One Afternoon – Siân James

In the recently concluded Persephone Festival held in April, novelist Rachel Joyce discussed how One Afternoon by Siân James was one of her favourite Persephone books. I’ve yet to listen to the recording (must do so soon!), but can see why she loved this charming, understated novel…

One Afternoon by Siân James is a beautifully written, perceptive tale of love in all its avatars, relationships, making bold choices, and family. At its core is a love story, but Siân James’s intelligent writing ensures that the book never ventures into overtly sentimental territory.

The ‘one afternoon’ of the title refers to that one unexpected encounter that alters our protagonist Anna’s life forever. On that particular afternoon, Anna accidentally bumps into Charlie, a theatre actor who sweeps her off her feet and the two embark on a whirlwind affair. Anna, we soon learn, is a young widow with three daughters living in the countryside in a sumptuously decorated home she has grown to love. She was married to Giles, Director of the very theatre company where Charles works, and was considerably senior to her. We are told of how he died suddenly, but Anna gradually learns to move on. Meanwhile, in the present, her daughters, delightfully, welcome this new man in their mother’s life; Charlie equally gels well with them, participating in the family activities including horse riding et al, adding much mayhem and colour to their hitherto quiet routines.

But Charlie has his career to focus on which entails travelling to London often, and a possibly new opportunity that would involve long stretches of time in the city, away from Anna, soon beckons. This looming absence hangs like a Damocles sword over Anna who despairs at not being able to see Charlie, and niggling uncertainties about their future and a twangs of jealousy begin to creep in.

Intertwined with the present is Anna’s past as she reflects on her marriage to Giles, and their life together. Anna first meets Giles at a party at a young age when she is just a university student, but she is frustrated in her studies and feels adrift. Giles, successful and well-to-do at the time, persuades Anna to give up her education and become his wife instead, to which she agrees. We are told that Anna was happily married to Giles, but there’s a sense that theirs was more of a polite marriage further exacerbated by Giles’ posh upbringing and the age difference between them.

“However, Giles worked until he’d got everything exactly as he wanted it, including all the furniture. By this time I realise what a marvellous job he did; I’ve never wanted to alter a thing, not even a picture or ornament.

When all the work was finished, he completely lost interest in the house. I could tell that he was surprised by this, but with my vast childhood experience of playing house, I wasn’t at all. The joy was always in planning the rooms, arranging the furniture, finding the right boxes for table and chairs, searching out the kettle, the teapot and the ubiquitous jam jars. Once that was done, the game was deadly dull.”

Her sparkling relationship with Charlie makes Anna realise for the first time how spontaneity was sorely missing in her marriage to Giles. Anna is struck by how little she actually knew about Giles, he had his secrets of which she had nary a clue, and as the skeletons in his closet come tumbling out after his death, Anna is at first disconcerted by these revelations forcing her to view Giles and their marriage in a different light. Charlie, meanwhile, sensing Anna’s preoccupied state of mind, and unsure of his standing, decides to end their affair. Anna stoically takes this upheaval in her stride (she never expected anything serious out of it anyway), although she deeply misses Charlie. Then a crucial development occurs, Anna makes a radical (in that period) decision that challenges the conventional mores of her time, but also highlights a noticeable shift in societal attitudes and perceptions based on the various conversations she has with those close to her.

Thrown into this mix are some more characters and mini storylines that add meat to the novel – Anna’s parents and the tragic essence of their marriage, Giles’ mother (Anna’s mother-in-law) with whom she gets along surprisingly well, and last but not the least the stodgy village doctor with a tragic air about him who has taken a fancy to Anna but is despondent on learning that her heart is with Charlie.

One Afternoon, then, is an intelligent, lovely novel about marriage, new relationships, fresh beginnings and big change, finding your feet, and challenging conventional societal mores. More specifically, it is an exploration of love in its various forms whether romantic, marital, casual, maternal, or filial. The contrast between her marriage to Giles and her affair with Charlie compels Anna to ruminate on sex and love and what she missed in her marriage and what she desires in her future relationships. The easy, loving relationship between Anna and her daughters is superbly depicted – their frank conversations and varied personalities and yet how close-knit they are as a family.

To be honest, there’s nothing particularly appealing about any of the men portrayed here, but the highlight of the book for me was the voice – there’s a charming openness to Anna’s personality as she narrates her story with such refreshing candour. We glimpse her journey towards self-discovery and living life on her own terms as she transforms from a tentative, young wife to a confident, mature woman.

With a gamut of emotions – exhilaration, sadness, heartbreak, and quiet joy – infused in the narrative, there is much wit, wisdom, and subtlety in Siân James’ writing and storytelling that makes One Afternoon well worth reading.