JAMAICA INN REVIEW

The book was generally well received with most liking the descriptive work of Daphne du Maurier. One member had actually read all of her books and several biographical works about her. It was noted that this was one of her earlier works and they thought her work got better and better as she went on. The Birds and Rule Britannia were specially mentioned as good reads.

Our first true classic, that some enjoyed re-reading and for those that had not read it, it exceeded expectations. It scored 7.33 for the Monday Group and 6.2 for Tuesday. The lower score on Tuesday was a result of the grimness of the book, and although the descriptive work was very well done, it was on dark and dreary moors with mist. There was nothing uplifting about the scenery described and there was an atmosphere of fear that ran through the book. Fear of being lost on the moors, fear of the smugglers, fear of violence. The setting which at times felt gothic, would not have been misplaced in a vampire or horror movie.

Mary was liked by most but despite her feistiness and sense of duty towards Aunt Patience it was felt that she spent the time reacting to events rather than making proactive decisions. Despite being a strong character, she allowed herself to become a victim, modelling herself externally just to survive. The group felt that she learnt behaviour to manage Joss’s violent behaviour and became submissive and shrinking into the background. It led to some interesting debates on the liberation from bad marriages in the last generation due to financial independence but worried that high house prices may roll back that gain for both men and women.

We discussed the difference in literature from when the book was written to today, and we felt that the trend is away from evil being always evil and good people always being good. There is more nuance in today’s authors and the policewomen in I am Pilgrim was given as an example.

Joss and Jem were well received and regarded as central characters essential to the plot. Jem was regarded by most as a loveable rogue and much ‘nicer’ than the thug in Joss. Perhaps the hardest question to answer was the one about balancing decisions with emotions as everyone has a different approach. It was mentioned that when you are young your heart rules your head but even with a lifetime of experience as we get older it does not necessarily get any easier and there is no fool like an old fool!

Some readers did not see the vicar being the villain until it was revealed in the story. Those that did spot it, felt there was something in the way he was portrayed and felt he had a lack of morality. We discussed if he was a vicar that slipped into criminal activity or, a criminal who became a vicar for the cover it gave from suspicion? This led to a discussion on the trust and respect in the past that some professionals enjoyed, the clergy, doctors, police, solicitors, teachers. This respect has slipped and we had an interesting discussion on the focus on “self” and that often people are now given respect for how they act, rather than their profession.

Some thought Squire Bassat would have preferred a trial to get justice, and he missed out on his long held aim of arresting Joss.

The way Daphne du Maurier described the moors and Cornwall in general made the scenery as important as some of the characters. The Monday club do seem to enjoy books where natural surroundings are described well. This was helped bythe fact the virtually the whole group had been to Cornwall at some time although not many had visited Jamaica Inn. It now has the reputation of being too touristy and expensive. Many had seen old versions of Jamaica Inn in black and white movies and one person imagined everything in black and white whilst reading. This really added to the ability to imagine the scene being described so well. When asked if our members would have stayed at Jamaica Inn as long as Mary did, they thought she only stayed as she had nowhere else to go. As the story progressed, she simply found life getting harder and then harder to make the decision to move on. The ending where she rides off into the sunset splits the groups. Although the idea of this departure did not overly surprise the readers they had grown attached to Mary as a character by then. Some thought it was a huge mistake for her and the cycle of life already encountered would simply carry on. Others thought she could change Jem and they would make a great life together and that they were suited for each other.

Suggested good reads by members:

Notes on Execution - Danya Kukafka

Murder at Rook Hall - Kate Atkinson

The Last Dance - Mark Billingham - not as dark as normal and very witty