Mariana – Book Review

Mariana Book Cover

So what are my thoughts?

Let’s start with the cover art. I know it’s unusual for my review but the cover selection is a very important part of the Persephone publication process. It is a piece of art chosen to represent the theme of the story. Mariana’s cover is a painting of a twenty-something blonde with short hair having a picnic in a park with a young man by her side. The immediate conclusion is that it’s the story of a young modern girl in the war period and also maybe a love story. There are some sexual undertones in the poses of the couple and you wonder a little about what that means as you dive into the book.

One early call out is the quality of writing, which is far superior to most of the things I have read recently. It may not necessarily make me want to read Monica Dickens, but will definitely make me want to read more Persephone Books because I know their editors are reliable.

Now let’s deconstruct the title: Mariana. For people like me who know nothing about poetry, the title does not strike a bell.

But apparently, it’s the title of a poem by Tennyson. The opening stanza of the poem is as follows:

“ITH blackest moss the flower pots

Were thickly crusted, one and all;

The rusted nails fell from the knots

That held the pear to the gable wall.

The broken sheds looked sad and strange;

Unlifted was the clinking latch:

Weeded and wear the ancient thatch

Upon the lonely moated grange.

She only said, ‘My life is dreary,

He cometh not,’ she said;

She said, ‘I am aweary, aweary,

I would that I was dead!’ “

This is just a little hint to what the story is about. Young Mary Shannon’s has been irrevocably touched by war. Her father died in the first war and she has grown up in the care of her fiercely independent mother. The novel opens with Mary waiting one stormy night, to hear if her lover away at war is alive or dead. The book then dives into her childhood and basically follows a linear narrative till the end, when the suspense is revealed.

Monica Dickens’s characters are interesting, immensely likable and believable. Mariana is essentially Mary’s story about her childhood and youth and her relationship with the men in her life. There is Uncle Geoff, Grandpa, and Cousin Denys; the relationships of her childhood. Then there is Piere from Paris and Sam, the architect, the loves of her youth.

The story is also about Mary finding her true calling but that is not something that really stays with you. As you read the book, you realize that Mary is not exceptional at anything. She is really a very ordinary person and I think that therein lies the appeal of the story.

However, I really like my heroines to be slightly strong exceptional characters so I could not build any real fondness for Mary. But there are other things to look for – interesting characters, lovely descriptions of beautiful England, dynamics of a large family, and most importantly relating to the pain of finding yourself.