Brimstone Wedding

The young rarely see elderly people as having had exciting lives. But one young care giver discovers that much lies beneath the surface of one of the 'wrinklies' she assists and comes to know well. And the old woman finds this personable girl is someone in whom she can confide more than her own children. They share many secrets, these two, and ultimately both of their lives are changed forever by this bond of friendship.

Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine is truly amazing and this book is one of the best of a series of very good books. It is a gut-wrenching tale of love and betrayal told by a dying woman in a nursing home. Her story and the story of her young caregiver Genevieve run along simultaneously in the book, but as I read I realized that Stella's story was going to end much differently and much more tragically than Genevieve's. The plot is set around a house that has been empty for twenty-five years and it is the cleaning up and use of this house that brings this terrible tale to light. Stella knows she wants to tell her story before she dies. Someone needs to know what actually happened to Gilda Brent. Ms. Vine weaves the past and the present together inextricably in this book, and it's magic will draw you in. There is no one quite like her in this genre.

I'm no great reader, meaning, although I enjoy it very much, I am no scholar. That being said, I greatly enjoyed The Brimstone Wedding. I've read a few others of this author's works and like The Chimney Sweepers Boy and Grasshopper, I was really engaged in the story, liked the characters. Do I think it was the best book I've read all year? No. But I certainly didn't waste my time or money.

Barbara Vine has established a style remarkably and brilliantly separatefrom Ruth Rendell, and yet of course appeals to similar readers regardless of which name she uses. I won't go into detail plotwise. Other reviewers have done a good job there. The handling of parallel stories is expert and the characters in this book are especially likeable. As a minor point, I especially enjoyed how she has her fictional movie actress appearing in movies with British and American actors and actresses of the 40's.

If possible I'd give the Brimstone Wedding 10 stars. Superb story. It's actually 2 stories. Well written an excellent cast of characters. I will add Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine to my list of favorite authors.

Barbar Vine/Ruth Rendell is by far my favorite author and "Brimstone Wedding" is one of her best. I had read it before, but enjoyed it just as much (if not more)the second time around. One of the hallmarks of all Vine/Rendell's books is the way she juxtaposes seeming disparate people and situation and brings them all together at the end. She is a master story-teller and an excellent wordsmith. I would recommend her to anyone who wants to read a truly literary detective/murder myster.

Driven by atmosphere and character, this novel by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine, centers around two stories of infidelity and deception.
Genevieve, 32, a working-class caretaker at a private nursing home, confides her affair to her favorite patient, Stella, who is middle-class, educated, affluent and dying. Stella responds with the keys to a house none of her family knows she owns, a house no one has visited in 30 years. She asks Genevieve to report its condition.
Shocked that something so valuable could be simply abandoned -for whatever reason - Genevieve appropriates it as a trysting place, her curiosity only slightly piqued by the abandoned, burned car in the garage, the photographs hidden away, the food and champagne left in the refrigerator.
And so begins a story in tandem as Genevieve's stolen meetings alternate with Stella's story of her own doomed love. Character precipitates the events of the plot, and as we increasingly sympathize with Stella's shy dignity and Genevieve's fretful ardor, foreboding envelops the narrative like a London fog. Not to be missed.

Jenny/Genevieve Warner is one of the most appealing heroines in contemporary women's fiction. Vine (Ruth Rendell) creates a dark, complex plot that unwinds almost too slowly, drawing the reader inward, to a conclusion too horrifying to want to believe. How does love die? Many ways, but none more sad than the story of Stella and her boyhood sweetheart, reunited at last and lost to each other forever. Strong stuff! Is redemption at hand with what might happen with Jenny and Richard, Stella's son? Vine leaves it open, but surely some happiness has to come out of all this misery! Masterfully written; a poignant psychological mystery. The setting --- the brooding, watery fens of England's east coast, adds a subtle layer of unease to the story and almost becomes another character with which to reckon. Another writer who does this well -- combining mystery, broody setting, and psychological drama -- is the wonderful Minette Walters.

The Brimstone Wedding is a brilliantly crafted novel of two parallel lives. There may be little action, but the plot has more suspense than a dozen Hollywood special-effects films rolled into one. A joy to read. If you're not an action freak, you'll love it.

Wonderful look back into an elderly's woman's past and how it ties into her caretaker's present dilemma. Great character development and descriptive narrative of the location. So glad that the store had this on the discounted Kindle book list!

Wonderful look back into an elderly's woman's past and how it ties into her caretaker's present dilemma. Great character development and descriptive narrative of the location. So glad that the store had this on the discounted Kindle book list!

Jenny/Genevieve Warner is one of the most appealing heroines in contemporary women's fiction. Vine (Ruth Rendell) creates a dark, complex plot that unwinds almost too slowly, drawing the reader inward, to a conclusion too horrifying to want to believe. How does love die? Many ways, but none more sad than the story of Stella and her boyhood sweetheart, reunited at last and lost to each other forever. Strong stuff! Is redemption at hand with what might happen with Jenny and Richard, Stella's son? Vine leaves it open, but surely some happiness has to come out of all this misery! Masterfully written; a poignant psychological mystery. The setting --- the brooding, watery fens of England's east coast, adds a subtle layer of unease to the story and almost becomes another character with which to reckon. Another writer who does this well -- combining mystery, broody setting, and psychological drama -- is the wonderful Minette Walters.