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Rough Music
Beautifully written and deeply compassionate, Rough Music is a novel of one family at two defining points in time. Seamlessly alternating between the present day and a summer thirty years past, its twin stories unfold at a cottage along the eastern coast of England.
Will Pagett receives an unexpected gift on his fortieth birthday, two weeks at a perfect beach house in Cornwall. Seeking some distance from the married man with whom he's having an affair, he invites his aging mother and father to share his holiday, knowing the sun and sea will be a welcome change for. But the cottage and the stretch of sand before it seem somehow familiar and memories of a summer long ago begin to surface.
Thirty-two years earlier. A young married couple and their eight year-old son begin two idyllic weeks at a beach house in Cornwall. But the sudden arrival of unknown American relatives has devastating consequences, turning what was to be a moment of reconciliation into an act of betrayal that will cast a lengthy shadow.
As Patrick Gale masterfully unspools these parallel stories, we see their subtle and surprising reflections in each other and discover how the forgotten dramas of childhood are reenacted throughout our lives.
Deftly navigating the terrain between humor and tragedy, Patrick Gale has written an unforgettable novel about the lies that adults tell and the small acts of treason that children can commit. Rough Music gracefully illuminates the merciful tricks of memory and the courage with which we continue to assert our belief in love and happiness.
Will Pagett receives an unexpected gift on his fortieth birthday, two weeks at a perfect beach house in Cornwall. Seeking some distance from the married man with whom he's having an affair, he invites his aging mother and father to share his holiday, knowing the sun and sea will be a welcome change for. But the cottage and the stretch of sand before it seem somehow familiar and memories of a summer long ago begin to surface.
Thirty-two years earlier. A young married couple and their eight year-old son begin two idyllic weeks at a beach house in Cornwall. But the sudden arrival of unknown American relatives has devastating consequences, turning what was to be a moment of reconciliation into an act of betrayal that will cast a lengthy shadow.
As Patrick Gale masterfully unspools these parallel stories, we see their subtle and surprising reflections in each other and discover how the forgotten dramas of childhood are reenacted throughout our lives.
Deftly navigating the terrain between humor and tragedy, Patrick Gale has written an unforgettable novel about the lies that adults tell and the small acts of treason that children can commit. Rough Music gracefully illuminates the merciful tricks of memory and the courage with which we continue to assert our belief in love and happiness.
366 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
112 people are currently reading
1316 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Gale
41 books700 followersPatrick was born on 31 January 1962 on the Isle of Wight, where his father was prison governor at Camp Hill, as his grandfather had been at nearby Parkhurst. He was the youngest of four; one sister, two brothers, spread over ten years. The family moved to London, where his father ran Wandsworth Prison, then to Winchester. At eight Patrick began boarding as a Winchester College Quirister at the cathedral choir school, Pilgrim's. At thirteen he went on to Winchester College. He finished his formal education with an English degree from New College, Oxford in 1983.
He has never had a grown-up job. For three years he lived at a succession of addresses, from a Notting Hill bedsit to a crumbling French chateau. While working on his first novels he eked out his slender income with odd jobs; as a typist, a singing waiter, a designer's secretary, a ghost-writer for an encyclopedia of the musical and, increasingly, as a book reviewer.
His first two novels, The Aerodynamics of Pork and Ease were published by Abacus on the same day in June 1986. The following year he moved to Camelford near the north coast of Cornwall and began a love affair with the county that has fed his work ever since.
He now lives in the far west, on a farm near Land's End with his husband, Aidan Hicks. There they raise beef cattle and grow barley. Patrick is obsessed with the garden they have created in what must be one of England's windiest sites and deeply resents the time his writing makes him spend away from working in it. As well as gardening, he plays both the modern and baroque cello. His chief extravagance in life is opera tickets.
He has never had a grown-up job. For three years he lived at a succession of addresses, from a Notting Hill bedsit to a crumbling French chateau. While working on his first novels he eked out his slender income with odd jobs; as a typist, a singing waiter, a designer's secretary, a ghost-writer for an encyclopedia of the musical and, increasingly, as a book reviewer.
His first two novels, The Aerodynamics of Pork and Ease were published by Abacus on the same day in June 1986. The following year he moved to Camelford near the north coast of Cornwall and began a love affair with the county that has fed his work ever since.
