Julia Gregson
Author of East of the Sun
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- Other names
- Gregson, Julia
- Birthdate
- 1947
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Places of residence
- Newport, Wales, UK
Monmouthshire, Wales, UK - Occupations
- model
journalist
novelist - Short biography
- Julia Gregson worked as a model for Hardie Amies before becoming a journalist. As foreign correspondent in the United Kindom, Australia, and the United States of America, she was posted to Vietnam and India, and then worked for Rolling Stone in New York, She has interviewed Muhammad Ali, Buzz Aldrin, Ronnie Biggs and Hollywood royalty. Her short-stories have been published in collections and magazines and read on the radio. Married with one daughter and four step-children, she lives in Monmouthshire, Wales with two Welsh cobs, a Shetland and two dogs.
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Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 1,445
- Popularity
- #17,792
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 100
- ISBNs
- 88
- Languages
- 12
- Favorited
- 3
There's a lot to be said here for absentee parenting. Rose's mom had the most involvement (but that's not saying much) and Guy's parents were just...it should be criminal. Then again Viva really was too eager and didn't ask the right questions at her interviews at all. In that she showed her naivety and I think in some ways that's why she was chosen to 'chaperon' Guy to India. She didn't ask so they had deniability after all if anything went wrong.
For anyone not overly familiar with British occupied India of the late 1920's you will learn quite a bit. What we learn of India is seen through British eyes of course--Viva possibly being the most sympathetic of the three (having lived there during her childhood), but is still fascinating. My experiences with colonial India have been limited to one young adult novel and a bollywood movie called Lagaan, but neither gave me a real feeling of what it was like. Especially not for an officer's wife and family. Rose is perhaps lucky in that she makes the best of things, it doesn't seem like her life will be as thrilling as her mother believed.
Throughout the book I wondered if Guy could have been easily written out, if the novel would have suffered or not. He was rather repugnant and only serves to become worse and worse as the novel goes on. I think he was important however to round out the quartet--because of his actions decisions are made that would have otherwise not been and developments are forced upon Viva in particular that help her get past the ghosts of her past.… (more)