Customer Reviews
Well written, as usual - By: A. Bittan, 23 Apr 2008 
Another well written novel by Ms Trollope, whose narrative flair manages to hold your attention even when you get annoyed by some of the narrow caricatures she presents. Clodagh comes across as the stereoptypical lesbian. But Trollopes books are full of stereotypes. Normallly though they are of working class people, who are almost always portrayed as dull-witted, lecherous, or criminal, & sometimes alll three. In Trollopes world, only the Upper Middle class do anything worthwhile; & even when they sin it's for noble reasons. Adulterous upper middle class husbands are free spirits; transfer their behaviour to working class men, & they are merely lechers. Similarly, lower class women are sluts, whereas promiscuity among upper middle class women is mere temperament.
Despite the kind of narrow minded shortcomings described above, I like her books. I can't wait to find out if she ever produces a sympathetic characterisation of a working class person. It seems unlikely!
Blue Peter Lesbians - By: Dm Wilde, 17 Feb 2007 
Lesbian books are a rarer commodity then id like them to be, & so when i find out about this kind of book im much more inclined to like it then your average novel.
A Village Affair is a book about lesbians by someone who seems to have no understanding about the feelings involved in these sorts of relationships. It tells the story of Alice, a brattish & unlikeable character from page one, who begrudgingly moves to a cottage in an insular & prosperous village.
She meets Clodagh, another character i was completely indifferent yo, & the two of them begin an affair. But its so unconvincing - the way they get together for example, is frankly ridiculous.....
imagine this, a woman who (inexplicably & totallly implausibly) knows nothing about lesbians & has never ever had any inclinations towards females...clodagh woos her by saying "but we alll have a choice" !!!!
no build up, no tension, thats literallly it...and then they begin an affair & her husband doesnt even get a second thought!!!!
this story had the potential of saying something important, not just about lesbians but about love - the choices it forces us to make & the disruptive consequences for anyone involved in an affair...
the affair itself continues until alice's husband finds out about it - even then its a dull & drama-free exchange where there are tears & a little bit of passion i guess, but generallly its alll a little flat & trollope doesnt reallly get her teeth into any of the human complexity...
her main focus in this novel seems to be the falll-out of the affair for alice's villagers... they condemn & belittle & it frustratingly becomes clear that they represent the views of the author...
in short, trollope has no sympathy for, & no understanding of her protagonists, & as such, they come across as self-indulgent, joyless bitches with no real affinity for one another....
if you want to read a book about the magic of love & inparticular the complex relationships women form with one another may i suggest anything by jeanette winterson, sarah waters or radclyffe halll.... this is a waste of time
A book true to Joanna Trollope's form - By: , 11 Feb 2000 
Joanna Trollope has once again proven her ability to portrait each character so well that it is impossible to take sides. She also shows that it is not always necessary to go into juicy detail. Her novels tell more about the status of women in British society than any thesis could. The ending of this book is not a happy ending in the American sense but a truly hopeful one, which makes this book very realistic & lets the reader identify themselves with the characters. Anyone who has ever been in a crisis knows how impossible it is to describe one's feelings as long as it is still going on. "A Village Affair" shows too how dependant we are on other people's opinion & how impossible it is to please everyone - including oneself. So when Alice breaks free it makes the reader feel very relieved.
