Review ~ The Eloquence of Desire by Amanda Sington -Williams

Sparkling Books Ltd (14 Jun 2010)

The Eloquence of Desire

by

Amanda Sington-Williams

Set in the 1950’s, The Eloquence of Desire follows the disintegration of a marriage and combines it with the heady descriptions of life in Ipoh, in Malaya. At the start of the novel we are made aware that George is being punished for an extra marital dalliance with the Boss’s daughter, by being sent abroad, his wife Dorothy does not wish to accompany him, but for the sake of propriety she agrees to leave their daughter Susan behind at boarding school  in England, and goes with George. What then follows is the story of deception, infidelity and heartache.

The story is well written and certainly maintains interest throughout with some creative descriptions of life in the tropics. The boredom and languor of the 1950’s colonial experience is captured, as is the political unrest. However, there was something lacking in the overall characterisation which left me feeling a little uneasy. I didn’t really warm to the characters except maybe for Susan, who was I think badly treated by both her family, and life in general.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sparkling Books Ltd for an e-copy to read and review.