I agree with my fellow readers Dorcas and Tweety about this book. Incidentally, it was fun to read it together; it prevented me from lollygagging my way through it, which could easily have happened, because there wasn't much suspense!!

A very easily summarized plot: Alex St. George is on the brink of being sent to fight in World War I, and comes home for his last leave. His mother is a possessive sort of woman, but it's not even an affectionate clinging. She has a very narrow concept of what life should be, and Alex is just a game piece, but one she can't imagine letting go of. When he looks for sympathy, he finds it elsewhere, in a shopgirl named Kitty. Kitty is a strong and motherly little woman. Their relationship flourishes immediately, but that's just the beginning. There's going to be a tug of war between Kitty and her mother-in-law, and it's a bit heavy going!

The story was thick with unfinished sentences and people who deliberate over their every word and deed. It lacked a certain spontaneity that I like to see.

My favorite part was when Kitty buys a house and business, and sets about refurbishing it. The whole "new lease on life" thing is always refreshing, especially when it involves a cute tea house. I may question her happiness as the eternal mother-figure in her husband's life, but I definitely approve of her cream and rose colored room. :) ( )