The power of first love

Absolutely & Forever by Rose Tremain

by Liz Treacher, Author

Athough it was only published in paperback this year, Absolutely and Forever (Vintage, 2024) by Rose Tremain feels very retro. Set in 1960s London, the novel describes the struggles of Marianne to forget her first love, Simon, who she met when they were both at school. Marianne is desperate to leave her stifling childhood in the suburbs behind her. The slightly older Simon and his Morris Minor, seems to offer Marianne a chance to escape from her boring life. When fate tears the two of them apart, Marianne struggles to forget Simon. The memory of their brief but intense relationship threatens to overshadow her whole life.


The story is narrated by Marianne and it was interesting that I started off by disliking her slightly detached manner, but by the end of the novel I loved her character.


Absolutely and Forever is my first Tremain book. I spotted it in the wonderful Dornoch bookshop, and it was a great discovery. I hadn’t realised that Rose Tremain is 80 years old and has written 20 books!


For me there is a golden age of literature set in the 1960s, 70s or 80s, when there was no X or Facebook or texting. Characters had to communicate by pay phones with 10p pieces that got jammed in the slot, or through letters that took a day or two to arrive. This time lag between message and response creates a feeling of anticipation and uncertainty and this is very much the feeling in Rose Tremain’s novel. If, like me, you preferred life without mobile phones, or internet or social media then this might be the book for you!

Liz Treacher is a writer based in Skelbo. Her latest novel, Vegan Recipes for New Age Men, 
is a romantic comedy set in the local area. 
It’s available to buy from Dornoch Bookshop.