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The Fortnight in SeptemberClick for more information including
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by R.C. Sherriff

BookBrowse Review

"All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect."

In April 2020, several weeks into a stressful nationwide COVID lockdown in our resident country of Spain, I read an article in which novelists were asked to suggest books that would "inspire, uplift, and offer escape."

Many of the writers didn't seem to understand the assignment. "I don't go to novels for comfort," stated one. Others made decidedly harrowing recommendations, such as one novelist's suggestion of Chuck Palahniuk's bleak satire Survivor (the writer adding, "When I say fun, it's about a death cult, so it's not light fun"). This was not my idea of inspiration, uplift, or comfort—the very elements I craved at that particularly apprehensive moment in history.

Thankfully, Kazuo Ishiguro gave a superb recommendation: R.C. Sherriff's The Fortnight in September, a new-to-me British novel first published in the early 1930s. According to Ishiguro, the novel was "just about the most uplifting, life-affirming novel I can think of right now." Now here was exactly what I was looking for. I immediately ordered a copy, dove in, and lost myself in the story for a few days.

When I learned that BookBrowse reviewers were highlighting older titles in this issue, I remembered The Fortnight in September. While the lockdown phase of the COVID pandemic may be behind us (knock on wood), it feels as though recent tumultuous political events may once again stimulate readers' appetites for novels that provide uplift, escape, and—at least momentary—comfort.

Sherriff's novel follows the Stevens family of Dorset—Ernest, an accounts clerk; his wife, Flossie; daughter Mary (age 19), a dressmaker's assistant; and sons Dick (17), a stationer's clerk, and young Ernie (10)—on their annual two-week family trip to the southern seaside resort town of Bognor Regis (see Beyond the Book) to which they have returned every summer since Mr. and Mrs. Stevens first visited on their honeymoon twenty years earlier.

The book opens with the flurry of preparations taking place the afternoon before the holiday begins, in recognition that anticipation can be the highlight of any journey. The rest of the novel relates the days that follow and in close character observation captures the family's delight in stepping away from routine jobs for two weeks of blissful freedom. What happens, you ask? Well, honestly, not much. Family members gather for meals, play games on the beach, attend a concert, walk along the shore, meet new friends, and attend a fancy lunch at the home of an insufferable wealthy family.

As the focus moves from one character to another, the reader begins to build a sturdy appreciation for the dynamics that create this highly functioning domestic unit. The novel's events are relatively mild, but as they become important to the family, they do to the reader as well. This is a family that shows its connection through small, non-cloying acts of thoughtfulness and kindness. The novel is narrowly focused and provides a compelling exercise in noticing modest joys and overcoming small hurdles.

The Fortnight in September was the first novel by Robert Cedric (R.C.) Sherriff, a young playwright whose 1929 play Journey's End had seen immediate success. The play was based on Sherriff's own traumatic experiences in the First World War; as second lieutenant in the Ninth East Surrey Regiment, he was severely wounded at Ypres (where a horrifying four-fifths of the original British Expeditionary Force were killed) and hospitalized for six months.

This was followed by The Fortnight in September, in many ways the exact opposite of a war novel but still speaking directly to the yearning that must have been felt by Sherriff and other young soldiers when they were stationed far from home. In the novel, Sherriff captures the quiet fulfilment of ordinary lives. "I wanted to write about simple, uncomplicated people doing normal things."

Perhaps this is what Ishiguro had in mind when he recommended the book during the COVID lockdown and why this novel is so enjoyable to read. During those early months of the pandemic, I found myself missing simple things most, like a casual lunch with a friend, a hike with my son, or even a friendly chat with the cafe barista. Comfort lies in reminding ourselves of the familiar, unspectacular moments of ordinary life. Sherriff understands, perhaps as only a veteran of trench warfare can, that in any crisis we most crave the quotidian over the extraordinary.

Book reviewed by Danielle McClellan

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