Mr Golightly's holiday (by Salley Vickers)

(Amazon UK link)

I liked the first two books I read by Salley Vickers, which were quite different from each other. So when I saw ‘Mr Golightly’s holiday’ at a church bookstall, some years ago, I decided to buy it. It’s sat on my to-be-read shelf for nearly four years, but finally I picked it up to read. 

It’s not a long book, but it’s a busy time of year so it took me until today to finish it. Partly that’s because, at first, it really didn’t grip me at all. The writing is almost poetic in places, and there are some gorgeous descriptive passages. But I had to force myself to read, rather than skimming, as they didn’t really add anything to the story.

The main character in the book is a man in his fifties who calls himself Mr Golightly. Nobody ever seems to ask for his first name. He’s moved into rented accommodation in the (fictional) village of Great Calne, which is set at the edge of Dartmoor, in Devon. We soon learn that he’s a writer, who - some time previously - had written an epic work, but his advisers had suggested it was dated. So he’s trying to update it, for a screen adaptation. He hopes for peace and quiet, having semi-retired from his business, but keeps coming up against writers’ block.

Mr Golightly also finds himself involved in the lives of the locals in the village. He hadn’t planned to be sociable, but this is a place where everyone knows everyone else. So they’re all interested in a newcomer, and when they hear he’s a writer, several of them want advice from him - something he is reluctant to give. We learn, early in the book, that his son died in tragic circumstances, and that he’s still grieving. 

There’s a huge cast of villagers, or so it seemed to me. And the different relationships are quite complex, too. I did like Luke, another writer, who becomes quite friendly with Mr Golightly over a few pints at the local pub. And I liked the teenage lad, Johnny, whose mother has disappeared; he lives with his stepfather, but has evidently been physically abused. Johnny regularly skips school, and hides from authorities. But Mr Golightly befriends him, and then employs him to do some research…

There’s also a hermit neighbour, Ellen, who has been clinically depressed since her husband dies. She starts to make an effort for Mr Golightly, however, and then has a shock when she finds another man in her home. There’s also a vicar called Meredith who is extremely liberal in her views, and apparently doesn’t have much actual faith. She feels like something of a caricature to me, but perhaps there are people like her.

But there are also other villagers: Sam, Paula, Jackson, Mary, Tessa… and others, who appear regularly but whom I found it difficult to distinguish. Perhaps this is deliberate, yet Mr Golightly seems to find them all interesting, and gives gentle advice and a listening ear in a way that they all appreciate. 

There are some hints of mystery which kept me reading through the beautiful but long-winded prose and the happenings of the villagers, which I didn’t find very interesting. Mr Golightly receives some anonymous, unexplained email messages. And there’s an escaped prisoner on the loose…

I’m very glad I did keep reading, because the pivotal point of the book creeps up on the reader without warning. Indeed, when I read the clues - more than clues, really - that explained a lot, I thought I had misunderstood. I went back to reread a few paragraphs; I hadn’t misunderstood. The author had taken a very surprising theme. To say more would be a spoiler.

My new understanding made the rest of the book rather more interesting, although there are some quite unpleasant scenes towards the end. There is also a scene, at the end, when Mr Golightly has a long chat with someone deemed his business rival, and (given the theme) I found it rather disturbing. But it’s fiction, and it’s extremely clever. 

Certainly worth reading once, if you like unusual storylines and don’t mind lengthy descriptive passages with rather flat minor characters. It’s highly rated by others, and is probably classed as literary fiction. It's quite thought-provoking in places, too, at least in the latter chapters. But it’s not a book I’m likely to read again. 

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