As a lover of eclectic vintage crockery, I was intrigued by
the title and cover of The Vintage Teacup Club, Vanessa Greene’s debut novel.
My husband and I were actually given the book as a wedding present, as our
wedding breakfast was – you’ve guessed it – an afternoon tea, complete with
vintage crockery.
Normally, I tend to avoid this sort of mass-produced,
written-to-a-formula, “female interest” literature, but given the title and my obsession
with vintage teas, I thought I’d give it a go. And I was really rather pleasantly
surprised at the story and characters. The women were well-rounded- so to speak
– and believable. I felt the plot was a little predictable – I could tell the
important men in the story from their first mention, although it was clear we
were not supposed to recognise their potential significance. The imagery and narrative
were engaging, and I had a clear picture of these characters and their homes in
my mind’s eye. I did find the adjectives a little clunky though – sometimes it
seemed as though the descriptive prose was a forced at times. The theme of
wedding decoration and vintage collectables kept me going, whereas in a novel with
a different flavour I might have lost interest. But what was most captivating
was the personal accounts and real emotion that soaked the pages. I found
myself welling up on several occasions while reading it – sometimes embarrassing
when on the train – and I felt that the characters’ individual situations were
each portrayed as though Vanessa had lived them personally. The pages were also
peppered with little details that only true followers of the vintage teacup
craze would appreciate, and I found that rewarding - like little sweets along
the way. And, like a good cup of tea and a biscuit, it made me feel satisfied and happy when I'd finished it. 
No comments:
Post a Comment