He now lives in the far west, on a farm near Land's End with his husband, Aidan Hicks. There they raise beef cattle and grow barley. Patrick is obsessed with the garden they have created in what must be one of England's windiest sites and deeply resents the time his writing makes him spend away from working in it. As well as gardening, he plays both the modern and baroque cello. His chief extravagance in life is opera tickets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
November 11, 2018
4.5, rounded up.
I initially had some trouble getting into this book, which I think was more due to personal crisis factors than any fault of the book itself, but once I hit the halfway mark, I couldn't put it down and read it literally non-stop till I finished. Even in this early book, Gale shows a mastery of prose style, complex plotting and deft characterization. The story alternates between two time periods set 32 years apart, and often in these types of novels (for example, in the recent - and excellent - 'The Great Believers'), one storyline will dominate and be of more interest than the other. Here though, both storylines are intriguing and one is never unclear where one is in the novel (it helps - and is very clever, that the protagonist is called by different names in each time frame). Although some of the revelations are not exactly bombshells, and have been foreshadowed long before they occur, everything fits beautifully. Gale has recently proved his skill as a screenwriter with the brilliant 'Man in the Orange Shirt', and this too would make an excellent film (which some would say is faint praise, but I mean it as a compliment.)
I initially had some trouble getting into this book, which I think was more due to personal crisis factors than any fault of the book itself, but once I hit the halfway mark, I couldn't put it down and read it literally non-stop till I finished. Even in this early book, Gale shows a mastery of prose style, complex plotting and deft characterization. The story alternates between two time periods set 32 years apart, and often in these types of novels (for example, in the recent - and excellent - 'The Great Believers'), one storyline will dominate and be of more interest than the other. Here though, both storylines are intriguing and one is never unclear where one is in the novel (it helps - and is very clever, that the protagonist is called by different names in each time frame). Although some of the revelations are not exactly bombshells, and have been foreshadowed long before they occur, everything fits beautifully. Gale has recently proved his skill as a screenwriter with the brilliant 'Man in the Orange Shirt', and this too would make an excellent film (which some would say is faint praise, but I mean it as a compliment.)
December 31, 2020
What a book. Patrick Gale writes so well and beautifully about family, childhood, love and memory. This was absolutely my kind of book.
June 18, 2011
This was a thoroughly engrossing novel about relationships in all their variations and I had a hard time putting it down. The novel concerns one family but is told at two points in time, the present and thirty-two years previously. John and Frances Pagett and their 8-year-old son Julian spent a family holiday at a beach house in Cornwall decades earlier and there is an element of mystery to the novel since the reader soon becomes aware that "something" happened then that has affected their lives. Years later, for his fortieth birthday, Will Pagett is given a two week stay at what turns out to be the same cottage by his sister and brother-in-law. He invites his parents along, his mother now suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's. This is a fascinating look at complex relationships, parent/child, siblings, couples and lovers - heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual. Highly recommended.
September 21, 2025
✰ 2.75 stars ✰
It's odd that I can read a book about incest and not feel as queasy as I did when I read a book about inter-marital affairs that in a way was very much incestuous, too. The mind boggles. 🤯 And well, considering the context behind the title Rough Music - one of the terms used to describe a phenomenon of neighborhoods creating a hue and cry of loud, abrasive, attention-rousing outrage - the noisier the better - to express their discomfort and displeasure of those families committing inappropriate sexual dalliances - that the title is aptly justified. 🙍🏻♀️
It is the consequences that follow in the wake of those explosions - one that very much sets the core of Julian and his parents' future is what is at the forefront in both the past and the present - 'locked in a circle of unrequited need and probably required some healthy interruption from outside.' 🥺
I think this is my third Patrick Gale, and also my least favorite; I would want to give it a lower rating, but I did tear up at one scene, which was so unfair and unjust - parents, I tell you 😮💨 - so for that emotional tug, I'll be a little forgiving. 💔 But, I still struggled to care throughout. I think the author did a good job balancing three different perspectives in two alternating time frames; however, it was their general behavior - mainly Frances in both - that made it difficult for me to sympathize with. 😕
“... It was all—murder and all—about relationships and commitment and the terror of getting involved with another life.”
