparently worldly men, the older none attractive Sinden, and the younger wealthy Paul. Men who patently don't belong, either to the location or the arty crowd, getting drunk, focusing on Moira and Evelyn, although the sisters manage to escape their attentions by discreetly leaving. However, when invited to Paul's mansion, Moira agrees, dragging along a reluctant Evelyn, both getting caught up in the largely unlikeable characters they meet, including the American Hal, Tommy, afflicted by ill health, the ineffectual Podge, and Doll. The evening and night that follows is to change everything for the sisters, altering their understanding of who they are, of each other, and shaping the paths of their future lives.

The broad scope and depth of the novella covers the siblings insecure mother, a father who has another woman, religion and the church, a visit to The Mission to visit Mrs Magnus who had suffered a stroke and more. This is an emotionally immersive historical read, with sibling characters you cannot help but become engaged with. This is likely to appeal to fans of the author and those interested in character studies and the historical period. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Clever, naive and eager for experience, Evelyn is in her first year of a French degree at Bristol’s university. Her elder sister, Moira, is an art student, more worldly than Evelyn with definite views about what she wants and a determination to get it. They both catch the eye of Paul, a beautiful boy, clearly rich and very drunk, and his companion Sinden, older, dissolute and cynical, at an art college party from which the sisters make a hasty escape, just in time to catch the last bus home. When Sinden calls inviting them to a house in a wealthy area of Bristol, Moira sees an opportunity overcoming Evelyn’s reluctance. What follows is a night that changes them both.
Hadley packs a great deal into this brief novella, exploring class, social norms, marriage and gender in post-war Britain, choosing her words carefully and conveying a great deal in a few sentences. The old order is portrayed as decadent and debauched while social change has opened up a very different future from their mother’s life for the sisters. These are women eager for life, capable of writing off their experience with the depraved Sinden as a drunken mistake from which they emerge wiser, more the women they aspire to be. I much preferred this to Hadley’s lengthier novels which can sometimes feel a little claustrophobic.

I've come round relatively recently to Tess Hadley's writing and The Party is no disappointment. It's set in an unspecified postwar Bristol, where two sisters attempt to negotiate life, growing up, sex and independence. There is quite a lot of incident (two parties in fact) crammed into a fairly long novella, in which Hadley shows a characteristic lightness of touch and beauty of style. There are some lovely descriptions: Evelyn (the central character) is "more yielding and self-doubting and hesitant" than her more confident older sister, Moira. Their mother is "eccentric... wayward and rash". There is some impressive shorthand characterisation at work her. Impressive.

An irresistible novella about two sisters and a night that changes everything, from the master chronicler of our heart’s hidden desires.
WOW! If this isn't a book to brag about I don't know what is... I started it late last night. Never did I anticipate I would be closing the book at 1am!

The Party by Tessa Hadley is a short well-observed novel about the coming of age of two young women and the relationship between the sisters.

'The Party' is a short, nicely written novella, set in post-war Bristol. Two young women, sisters, meet a pair of wealthy young men at a party. A week later they are invited to another party by the same young men, which they attend rather reluctantly, and find it marks the beginning of their true adult lives.

Hadley writes well - her style flows well and she is observant and able to create interesting and likeable characters. As a sampler of her writing ability, 'The Party' is a decent advert for any longer books of hers. However, it doesn't stand up very strongly in its own right. I didn't find it very impactful or memorable, and at the end I was left wondering what the point was. I know books don't have to have a point, but for me I find I enjoy them more if they do. What was Hadley trying to do - what was she trying say or emotion was she trying to evoke in the reader? It didn't shock me, surprise me, make me laugh, make me cry, make me angry, teach me something new, or make me consider a different viewpoint. It's quite possible for a shorter length of story to do that, although harder than in a novel, but this one doesn't.

It's possible that it is very deep, or allegorical, and I have missed the double meaning. But somehow I don't feel as though it is. I didn't mind reading it, but I don't feel like I took anything away from it and I doubt I'll remember I read it at all a year from now. If you prefer books that don't mess with your emotions, it might be a good choice, but if you like your fiction to have an impact, it's not the best choice.