It's the kind of book that doesn't fit easily into a genre. It's perhaps primarily a coming-of-age book. But at the same time it's a historical novel set initially in the prelude to World War II, and it's also something of a family saga. It's the third of Rosamunde Pilcher's long novels (over 1000 pages in paperback) and unique amongst them in that it focuses on a young girl rather than an elderly lady, and is based in the 1930s and 1940s.
The novel opens with Judith, an independent and sensible girl in her teens, preparing to go to boarding school as her mother and little sister Jess depart to live with her father in Singapore. We see the world through Judith's eyes, and I found her easy to relate to as she deals with the pain of saying goodbye, and the feeling of disorientation as she spends her term-time constantly with other people, and then her holidays at the rather bleak house owned by her Aunt Louise.
Teenage issues are lightly and sensitively touched upon, although they would probably seem unbelievably naive to a teenager today. For instance, Judith at 14 knows almost nothing about sex, so when she comes across a classic dirty old man she has no idea what he wants, but is terrified and feels violated, leading to nightmares that haunt her for years.
Judith settles fairly well into life at her new school, making friends with a 'landed gentry' family who invite her to spend a weekend with them, and who become the main focus of her life until she leaves school. She also decides to make the best of her time with her aunt, until tragedy strikes out of the blue, and she must uproot yet again. Throughout the book there's an underlying theme of Judith's need for a permanent home, although she's not the kind of person who's always longing for things to be different. Indeed, she's a matter-of-fact girl who takes life as it comes, and seems to exert a positive influence on most of the people she meets.
When she leaves school, just under half way through the book, World War II is just beginning. Judith has to make some difficult decisions - whether to go out to stay with her family, as planned, or to remain in the UK and take up war work. She gradually becomes more responsible and mature, learning about love and men in mostly gentle ways, with heartbreak along the way. But still there is a longing deep in her heart for somewhere she can call ‘home’. How her longing is resolved, and how the various sub-plots come to conclusion, is the topic of this thought-provoking book which delves into the heart of Britain in war-time. Perhaps a little slow-moving to start with, it soon becomes exciting and un-put-down-able.
The first time I read 'Coming Home' (probably about six years ago) I didn't like it as much as Rosamunde Pilcher's other novels. This is partly due to the war background, which is realistically described where appropriate, and partly because it took a while to get going. I found myself skimming descriptive sections, and then horrified at some of the things that happened to Judith. One of my personal nightmares is the thought of leaving a child not just at boarding school, but the other side of the world, without any contact other than letters for four years or more.
However I recently decided to read it again, and this time - knowing roughly what would happen - I took it more slowly. Even with several hours free at the weekend (and I read fairly fast!) it took me about six days to finish. While I still wouldn't rank it quite with the other saga novels by this author, I enjoyed it a great deal more than I did last time.
Reading more carefully than I did the first time, I could see how cleverly the author builds up to the various events, slotting Judith's (fictional) life in seamlessly with real events from history. A fair number of letters are included in the book, describing events from different perspectives, and one of them is credited as having been based on a real letter written at the time, describing an actual escape from a dangerous situation.
There are several other significant characters in the book, most of whom Judith meets while staying at her friends' house. Rosamunde Pilcher is a wonderful observer of human nature; she brings everyone to life without apparent effort. Each one felt realistic to me, despite being set in a period before I was born, and mostly moving in the kind of circles I've never met.
There's some inevitable class distinction between the wealthy upper-middle classes and the people who work for them, but it's gently done; the nanny is called by her first name and eats with the family. The nearby farmer's son goes riding casually with the daughter of the household, who rather despises her brother's dull boarding-school friends.
Also of course it provides sound historical background to World War II, a period which Rosamunde Pilcher lived through at similar age to Judith. Indeed her schooling, training and war experience were remarkably similar to Judith's. This is no doubt why the book feels authentic rather than heavily researched; just the right amount of naval or military detail is included where appropriate, rather than an overwhelming amount of information.
All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone with interest in the war years, or to anyone (adult or teenager) who enjoys character-based family novels with a fair amount of action. While there is some romance, it's fairly low-key and mostly secondary to Judith's need for security and a home. The ending is perhaps a little too tidy, but I don't find that a bad thing; I'm not keen on books that leave me wondering what on earth will happen.
Definitely recommended.
If you prefer a film to a DVD, then 'Film review: Coming home' is my review of the three-hour TV drama version of this book, produced in 1998.
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