It definitely had all the key components of a dysfunctional family - not on the outside, but the hidden layers inward that had them at such conflicting odds - Julian's devotion to his mother, Frances struggling to connect with herself upon her husband's departure to conduct an investigation into a prison break that took place whilst he and his family were on holiday at the Blue House - a house mired in secrets and buried truths that upon their return more than thirty years later. It is a reunion that runs deeper than still waters. 😥
With the feeling of impending doom, the plot progresses - both in the memories and in the daily lives - one where Frances battles amnesia, Julian now Will tries to end an affair that really gave me the ick, while also trying to kindle the flames with a new dalliance, and the father figure - John, who is trying to uphold the balance of not normalcy, but stability for a crumbling family that perhaps had been on rockier foundation for far longer than anyone wished to have acknowledged.
“Perhaps, like Latin and unspeakable thoughts (which worked even better in a dormitory for some reason), happiness was something one could learn.”
I thought the reveals would be more profound; considering how long it took to get there, they were not as impactful as they should have been. 🤷🏻♀️ Rather, I was just glad for it to be over, because it was a long book that wasted a lot of time just building up suspense, but nah... If anything, it just hurt and annoyed me more, especially with how Julian's pain seemed to have been forgotten and brushed away. 😔 Not that he's entirely innocent, but I expected more comeuppance to his plight, even if it was painfully apparent what his part was in John's plight.
When that even surfaced, well, it was traumatic enough for all, one that led to Frances' debilitating state and Julian undergoing an identity --- not a crisis, but change. As for Frances --- *sigh* Some will empathize, but I honestly remained indifferent... What I can simply say is that the author worked very hard to realistically portray her feelings, as well as her fears during her ailment. 👍🏻
Still, in the end, we learn that even through sadness and loneliness, happiness has a way of finding itself - to find the positive in suffering, because there has to be a way to break through and see the good in living and believing you are worthy of someone's love and trust. ❤️🩹
“Life is savage, the stories said. People are vicious. But there is love and there is a chill, unloving beauty in stars and flowers, and both can be admired.”
It's odd that I can read a book about incest and not feel as queasy as I did when I read a book about inter-marital affairs that in a way was very much incestuous, too. The mind boggles. 🤯 And well, considering the context behind the title Rough Music - one of the terms used to describe a phenomenon of neighborhoods creating a hue and cry of loud, abrasive, attention-rousing outrage - the noisier the better - to express their discomfort and displeasure of those families committing inappropriate sexual dalliances - that the title is aptly justified. 🙍🏻♀️
It is the consequences that follow in the wake of those explosions - one that very much sets the core of Julian and his parents' future is what is at the forefront in both the past and the present - 'locked in a circle of unrequited need and probably required some healthy interruption from outside.' 🥺
I think this is my third Patrick Gale, and also my least favorite; I would want to give it a lower rating, but I did tear up at one scene, which was so unfair and unjust - parents, I tell you 😮💨 - so for that emotional tug, I'll be a little forgiving. 💔 But, I still struggled to care throughout. I think the author did a good job balancing three different perspectives in two alternating time frames; however, it was their general behavior - mainly Frances in both - that made it difficult for me to sympathize with. 😕
“... It was all—murder and all—about relationships and commitment and the terror of getting involved with another life.”
It definitely had all the key components of a dysfunctional family - not on the outside, but the hidden layers inward that had them at such conflicting odds - Julian's devotion to his mother, Frances struggling to connect with herself upon her husband's departure to conduct an investigation into a prison break that took place whilst he and his family were on holiday at the Blue House - a house mired in secrets and buried truths that upon their return more than thirty years later. It is a reunion that runs deeper than still waters. 😥
With the feeling of impending doom, the plot progresses - both in the memories and in the daily lives - one where Frances battles amnesia, Julian now Will tries to end an affair that really gave me the ick, while also trying to kindle the flames with a new dalliance, and the father figure - John, who is trying to uphold the balance of not normalcy, but stability for a crumbling family that perhaps had been on rockier foundation for far longer than anyone wished to have acknowledged.
“Perhaps, like Latin and unspeakable thoughts (which worked even better in a dormitory for some reason), happiness was something one could learn.”
I thought the reveals would be more profound; considering how long it took to get there, they were not as impactful as they should have been. 🤷🏻♀️ Rather, I was just glad for it to be over, because it was a long book that wasted a lot of time just building up suspense, but nah... If anything, it just hurt and annoyed me more, especially with how Julian's pain seemed to have been forgotten and brushed away. 😔 Not that he's entirely innocent, but I expected more comeuppance to his plight, even if it was painfully apparent what his part was in John's plight.
