A Vintage Affair - Isabel Wolff

I usually get through a couple of books a week quite easily. However I've had a bit of a reading slump over the last week or two. A combination of some family concerns and a rare heatwave have left my concentration span somewhat short. After picking up and discarding no less than 6 books over a number of days, I finally found one I could get into.


A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff begins with Phoebe Swift reliving a childhood ...
...on the eve of opening a vintage clothing shop in trendy Blackheath, after turning her back on her successful career at Sotherby's and the man she was engaged to marry, it becomes apparent that tragedy has struck Emma and 32 year old Phoebe is harbouring deep guilt over the death of her life long friend.


Struggling to come to terms with her loss and her guilt, she meets an elderly lady, Mrs Bell, who realising her time is drawing ... more

I usually get through a couple of books a week quite easily. However I've had a bit of a reading slump over the last week or two. A combination of some family concerns and a rare heatwave have left my concentration span somewhat short. After picking up and discarding no less than 6 books over a number of days, I finally found one I could get into.

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff begins with Phoebe Swift reliving a childhood memory of her best friend, Emma. Roll on 25 years and on the eve of opening a vintage clothing shop in trendy Blackheath, after turning her back on her successful career at Sotherby's and the man she was engaged to marry, it becomes apparent that tragedy has struck Emma and 32 year old Phoebe is harbouring deep guilt over the death of her life long friend.

Struggling to come to terms with her loss and her guilt, she meets an elderly lady, Mrs Bell, who realising her time is drawing short has decided to sell her collection of vintage designer dresses. While assessing the clothing, Phoebe discovers an unworn child's blue wool coat, dating from the 1940's hanging beside them, but when asked about it, Mrs Bell becomes agitated and states the coat is not for sale. Knowing Mrs Bell never had children of her own, Phoebe is intrigued about the relevance and secrets of the blue coat. As Mrs Bell and Phoebe become friends, the story behind the child's garment is told and the two women discover that despite 50 years seperating them in age, they have a lot in common. Both feel they have betrayed their best friend in the worst way.

The first thing which piqued my interest in this novel is that it is set in Blackheath in South East London. I know London very little, being a true northern girl myself. Most books set in the capital, while stating famous places, hold very little personal familiarity. However, I did have a friend in Blackheath quite a number of years ago, who I visited a couple of times. I remember feeling it was a very sophisticated and glamorous place at the time, and loved the village feel and quaint boutiques I would pass (never going in, I was far too poor). I was immediately able to place myself in the novel and could just imagine Phoebe's little vintage boutique.

The book is undoubtedly 'chick-lit'. The cover screams it with a pretty pink dress adorning it. I was expecting something fluffy and glamerous with lots of descriptions of beautiful designer gowns. I got the gowns in abundance, sometimes in too much detail, but what I wasn't expecting was a deep and slightly harrowingly sad story and a bit of a mystery to be solved too.

I loved the friendship which develops between Phoebe and Mrs Bell, it really is beautiful. Both women's stories of betrayal and guilt are touching and not always as you expect. There were a number of times throughout the book when I thought I knew which way things were headed, or knew how something had came about only to be proved wrong. Mrs Bell's story in particular is shocking and stunning, and a theme I was not at all expecting to find in what seemed a glaringly obvious chick-lit. As she tell's Phoebe the story and her regret, Phoebe is eager to solve the mystery and bring peace to her new friend and I found this element intriguing. It's not a thrilling mystery full of fear and suspense, but I was still captivated by it and eager to find out.

Through Phoebe's customers a number of sub plots are introduced. I really liked the individual little stories that came in here, some would only last a page while others wove in and out of the story. These little stories really brought to life the beauty of vintage ball gowns, each dress having it's own history and inspiring and empowering the modern women who fall in love with them. I really could relate to most of these women and there story. I am also a strong believer in the power of retail therapy, so could understand how such beautiful clothing would make them feel. While running the risk of being so, I never found this superficial.

I don't know if Isabel Wolff had a keen interest in vintage clothing before writing this novel, she certainly comes across as being quite passionate about her subject. It is clear that she researched mirticulously though, and I did find at times she become too absorbed in describing the garments and their designers, distracting the reader from the plot. I found myself skimming over some descriptions and was always eager to return to Mrs Bell's story. It wasn't just the clothing where I found the book wandering into over detail either. At times a seemingly ridiculous amount of time was spent telling somewhat irrelevant events. One such example was when Phoebe takes part in a radio interview promoting her new shop. This covered 4 pages and was the complete script from the fictional interview, which may have been interesting if listening to it on the radio while stuck in traffic, but was tedious to read. It also held no real relevance to the story and a brief mention would have sufficed. Again, I found myself skimming over such sections. The book is 420 pages long and I do feel it could have been cut by around 50 pages.

Another slight criticism I have, and one which I noticed in a previous novel by Isabel Wolff, is her tendency to give background information through random conversations. I found these felt contrived in places, I don't believe that any-one would speak in such a way naturally. The whole purpose was to inform the reader and it did show to me. This conversational background setting doesn't last too long and while finding it irritating, didn't find it lessened my enjoyment of the rest of the book.

Of course no chick-lit novel would be complete with 2 potential love interests to puzzle over, and we are not dissapointed in A Vintage Affair. There's Miles, the dashing, rich, sophisticated 'older' man with a teenage spoilt brat from hell in tow, and the dishevelled, amusing, caring and down to earth Dan. This follows a predictable tried and tested path, but I'm not complaining...it's what we girls want from our chick-lit right? The other chick-lit staple also not emitted from this novel is the dizzy Mother of Phoebe, full of neurosis's and age crisis's. Lot's of chick-lit seem to have the same personality for the main characters Mother (Bridget Jones and Shopoholic are 2 that spring to mind) and are characters I do not relate too at all! My mother is nothing like these upper middle class, vain an neurotic house wives and I do find this portrayal of 50-60 year old women annoying.

A vintage affair is told in the first person from Phoebe, and this prose works well enough, although I think a shared 3rd person between Phoebe and Mrs Bell might have worked better. We only get Mrs. Bell's story as it's told to Phoebe, and as it is such a powerful one think it would have carried a bit more weight had it come from herself.

Criticisms aside this is a very good novel. Isabel Wolff is an accomplished writer, and it shows. Her characters and plots have more depth than the standard chick-lit authors. She weaves various different storylines effortless so that I never found the book difficult to follow. I did find this an easy read, but one with a heartfelt and intriguing original plot which surprised me often throughout. I found it emotional at times, welling up with tears on a couple of occasions. I cared deeply about the main characters, Phoebe and Mrs. Bell, empathising with both of their stories and hoping they found the peace they deserved. I even felt the smaller characters in the sub plots were drawn well enough for me to care about them and their stories. While I didn't exactly race through the book (which to be fair could be down to my general mood of late), I found it easy enough to pick up and read a couple of chapters at a time, and could slip back into the story effortlessly. I found the final 150 pages the best, and actually read them in one sitting in the park while my daughter played and was sorry when it ended.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes chick-lit with an edge, a step beyond fluff and romance. It's perfect holiday reading, or curling up in your comfiest clothes with a cuppa and a choccie biscuit. 

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