Recently Read Books: China Court: The Hours of a Country House

China Court by Rumer Godden

I loved this book because of the way that the complex story of a family was told through present moments and snatches of past memories. Every family’s history is rather like a patchwork quilt; you can never get all of the shining memories or shameful regrets in one telling. To understand the inner feelings of members in one’s family tree, one must actually “get into their brains”, which, of course, is quite impossible. We only remember what we saw and felt; we cannot know what sorrows or hopes hid under the coats or aprons of those distant uncles or crotchety aunts. But, remarkably, these people do shape us and influence the events of our own lives. This is what comes through this story, told through the patches of memories or the inner musings of nearly all of the characters mentioned. The chapters are divided into “hours”, that is, the prayer-hours of an old prayer-book that also features in the story. The story of the generations in this family is closely tied to their family home, a place called “China Court.” Whimsical, lyrical, and charming, it’s a rare look at the story of a family from the inside.