Switch off those TVs, kill your mobiles and settle down with the most controversial book ever written. Once denounced as 'wicked', 'sordid', 'cheap moral filth' Peyton Place was the top read of its time, selling millions of copies worldwide.
Way before Twin Peaks, Survivor or Big Brother, the curtains were twitching in the mythical New England town of Peyton Place, and this soapy story exposed the dirty secrets of 1950s small town America: incest, abortion, adultery, repression and lust.
This book is so, so good, it was the brilliant reviews on Savidge Reads and Novel Insights that made me want to read it and I am so glad I did.Grace Metalious's writing is wonderful, it feels as though she has made you a homemade glass of lemonade and invited you to sit on her front porch so you can watch the events of Peyton Place unfold. Whilst this book us probably not that shocking to readers in 2010, I can understand why it was banned in the 1950s and caused such uproar.
Grace Metalious was extremely brave to write about so many controversial subjects in one book: incest, rape, abortion, illegitimate children, murder and so on. It's quite sad in a way that we are not overly shocked to come across such subjects in current books but at the time of publication these must have been a surprise to some readers.
Allison Mackenzie is the character who ties the whole story together, we watch her grow up as the story unfolds. Peyton Place has many characters, you would think it would get quite confusing but instead you have a feeling that you are moving into a small town and meeting all the neighbours.
I loved the idea that to the outsider, Peyton Place is a sleepy town where nothing exciting happens whereas it is really a hot bed of scandal and gossip, rife with secrets and misconceptions.
I think that in many ways this book is beautifully timeless and will be relevant for many years to come, I would highly recommend giving this one a go, you wouldn't regret it.
