title: No. 23 Burlington Square by: Keer, Jenni published: 2023-10-31 read: 2024-08-26 preview

If nothing else, this book is entertaining. Keer attempts to write a text based in the last years of the Empire, between the two great wars, at the boarding house of Agnes. Agnes has one of her four rooms vacant, because of the tenant passing away. Whom shall she choose? Her niece Clara, or the widow Clara, or the bank clerk Mr. Thompson?

She chooses all three, in three different versions of the story. A bit like 4, 3, 2, 1 by Auster? No, not close.

But the development of the stories is entertaining, as said, and the more the parts progress, the more one gets to know the new, as well as the established tenants. The old Polish piano player Mr. Gorski; the mother of three young children, Jemima; and the mysterious photographer Gilbert.

Entertaining, but also at times somewhat artificial. Attempting Victorian language, while focussing the difference between the privileged and the underprivileged, the constructs go a step too far at times. For instance,

Clara was now convinced that becoming an elderly spinster was her fate too, although she was determined to be one of those feisty old ladies who spoke their mind, wore unsuitable clothes for her age and drank like a drowning fish. It was either that or a loveless marriage, and she was certain the former was the preferable option.
or
As they slipped into September and the chill air reminded everyone that summer was being served her notice, Clara found the courage to stand by her decision not to marry Jack.
or
September heard October creeping up behind, and it gracefully stepped to one side, opening the door to the darker evenings and falling leaves, frost-covered lawns and hearty stews.

But such passages, which for me were to extreme, are rare and far apart, and much of the time the writing is palatable. Love is always present, and sometimes topical: And without much thought for the consequences, she tipped her head to the side and gently pressed her lips onto Jemima’s – the thing she’d fantasised about since their very first meeting – as the brush and dustpan in the young mother’s hands clattered to the floor. followed later by, somewhat awkwardly formulated, Both women closed their eyes as their heads moved slowly towards each other until their lips finally bumped together. I never had lips bump together; the wording, for me at least, feels somewhat off.

Still. I enjoyed the book, finished it in a short week, and put it aside.