REVIEW | The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories by Penelope Lively
“Funny, she could be. Sharp—not malicious, just occasionally barbed. People who’d got up her nose. So you see I realized I can say what she was like—a sort of climate of mind—clever and astute and kind—yes, kind—but critical and quite judgmental and ambitious, yes, but the kind of ambition that’s about the thing being done, not the person doing it.”
Themes:
- Regret
- The quiet beauty of ordinary life
- Society’s expectations and judgments, and how they influence choices
In May, my family moved to a new area. In the beginning of June, I went to the local library for the first time. This particular library has a “new to us” section, which visitors encounter immediately upon entering. On the day I walked in for the first time, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories was prominently placed, facing out on this very shelf. What a magical place libraries are, and bless the librarians who put Lively’s masterpiece in that attention-grabbing spot. Because I picked it up, read it in a matter of days, and haven’t stopped loving it since.
I love to read, and I’ve enjoyed literature in all of its forms. But it’s a rare work that compels me to read and reread and reread again. This is one of them! I’ve already reread a few of the stories since having first read it in full back in June. I don’t normally write reviews so long after initially reading something, but since I’ve reread many of my favorite parts of this recently, and I love it so dearly, I decided I simply must write this!
Three of my favorite stories were “Who Do You Think You Were?”, “A Biography”, and “Mrs. Bennet”, although I adored every single one. I think there are a few reasons this was such a hit for me. First, I don’t read much adult literary fiction, but a few recent experiences have made me realize that I might need to do so more often. I think my tastes are changing, just a bit, and I’m completely enamored by this genre at the moment. Second, every one of these stories was totally different, but at the same time, they each speak, with clarity, of the human experience. The ordinary human experience. Lively has somehow managed to capture the truth of the absolutely mundane, while keeping the content entertaining. Third, the prose is magnificent. Lively is an accomplished and acclaimed author, and as someone who didn’t know that going into this collection, I can tell you her skill is evident in every sentence.
Honestly, it’s a crime this doesn’t have a full five stars on Goodreads. Penelope Lively is phenomenal. I can’t recommend this enough!
