After the Party by Cressida Connolly

I am very reluctant to too much historical fiction reading, but I also know that fictionalized historical moments may open up towards less known historical episodes. The fate of Nazi sympathizers in Britain during WWII, mostly associated with Oswald Mosley and their interment in the Isle of Man - where they may have neighbour Jewish refugees from Germany, labelled ´enemies´ only based on their German passport - is a topic I am curious to explore more about. 

After the Party by Cressida Connolly is exploring exactly this topic, an unique take I was curious to find out more about.

Told in an alternance between first and third person account - the third person covers the past, end 1930s, beginning of 1940s while the first is aimed to relate, diary-like, the current feelings of the main character - the book is exploring the feelings and memories of Phyllis, a middle-class housewife who went involved with the movement around ´The Leader´ aka Mosley. It is a story of multiple family betrayal but also of awakening in a changing world while being unable to grasp the new realities and react accordingly.

The book has a relatively short length - 260-page long - but it was really hard for me to go through it (bless the long train rides across Germany with not too much to do on my sleeves for the achievement). The story enfolds as a chronicle, with daily details from her life and the other characters - parties, her sisters - as there is no tomorrow and everyone has the time in the world to read it. There are details accumulating but no scoop and the characters are not getting more reflection or self-reflection depth either. The switch between different timelines do not bring any additional literary encounters. The language however is exquisite as it both reflects the historical timeline and adds a noble touch to the narrative.

I succeeded to read the book until the end, but there were no change in terms of both my opinion about the book and the plot. I may have some questions regarding the Nazi sympathizers in England during WWII - like how high was the percentage of women involved in the movement and eventually some sociological background in this respect - but After the Party was definitely not a great literary fit for me.

Rating: 2.5 stars