The only book which I have previously read by Rebecca West is The Return of the Soldier which I read in 2016 (see here for what else I read in that year) which I found very moving. As a result of that, I picked up The Fountain Overflows in a charity shop somewhere in order to read another title by this author. I cannot tell how long it has languished on my to-be-read piles but I suspect that it has been a few years. I often buy classics and literary fiction but then read crime and fantasy novels instead – there is nothing wrong with this but it explains how the piles build.
The Fountain Overflows is a coming of age book narrated by Rose and set in the very early years of the twentieth century. Rose lives with her two sisters and her younger brother in a family dominated by her father. He is a difficult man who gets into debt, has strong political views, cannot seem to keep a job, neglects his family and is obviously an adulterer. Rose adores him but, like her mother, she continually has to make excuses for his moods and his actions. It is Rose’s mother who holds the family together.
Rose and her sister Mary are destined to be concert pianists. Their mother, who abandoned a career as a musician to marry their father, has determined that this is their way out of poverty and towards independence. Their elder sister Cordelia plays the violin but, although she is technically proficient, she is not a true musician. Cordelia, however, gains a supporter and makes money by playing in popular concerts for people who like show better than substance.
Rose narrates this book from adulthood but represents how she felt at the time and what she knew. This is a book about middle-class poverty and domestic neglect/abuse but also about how to keep a clear vision and goal for the future when your life is falling apart around you. The author raises issues of class and loyalty and she introduces minor characters with difficult lives to illustrate these points in other ways. This is quite a long book but I enjoyed it. I thought that the author evoked the period well and many of the characters are well developed. Rose lives in a world where appearance is everything and families keep secrets to themselves.
The book is semi-autobiographical and the author intended that there would be sequels, although the full narrative was never completed. I think that I shall seek out those books to see where the author takes this story and what happens to Rose. This paperback, however, which is in good condition, is off to the Oxfam Bookshop for resale.
Anne Is Reading 