New Arrival: The Servants' Quarters

Over the weekend I read a book we’d just received, The Servants’ Quarters, by Lynn Freed. It’s a cross between a coming-of-age novel, a retelling of Beauty and the beast, and (in an odd way) Gigi. I’ve had time to think about it and I’m still not sure what to make of this book.

In the decade after World War II, ten-year-old Cressida lives with her family in reduced circumstances. Her father’s in a coma following an accident on the golf course, her socially ambitious mother is trying to ingratiate herself with the local version of the upper crust, and her older, not-too-bright sister finds herself in a precarious position. Her corner of South Africa is far from Europe, but Cressida becomes obsessed with the Holocaust, which she learns about in a couple of her father’s books; the family is Jewish, and she’s convinced that the Germans are coming to get her.

Enter George Harding, the mysterious former RAF pilot who lives up the hill and goes to great lengths to hide the scars he got in a terrible wartime plane crash. Mr. Harding invites the family to come live on his estate, in the empty carriage house. At first Cressida fears him almost as much as she does her imaginary German pursuers, but she soon becomes accustomed to him. She’s supposed to be a playmate to Mr. Harding’s nephew Edgar, but Edgar is not nearly as interesting as his uncle. For his part, the estate owner recognizes a special quality in Cressida, one that her grasping mother can’t, and he begins a gradual process of grooming the child, now teen, now young woman. But to what end?

It’s a quick read. The story moves along at a pretty brisk pace. In addition to Cressida and Mr. Harding, there are a number of wonderful characters: Phineas, the Zulu manservant; Miranda, Cressida’s hapless sister; old Mrs. Harding, George’s dotty mother who’s not quite as senile as she lets on. And then there’s Cressida’s mother, a social climber of the worst sort, unctuous and insinuating. In some ways she reminded me of Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, only slightly less stupid and way more unpleasant. I enjoyed the South African setting, at once exotic and somewhat familiar (it reminded me of another recent book set in 1950s South Africa, the mystery A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn).

As I said up at the top of the page, though, I’m still not sure what to make of this book. The climax unfolds somewhat abruptly, and the coda struck me as just a little rushed, to the point that I wasn’t quite sure why Cressida, whom I thought I’d gotten to know over the course of the novel, would do the things she did. But that’s a minor quibble, considering how much I liked everything that came before. I’m betting this will be a great title for a book club!

If you enjoy coming-of-age novels, if you’d like reading about a different part of the world, or if you’re interested in characters who learn to look beyond what they see to find the beauty in each other, I would recommend The Servants’ Quarters to you. Call or go online to our catalog to reserve your copy today.

--Nora