Kathy Hamilton (I only share books that I believe in. If you buy through my links, I may earn a commission. Thank you for your support)
Next time you have an afternoon or, better yet, a day that stretches before you tempting you to read a book in one sitting, pick up “A Month in The Country” by J.L. Carr. You’ll be glad you did.
I believe that it’s a particular joy for an avid reader to stumble across a book that no one has mentioned to them before. That they have no preconceptions of, and that is short enough to be entirely consumed in one sitting. It does not particularly matter if the book turns out to be a genre-defining, world-wide classic. Beloved by millions. Its preciousness is that it is new to you.
This sort of book is an ideal find, a secret joy that sustains you through many reading duds and radiates its warmth outwards for a long time after the final page is reached. “Perfect” you may find yourself whispering to the now cracked spine, and bent pages. For that’s what it is, a perfect book and a perfect moment that you give to yourself. All the more precious for its rarity. This was my experience of reading “A Month in The Country” by J.L. Carr.
I stumbled across this beautiful little novella in a local bookshop. Although, admittedly, I can’t pretend its cover wasn’t its main appeal at first.
I saw it nestled amongst other books and felt a tug, here lies treasure, it seems to say. Quickly grabbing it, paying for it, and nestling it into my bag, I scurried home intending to read it there and then. Of course, as my fellow readers will understand, many other books were read before I finally plucked this slim volume down from the shelf. But last week, on a balmy summer’s afternoon as the bees hummed around the lavender in the garden, I finally read it in one glorious gulp.
“Ah, those days…for many years afterwards their happiness haunted me. Sometimes, listening to music, I drift back and nothing has changed. The long end of summer. “
“A Month in the Country” by J.L. Carr is a captivating novella that invites us to share a long-ago summer in the English countryside of 1920 with Tom Birkin, A World War I veteran. Despite suffering from both physical and emotional scars, he spends a month in a rural village to restore a medieval mural inside the local church. The book is poignant and drowsy with the weight of memory. Filled with a sense of “What If”. As well as the bittersweet reverie of looking back across a lifetime at events and people who made up previous life.
Birkin sets about his task and becomes deeply immersed in his restoration work. Then as he peels back the layers of plaster, dirt and time, revealing magnificent medieval mural, he also feels that he is carefully re-emerging from his trauma. Alongside him is another veteran, Charles Moon, who is researching the church’s history. Despite their initial differences, the two men develop a friendship. Ultimately providing each other with solace as they navigate their shared experiences.
J.L. Carr scarcely wastes a word in this beautifully crafted book. Each character introduced provides context. Each scene feels weighted with meaning. It is through this that “A Month In The Country” explores themes like the transformative power of art, the fleeting nature of happiness, and the lingering impact of the past. As Birkin’s restoration work progresses, so too does his own journey of rediscovery and renewal. With the peaceful and idyllic countryside setting providing a backdrop as he slowly finds solace and meaning amidst the ruins of his past.
As the summer draws to a close, Birkin completes his restoration, and his time in Oxgodby comes to an end. Here he recognises that time will continue to pass, even when we do not wish it. However, despite this he remains grateful for this perfectly captured moment and hopeful for his future.
“We can ask and ask but we can’t have again what once seemed ours forever—the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, the touch of a hand, a loved face. They’ve gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass.”
Like Birken, I felt warmed by the lessons I learned from this “A Month in The Country”. Every now and then a book comes along that moves you. Perhaps it taps into an undercurrent of emotion you’re already feeling. Or maybe it is so beautifully written that it demands an emotional response. I have rarely come across such a soft, whispering beauty of a book. One that champions the happiness found in the simplest of days. Although Elizabeth von Arnim’s “The Enchanted April” comes close.
“A Month in the Country” is a beautifully written exploration of the human spirit’s capacity for resilience and the enduring power of art to heal and inspire. An ode to lost youth and times gone by. I really feel that it is a particular skill in an author to be able to tackle these themes and leave behind a book that still feels healing to read. Happiness is a far more elusive emotion than sadness after all. But J.L Carr finds the balance perfectly.
If you’d like to read this book you can pick up a copy here (bookshop.org) or here (amazon)