When that even surfaced, well, it was traumatic enough for all, one that led to Frances' debilitating state and Julian undergoing an identity --- not a crisis, but change. As for Frances --- *sigh* Some will empathize, but I honestly remained indifferent... What I can simply say is that the author worked very hard to realistically portray her feelings, as well as her fears during her ailment. 👍🏻
Still, in the end, we learn that even through sadness and loneliness, happiness has a way of finding itself - to find the positive in suffering, because there has to be a way to break through and see the good in living and believing you are worthy of someone's love and trust. ❤️🩹
July 20, 2011
Patrick Gale is a prolific author but I was only introduced to his writing two years ago by my sister when she recommended Notes from An Exhibition(2007) and lent me a copy of The Whole Day Through(2009), the latter which I never reviewed for some reason, although I do remember liking it. Instantly hooked his entire back catalogue has now been added to my Wishlist. The only other title I have read so far is Friendly Fire (2005).
I find that Patrick Gale is a particularly sensitive writer for a man but I think this may stem from the fact that he is gay. I hope this is the politically correct term to use, but I am not sure. However he is quite open about the fact and in the question and answer section at the end of this novel talks about his husband who is a farmer. The fact he obviously draws on personal experiences in life and location, they live on a farm in Cornwall are I am sure part of his success as a novelist. I am really looking forward to locating more of his books to read.
Straight away I was drawn into this thought provoking and touching novel, set in alternate chapters of past and present. Patrick Gale has a love of the west of England and the sea and his evocative writing is very absorbing bringing the setting and the characters to life for me whilst I am reading.
Julian, who changes his name to Will as an adult because of a nickname he was given at school is the main character and most of the story is built around a family holiday that did not go quite as planned when he was a small boy. As a man Will seems at ease with his sexuality but it is on another holiday that the traumatic effects of that long ago summer come back to question his happiness. Were his parents quite as happy and as normal as he always thought they were? The relationship between them in the present part of the novel where the mother is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's is very moving.
I do not want to reveal the plot so cannot say too much here but it will keep you guessing with plenty of hints but exactly what happened is not revealed until the final chapters.
More information can be found in my post at LindyLouMac's Book Reviews
http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...
I find that Patrick Gale is a particularly sensitive writer for a man but I think this may stem from the fact that he is gay. I hope this is the politically correct term to use, but I am not sure. However he is quite open about the fact and in the question and answer section at the end of this novel talks about his husband who is a farmer. The fact he obviously draws on personal experiences in life and location, they live on a farm in Cornwall are I am sure part of his success as a novelist. I am really looking forward to locating more of his books to read.
Straight away I was drawn into this thought provoking and touching novel, set in alternate chapters of past and present. Patrick Gale has a love of the west of England and the sea and his evocative writing is very absorbing bringing the setting and the characters to life for me whilst I am reading.
Julian, who changes his name to Will as an adult because of a nickname he was given at school is the main character and most of the story is built around a family holiday that did not go quite as planned when he was a small boy. As a man Will seems at ease with his sexuality but it is on another holiday that the traumatic effects of that long ago summer come back to question his happiness. Were his parents quite as happy and as normal as he always thought they were? The relationship between them in the present part of the novel where the mother is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's is very moving.
I do not want to reveal the plot so cannot say too much here but it will keep you guessing with plenty of hints but exactly what happened is not revealed until the final chapters.
More information can be found in my post at LindyLouMac's Book Reviews
http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...
April 15, 2017
Enjoyable enough but had trouble keeping up with the past and present chapters and names at times. I didn't find there was really a plot as such, which kind of disappointed. A childhood summer holiday gone past and 'coming to terms with uncomfortable truths about parents and himself'. They are joined one summer by his Uncle and cousin and repercussions of what happened back then come to a head in the future chapters. Affairs happen within the family. Dementia is mentioned regarding his mother, which was a touch sad in places, but written with sensitivity.
