William Trevor
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William Trevor (Ireland, 1928)
Old Boys (1964) The Boarding House (1965) The Love Department (1967) Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel (1970) The Children of Dynmouth (1976) is a thriller of sorts. The author misses the chance to end it in a surreal or tragic manner and chooses instead to end it in a demystifying way, painting the protagonist as simply an eccentric character in a village of eccentric people, more typical than different of all villages in the world. 2. Stephen and Kate, 12-year-old children, return to the village from their London boarding schools. His father is a widower and her mother has divorced, and now they got married and are on their honeymoon without the children. They are moving into Kate's house, which is managed by the Blackeys since before Stephen's mother was born. Kate has a crush on Stephen. 3 Timothy gets drunk at the Abigails (Edith and Gordon) and accuses Gordon of liking boys. Gordon strongly denies the accusation and asks Timothy to leave. Timothy also knows that Miss Lavant has a crush on Dr Greenslade. 4 Timothy tells Plant about his comedy act and asks him for a bath and to transport it in his van to the stage of the contest. Plant thinks Timothy is mad but Timothy tries to blackmail him with lies. Timothy likes to hang out at the funerals that Quentin conducts. Timothy still needs curtains and bothers Quentin too about it. Timothy then visits Dass again and blackmails him with a secret: he overheard the last conversation between Dass and his son during which the son insulted his mother, and Timothy threatens to make that story public. 5. Timothy watches Kate and Stephen walk on the beach. Edith Abigail volunteers for a Meals on Wheels program to help the poor. She makes the round of old people who need food. The Abigails have no children. She refuses to believe that Gordon could be a "pervert" but both can't sleep because of the accusations and now Gordon is uneasy that Timothy may have guessed a truth: maybe he is indeed attracted to boys. Timothy follows Kate and Stephen to a movie theater. Timothy tells them that Lavant is in love with the doctor, who is married and has three children. Then Timothy tells them that Plant is a pervert. Stephen explains that his father is an ornithologist. Timothy needs a wedding dress for his act and he saw that Stephen's father has one in an old trunk. Timothy seems to spy on everybody. 6. Edith finally confronts Gordon: they never really had a sex life and to her that confirms that Gordon is gay. She wants to leave the village and leave him. Gordon sobs and curses Timothy who returns to ask for a suit and money that he needs for his comedy act. Timothy then blackmails Plant again who finally agrees to deliver the bath. Timothy's remarks about the wedding dress make Stephen uncomfortable about his father's reaction to his mother's death. 7. Timothy again approaches Kate and Stephen and asks Stephen for his mother's wedding dress. Stephen and Kate are annoyed but Timothy insists. Timothy tells them that Abigail is gay. Stephen tells Timothy never to come back. Timothy annoys Kate and Stephen with endless gossiping. Timothy pretends that he saw the accident in which Stephen's mother died: he says that he saw his father push her down the cliff. It was murder, not an accident. Timothy combines lies and innuendos to generate discomfort in people. Stephen and Kate are disgusted and decide to tell Mrs Blackey that Timothy has been harassing them, but then they don't because they are afraid of opening a can of worms. Kate is resentful also because Timothy destroyed the idyllic atmosphere of their vacation at the house. The two children don't leave the house anymore, afraid that Timothy is stalking them. 8. Blackey notices that the children are upset and are hiding something from her but they refuse to say what. Timothy makes phone calls trying to lure Kate and Stephen out of the house. Blackey realizes it's Timothy and that he is the cause of the children's behavior. Stephen realizes there is only one way to get rid of Timothy: to give him the wedding dress. 9. Dass finds old curtains in the attic and gives them to Timothy. Commander Abigail's wife has decided to stay after all and gives Timothy the suit and the money that he wanted. 10 Kate finally tells the Blackeys that Timothy has been harassing her. Still, Kate doesn't tell them what Timothy told her about Stephen's mother. 11 Kate confesses everything to Quentin hoping he can exorcise Timothy's demons. Quentin dispels any doubts about Stephen's father: the man was on a train when the accident happened. Kate realizes she could have found out the truth if she had just told the Blackeys what Timothy was claiming. Quentin confronts Timothy but Timothy keeps coming up with lies that disparage villagers. He even claims to be the real child of Miss Lavant and Dr Greenslade. Quentin forces Timothy to surrender the objects that he forced people to donate to him and then makes a round to return them to the legitimate owners. Meanwhile, Timothy retells the story of the illegitimate relationship between Miss Lavant and Dr Greenslade to an old man who is deaf and cannot hear him. Fools of Fortune (1983) + Felicia's Journey (1994) + The Hill Bachelors (2001) |
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