The Flower Boy by Karen Roberts

[Janet]

 

The Flower Boy by Karen Roberts

 

The ‘blurb’

Lizzie Buckwater is born on a stormy night into a household nestled in Glencairn, on the lush tea estates of 1930s Ceylon. As Chandi, a little servant boy, plays in the mud outside, he promises himself that the English baby will become his best friend. He christens her Rose-Lizzie after the flowers he loves, and the bright, perceptive boy soon forges the most important friendship of his life.

 

As Chandi and Rose-Lizzie’s closeness grows, so their two families - English and Ceylonese, master and servant - become entwined. But unspoken feelings cause tension at Glencairn, and with the approach of Ceylonese independence the whole idyll faces destruction.

 

The Flower Boy is Karen Roberts’ debut novel and the ‘blurb’ doesn’t really do it justice.

 

Although Chandi and Rose-Lizzie are the central characters the story deals with the relationships of all the characters. Lizzie’s family - her siblings and her father John with his unhappy marriage to Elsie, the English woman who really doesn’t want to live in away from ‘home’ in this strange, foreign place. Chandi’s family - his strong, proud mother, Premawathi - her mostly absent, aloof, husband - and Chandi’s sisters.

 

As time goes by and Ceylon heads towards independence, the characters are all affected by the changes taking place.

Elsie grows ever more disillusioned with her life and eventually leaves for England, taking their son with her. This leaves John free to find real love, but the woman he chooses is Ceylonese and things aren’t always easy.

 

 

It’s quite difficult to categorise this novel which is part family saga, part love-story, but I really enjoyed it.

 

It got great reviews on Amazon, as did her next book (which I haven’t read) but then Roberts seems to have disappeared, which is a real shame, and her books are no longer print.

 

The paperback is 340 pages long and is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The ISBN number is 978-0753809563. *This book is no longer in print*

 

8/10

 

(Read February 2009)