October 20, 2019
This is my second reading of this novel and it's so intricate, so beautifully written that it certainly deserves a revisit. The plotting is extremely clever. John and Francis, a middle class and rather repressed young couple, take their only child, 8-year-old Julian, on holiday to a bungalow by the sea in Cornwall in the 196os. Thirty years later (Frances now suffering from early onset of dementia and John needing a respite from caring for her alone) they all return to the cottage for two weeks. Julian (now calling himself Will) thinks it's the same house, but can't untangle his 8-year-old, fragmented memories. Francis and John are sure it's that cottage. But no one is talking about this terrible coincidence. What happened in that long lost summer shaped all their lives in ways they have still not come to terms with.
Will is a great character. A lonely, sensitive little boy, he fills in the gaps of his knowledge through imagination. Parents didn't talk about things, particularly not to children. As a man just turned 40 he's still living a repressed, lonely life, having an affair with a married man which lacks all the real intimacy Will craves.
The writing of these people is a masterclass in character development and heartachingly painful and touching.
I'll update when finished.
Finished. Isn't it interesting how a book reveals itself to us differently when we are older. When I first read this, it seemed to me to be mainly a very satisfying love story. Now, however, older and nostalgic for times that can't come again, it's the loss of innocence and the destruction of childhood that mostly strikes me. Julian is the archetypal imaginative, sweet little boy. He takes his beloved guinea pig on holiday with him for goodness sake. By the end of the holiday, Lady Percy is lost and so is Julian's childhood--to the extent that he actually reinvents himself as Will. Adult selfishness strikes me as the theme of this novel now.
I cannot recommend Patrick Gale too highly if you want a challenging, engrossing, thought-provoking read.
Will is a great character. A lonely, sensitive little boy, he fills in the gaps of his knowledge through imagination. Parents didn't talk about things, particularly not to children. As a man just turned 40 he's still living a repressed, lonely life, having an affair with a married man which lacks all the real intimacy Will craves.
The writing of these people is a masterclass in character development and heartachingly painful and touching.
I'll update when finished.
Finished. Isn't it interesting how a book reveals itself to us differently when we are older. When I first read this, it seemed to me to be mainly a very satisfying love story. Now, however, older and nostalgic for times that can't come again, it's the loss of innocence and the destruction of childhood that mostly strikes me. Julian is the archetypal imaginative, sweet little boy. He takes his beloved guinea pig on holiday with him for goodness sake. By the end of the holiday, Lady Percy is lost and so is Julian's childhood--to the extent that he actually reinvents himself as Will. Adult selfishness strikes me as the theme of this novel now.
I cannot recommend Patrick Gale too highly if you want a challenging, engrossing, thought-provoking read.
August 6, 2009
Wow - I don't often read more than one book by the same author (apart from Classics that is). However, I loved Notes from an Exhibition and thought I'd try another from Patrick Gale. What a great read - you don't often find characters described in quite such accurate detail - each with their own, very deep issues and all intertwined in such complex ways. I really felt I got to know all of them.
Yes, I did find myself turning back a few pages every now and then to remember what had happened, but that's more a symptom of my (too superficial) reading style than a fault of the book.
Reading the author's notes, it does seem that this book is more than a little autobigraphical; even if the characters differ from the real people in Mr Gale's life, some of the experiences seem all too real. Maybe this closeness to the truth is what brings it to life through his writing.
Will I read another? It depends on time (of course) and availability. Sadly this was the only copy of the only Patrick Gale book available in my home (California) library.
Yes, I did find myself turning back a few pages every now and then to remember what had happened, but that's more a symptom of my (too superficial) reading style than a fault of the book.
Reading the author's notes, it does seem that this book is more than a little autobigraphical; even if the characters differ from the real people in Mr Gale's life, some of the experiences seem all too real. Maybe this closeness to the truth is what brings it to life through his writing.
Will I read another? It depends on time (of course) and availability. Sadly this was the only copy of the only Patrick Gale book available in my home (California) library.
September 17, 2017
Julian grows up a solitary boy, the only child in a rather straight-laced family. His father is a prison governor and Julian occasionally speaks to the prisoners. The family take a holiday in a remote seaside bungalow and are joined by his uncle and cousin. It’s as a result of what happened on that holiday that a repeat of the experience, when his cousin books the same bungalow proved traumatic for all, especially his mother with her gathering Alzheimer’s disease.
I’m a great fan of Patrick Gale’s writing. It’s elegant, sophisticated but not in the least flowery. It’s what writers should aspire to. He takes apart a family teetering on the brink of not really knowing each other, or of being in denial of what they know, and analyses their actions and deeds in an almost forensic detail. A really great book.
