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Staying On
- Narrated by: Paul Shelley
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
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Summary
Tusker and Lily Smalley stayed on in India. Given the chance to return ‘home’ when Tusker, once a Colonel in the British Army, retired, they chose instead to remain in the small hill town of Pankot, with its eccentric inhabitants and archaic rituals left over from the days of the Empire. Only the tyranny of their imposing landlady threatens to upset the quiet rhythm of their days. Both funny and deeply moving, 'Staying On' is a unique, engrossing portrait of the end of an empire and of a forty-year love affair.
What listeners say about Staying On
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- Nakul
- 06-08-12
Clever and touching
Staying On is a wonderful book, clever and touching, only marred by a few of the non-British characters rendered as caricatures. Shelley is a very good reader; Scott's Lucy and Tusker get another layer of depth from his characterisations of them. I recommend it enthusiastically.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-02-23
Poignant reflections on old age
I was attracted to this book as a sequel to The Jewel in the Crown series which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have mixed feelings about Staying On but overall I enjoyed it. The book deals with the challenges of old age and loneliness and lives that could have been lived better. It is also about the English from the days of the Empire staying on in an India that has changed. Not much happens but gradually we learn more about the main character Lucy as she reflects back on her life. I think the author successfully gets into the head of being a woman. Her husband Tusker is less sympathetically portrayed as someone who’s been less successful in life and is now rather angry and taking to drink. But Tusker for all his flaws has built up a close friendship while Lucy has none. There are no other British people living near them and Lucy in particular seems an outsider but we learn that she was also rather friendless even in her youth in England. There is some humour in the book and good characterisation. I particularly liked the descriptions of Lila the hotel owner and her husband. I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. Tusker dies which we learn of right at the beginning of the novel and the story is based on the period leading up to his death. I would have liked to know more on how Lucy moves on after his death. It seemed that she was starting to make new friendships and I was really hopeful that in her twilight years and free from the controlling husband she would find the courage to make new connections. There were also goings on in the hotel. Was Lila about to make her fortune or be ripped off? I felt I was left hanging and begging for a sequel. It’s possible a sequel had been planned but the author Paul Scott died shortly after the book’s publication.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Celia J.
- 28-06-20
I loved it.
I’d read the story many years ago, I still have the book, so it was familiar to me. Having been brought up in an British Army family, living in India until 1947, the storyline struck a chord with me. The narrator is perfect, the characters all so varied, loads of dialogue, humour and pathos.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Norma Miles
- 05-12-22
"Still waiting for transport that never turned up.
Several decades ago I read and loved the Raj Quartet and the BBC TV adaptation series, the Jewel in the Crown. But, somehow, I missed Staying On. What a great to read it now.
1972: Colonel and Mrs.Smalley had stayed on in India after Independence anticipating being unable to enjoy an equitable living standard if returning to England. But now, growing old with limited resources and without like friends, Lucy is increasingly frustrated and fearful in the apparent emptiness of her life and marriage. It's both poignant, amusing and sad in turn, and the images both of India and the characters, from the Smalley's themselves, the owner, Mrs.Bhoolabhay of the Smith's Hotel and her husband, Billie Boy, and the servants who essentially look after them are superb and very true to the time.
For readers who enjoy getting inside emotions and long term relationships, other customs, countries and times, all performed beautifully by Paul Shelley. Be prepared to be emotionally involved
Recommended.
Time now, I think, to reprise the Raj Quartet.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Regina Podsiadly
- 29-09-20
captivating , philosophical and witty
heart- warming glimpse into an elderly couple's life and their daily up-and-down, bickering and caring, touching gestures
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2 people found this helpful
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- Tone
- 09-02-23
An old favourite, beautiful, funny, sad, too short
One of my favourite short novels.
A feel good, contemplative, humorous little tale of the sadness of later life relationships in the old British ex pat communities set against a reflection of the old days, good and bad.
Set in 1970's modern india with tinges of nostalgia for the days of the Raj although very little description of that era.
Here we see the slightly unfavorable petty bureaucracy and petty ruthless behaviour of the old British rulers, now passed on & imitated by new (if somewhat questionably sourced) monied Indians.
Marvelously commented on by the lower class servants who are treated no better by their own people and they too have nostalgia for the old days.
Wonderful witty narration too.
The ITV series is equally good.
But where are the full Raj Quartet Audible?
Only the Jewel in the crown is available.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 15-03-24
Interesting story set in post Raj India
The juxtaposition of the various characters amidst the post Raj era was interesting although it took me a while to become involved with the story.
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- MEB
- 30-10-23
Quality Literature
Beautifully written and beautifully read.
A slow-burn largely domestic narrative, in a liminal historical context, that leads to a heart-breaking final scene.
Quality work by a gifted writer.
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- Andy
- 16-09-23
Very touching novel capturing a moment in history
I struggled with this book initially by have listened to it twice and I am now finding myself extremely moved.
Characters caught up in events in history shed a personal view post partition in India. Don't cancel these fictional folk but spare a moment to step into their shoes. Lucy is quite a heroine.
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- Janie Hammersley
- 01-11-22
wonderful
It was such a poignant book and beautifully written. I don't know why it's taken me so long to discover Paul Scott. He must rank amongst the best English writers.
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