September 2, 1939: Germany has invaded Poland and, for the Cazalet family in London and Sussex, war seems imminent. The story is told from 1939 to 1941 from the viewpoints of three Cazalet cousins, teenagers Polly, Louise and Clary. Marking Time is second in the five-book series ‘The Cazalet Chronicles’ by Elizabeth Jane Howard. We see them growing up quickly, forced to face war and death before their time, watch their parents struggle with ordinary life and relationships and health crises which continue despite the fighting. One day a German bomber crashes into a nearby field and Christopher, a pacifist, runs out to prevent the local men from shooting the injured Germans. Afterwards, Polly and Christopher go for a walk. Polly thinks “how odd it was that when one wanted everything to be good with somebody, one started not telling them everything.” They come to understand that their parents are not just parents, but people too with their own feelings and worries. Polly wonders if “concealment and deceit were a necessary part of human relationships. Because if they were, she was going to be pretty bad at them.”
Louise is at acting school but struggles to play a character ‘in lust’ as she’s a virgin and unsure of the finer details. Then she meets a painter. Clary continues in Sussex, having lessons with Polly and growing to like and respect their tutor Miss Milliment, but she worries about her younger brother Neville who runs away from prep school. And all the time, the adults keep secrets.

Read my reviews of the other books in ‘The Cazalet Chronicles’:-
THE LIGHT YEARS #1CAZALET
CONFUSION #3CAZALET
CASTING OFF  #4CAZALET
ALL CHANGE #5CAZALET

And another book by the same author, THE LONG VIEW.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Translation of Love’ by Lynne Kutsukake
‘The Rescue Man’ by Anthony Quinn
‘The Camomile Lawn’ by Mary Wesley

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MARKING TIME by Elizabeth Jane Howard http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Cy via @SandraDanby