I’m a great fan of Patrick Gale’s writing. It’s elegant, sophisticated but not in the least flowery. It’s what writers should aspire to. He takes apart a family teetering on the brink of not really knowing each other, or of being in denial of what they know, and analyses their actions and deeds in an almost forensic detail. A really great book.
April 12, 2015
Patrick Gale's books are brilliant. This one feels a bit personal too - there's more than a bit of autobiographical detail in Julian's character. Believable characters, two time frames and a ton of plot. Highly Recommended.
October 23, 2024
Well I officially love Patrick Gale's books! He has the uncanny knack, rather like Elizabeth Strout, of getting inside people's heads and portraying them, their emotions, decisions and consequences; all with the ease and confidence of a natural storyteller.
This story combines many different intermingling facets and junctures; childhood, sexuality, infidelity, guilt, obligation, enduring relationships. It is cleverly atmospheric and grounded in place and time.
The writing feels effortless and I was thoroughly absorbed from beginning to end.
A true masterpiece, would highly recommend.
This story combines many different intermingling facets and junctures; childhood, sexuality, infidelity, guilt, obligation, enduring relationships. It is cleverly atmospheric and grounded in place and time.
The writing feels effortless and I was thoroughly absorbed from beginning to end.
A true masterpiece, would highly recommend.
November 1, 2019
Had high hopes, but found it a disappointing read. Took a long time for nothing particularly spectacular to happen.
July 5, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of this novel. Gale's writing is both beautiful and evocative but simple and digestable, a pleasure to read. I found all of the characters likeable and relatable to some extent and appreciated the reality that each was also human and flawed. The switching between timelines worked seemlessly and avoided the sense I often feel where I prefer one storyline over the other and am eager to rush one to resume the other. Both flowed into one another and built on each other and I tired of neither. I found the plot compelling and devoured the novel pretty rapidly for me. There were insightful reflections from a range of voices on parenthood, a child's relation to their parents and their desire to protect the adults in their life, love, desire, sexuality, friendship and siblinghood. All brilliant.
March 21, 2013
This book is the most overtly gay of Patrick Gale's novels that I have read so far, in that its main character is gay and the story involves his long-standing relationship with an 'in the closet' lover and the commencement of a new relationship.
But the gay aspects of this story are really incidental. Its main subject is family; the scarcely-skinned-over fissures which families struggle on with over years and years, the unaddressed issues which can fester and yet which also hone us into more forgiving, tolerant, understanding people. They test our love, and if it survives the test, love becomes stronger.
As previously with Gale, he uses a delicate but powerful catalyst to make the central spine of his plot; in this case, the insidious progress of Alzheimer's disease. A vague absent-mindedness and a developing tendency to use swear words in a respectable wife and mother are endearing and even humorous at first, but increasing confusion, loss of vocabulary and memory-blanks lead to the heart-breaking day when she does not recognise her family.
Two holidays create two time-frames for the story, separated by some thirty odd years. In each a betrayal is perpetrated, observed but only partly understood; in the one case, by an eight year old boy and in the second by a dementia-dazed older woman. Both holidays take place in the same house. Setting therefore, of house and cove and landscape, unifies the two. These parallels and reflections across time are beautifully done; Gale effectively tells the same story twice, shifting perspectives and roles amongst the Paget family which dramatically alters the impact and outcome of each.
'Rough Music' refers to a means by which homosexuality is denigrated in some cultures. Since Will's sexuality is never denigrated by anyone, even his hide-bound, uber-respectable parents, it seemed an odd choice for the title. Will himself changes his name between the earlier and later time frames, for no good reason that I could fathom. It only created a lingering doubt that the two were indeed one and the same which lessened, rather than increased the impact of other coincidences and parallels.
Gale's writing, as always, is deft and evocative, a real treat.
But the gay aspects of this story are really incidental. Its main subject is family; the scarcely-skinned-over fissures which families struggle on with over years and years, the unaddressed issues which can fester and yet which also hone us into more forgiving, tolerant, understanding people. They test our love, and if it survives the test, love becomes stronger.
As previously with Gale, he uses a delicate but powerful catalyst to make the central spine of his plot; in this case, the insidious progress of Alzheimer's disease. A vague absent-mindedness and a developing tendency to use swear words in a respectable wife and mother are endearing and even humorous at first, but increasing confusion, loss of vocabulary and memory-blanks lead to the heart-breaking day when she does not recognise her family.
