1 October, The Beginning of Spring, Penelope Fitzgerald, 1988
The Beginning of Spring is a difficult novel to categorise. Set in a minutely observed fully realised Moscow of 1913, it recounts the life of an English printer, Frank Reid in the few weeks after Nellie, his wife, leaves him without explanation to return to England until, equally, without explanation, she returns (at the beginning of spring). A plot is elusive: his children need to be cared for; there is a break-in at the printing works; Frank succumbs to an infatuation; a pet bear cub gets drunk on vodka; spring arrives; Nellie, we come to understand, sought freedom. Her return gives no suggestion of a happy or even a satisfactory conclusion – only mystery.
All liked this book. Fitzgerald conjures early 20th century Moscow with wit and aplomb; her attention to detail and her knowledge of the city, its society, its repressive politics and its corrupting state, deeply impress. Moscow is almost a character in its own right – perhaps to the detriment of others; some felt that Frank’s characterisation was shallow and that his children, although they leap from the page, were not quite believable in all their perspicacity. Fitzgerald’s quiet and deceptively simple style was enjoyed and admired, as was her gentle humour. An enjoyable, if slightly mysterious read.