Two holidays create two time-frames for the story, separated by some thirty odd years. In each a betrayal is perpetrated, observed but only partly understood; in the one case, by an eight year old boy and in the second by a dementia-dazed older woman. Both holidays take place in the same house. Setting therefore, of house and cove and landscape, unifies the two. These parallels and reflections across time are beautifully done; Gale effectively tells the same story twice, shifting perspectives and roles amongst the Paget family which dramatically alters the impact and outcome of each.
'Rough Music' refers to a means by which homosexuality is denigrated in some cultures. Since Will's sexuality is never denigrated by anyone, even his hide-bound, uber-respectable parents, it seemed an odd choice for the title. Will himself changes his name between the earlier and later time frames, for no good reason that I could fathom. It only created a lingering doubt that the two were indeed one and the same which lessened, rather than increased the impact of other coincidences and parallels.
Gale's writing, as always, is deft and evocative, a real treat.
March 16, 2017
Got past a third into the book and gave up. Something is going to happen. The author hints at it off and on. But as of 36% into the story, nothing has happened. Oh we've met the characters and they're interesting enough, but the focus on in-depth character studies for so much of the story's opening left me so unsatisfied I couldn't continue.
March 21, 2013
Not his best work I didn't think (that's still notes on an exhibition for me) but a good read non the less.
His characters always seem so believable no matter what situation they are in...
Has me looking to see what else in his back catalogue I haven't read.
His characters always seem so believable no matter what situation they are in...
Has me looking to see what else in his back catalogue I haven't read.
March 21, 2021
A tale of two holidays in Cornwall thirty years apart and of complex family relationships.
Recommended.
Recommended.
January 8, 2024
For some reason, I've never read any of Patrick Gale's novels, but I've begun, and I loved this one. Two intertwined stories, set thirty years apart, family and drama, love and betrayals, a beach house in Cornwall.
April 13, 2012
This book was ok, not really my type of novel.
The book switches between the present and a period 30 years or so earlier.
In the past the story follows Julian and his parents whilst holidaying in Cornwall. They are joined by his uncle and cousin from America. The story is very predictable. Julian's mother has an affair with her brother in law.
Thirty years on Julian (now called Will) is given a birthday present of a week in Cornwall, back at the same cottage (although initially no one remembers the cottage). He elects to take his parents. His mother is suffering from early stage dementia. They are joined by Will's brother in law and nephews. Will is having an affair with his brother in law.
The story looks at the repercussions of the affairs over time.
The story handles the dementia decline very well.
One odd part highlights Julian's fathers role as a prison governor. Julian (aged about 8) has regular contact (pre holiday) with gardening prisoners, including a rapist. This part doesn't ring true, why would an eight year old be exposed to the risk of such an encounter?
The book switches between the present and a period 30 years or so earlier.
In the past the story follows Julian and his parents whilst holidaying in Cornwall. They are joined by his uncle and cousin from America. The story is very predictable. Julian's mother has an affair with her brother in law.
Thirty years on Julian (now called Will) is given a birthday present of a week in Cornwall, back at the same cottage (although initially no one remembers the cottage). He elects to take his parents. His mother is suffering from early stage dementia. They are joined by Will's brother in law and nephews. Will is having an affair with his brother in law.
The story looks at the repercussions of the affairs over time.
The story handles the dementia decline very well.
One odd part highlights Julian's fathers role as a prison governor. Julian (aged about 8) has regular contact (pre holiday) with gardening prisoners, including a rapist. This part doesn't ring true, why would an eight year old be exposed to the risk of such an encounter?
August 2, 2011
Another great novel from Patrick Gale who is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. Told as a mixture of past and present, it is full of varied interest, so much so that once the main 'twist' had been revealed, some way from the end, an astonishing number of loose ends still remained to be tied up. It wasn't quite as good as 'Notes from an Exhibition' but it wasn't very far off! Clearly Gale has drawn on his own experiences for some of the subject matter, but a great deal more of it must have been based on research. He does this so well that it hardly shows, and he knows his characters right down to the smallest details: for example Julian refers to his father as 'smelling of Old Spice and ironing'! I guessed the twist, unusual for me! But I think I got lucky because it's a very very clever one.
December 2, 2015
too removed for me..
October 21, 2024
Another lovely book from this author. Probably 4.5 stars.
August 26, 2019
Another absorbing read from Patrick Gale. He is the master of multi layered characters and multi layered plots which he enjoys revealing gradually, layer by single layer. I really enjoyed the Cornish setting of this one but didn’t find it flowed as well as his more famous Cornwall based book, Notes from an Exhibition. To be fair though, I have only had sporadic amounts of reading time lately, so this probably hasn’t helped with finding the flow of the book.
A really interesting setting of a family living within prison accommodation (father is a prison governor) with alternating between the main character’s childhood and the present day (30 years later) but mainly in the same holiday house on a Cornish beach. There are so many sub-plots woven between the main issues of family dynamics, family secrets & the effects of Alzheimer’s on the family that I did find it a little confusing in places (as was the time hopping which is a format I usually love). Patrick Gale ties it all up neatly at the end though & definitely is an author who never gives a disappointing ending!
A really interesting setting of a family living within prison accommodation (father is a prison governor) with alternating between the main character’s childhood and the present day (30 years later) but mainly in the same holiday house on a Cornish beach. There are so many sub-plots woven between the main issues of family dynamics, family secrets & the effects of Alzheimer’s on the family that I did find it a little confusing in places (as was the time hopping which is a format I usually love). Patrick Gale ties it all up neatly at the end though & definitely is an author who never gives a disappointing ending!
November 26, 2017
I really feel Rough Music should be a four star rating and I think it would be had I not read Notes from an Exhibition and A Perfectly Good Man earlier this year. Both of which were superb. This is good and in comparison to many many other authors it is streets ahead. However maybe my head wasn't there or it didn't touch me as the previous two did, it stays a three star.
That said Patrick Gale remains by far one of my favorite authors currently. He is a master craftsman, I simply adore his use of language and how adept he is at creating such special novels.
This is the story of Julian, his emotionally detached father, Frances his perfectly imperfect mother and the intriguing relationship with his sister. It is also the finding of love, companionship and forgiveness. It is told in the same holiday house but with many years between, a lovely way of skipping back in time and creating tension and context. The characters are rich and beautifully constructed and the twisting turn of events so incredibly believable.
That said Patrick Gale remains by far one of my favorite authors currently. He is a master craftsman, I simply adore his use of language and how adept he is at creating such special novels.
This is the story of Julian, his emotionally detached father, Frances his perfectly imperfect mother and the intriguing relationship with his sister. It is also the finding of love, companionship and forgiveness. It is told in the same holiday house but with many years between, a lovely way of skipping back in time and creating tension and context. The characters are rich and beautifully constructed and the twisting turn of events so incredibly believable.
January 7, 2019
Well my word this is not a cheerful book, even the seemingly happy parts are overlaid with a sense of doom.
It handles some really difficult subjects sensitively and with a wonderful insight.
The characters are all flawed in some way or another and in more than one way with most of them. It's an intricate and tangled tale of a completely and utterly dysfunctional set of family members - not sure I can even call them family to be honest.
It has a tantalizing little thread of real crime to add spice to the mix.
It is rich and deep and though they are all broken in some way you really hope that there is peace. When it comes at the end it is bittersweet - although there is one very bright little flame.
Thoroughly enjoyed it but I think I need to get back to some dark and dastardly crime because I am emotionally exhausted and rather morose.
It handles some really difficult subjects sensitively and with a wonderful insight.
The characters are all flawed in some way or another and in more than one way with most of them. It's an intricate and tangled tale of a completely and utterly dysfunctional set of family members - not sure I can even call them family to be honest.
It has a tantalizing little thread of real crime to add spice to the mix.
It is rich and deep and though they are all broken in some way you really hope that there is peace. When it comes at the end it is bittersweet - although there is one very bright little flame.
Thoroughly enjoyed it but I think I need to get back to some dark and dastardly crime because I am emotionally exhausted and rather morose.
March 11, 2022
4.5 stars
September 2, 2022
A good ‘holiday read’.
April 10, 2023
Another 4.5 for me. I really enjoyed the alternate chapters of past and present and just love his writing style.
August 22, 2024
Enjoyed this, evocative and unnerving, read it in 3 sittings
June 5, 2025
could have done with a good edit, as the first 200 pages are very meandering, but the last 200 are really good, even if the plot device is slightly fanciful...
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