"The Infamous Gilberts" | Reviewed by Susan Ferguson

“The Infamous Gilberts,” by Angela Tomaski, is a dark, humorous novel that spans several decades. The story focuses on the wealthy, yet eccentric, Gilberts, a family who live in a once stately English manor known as Thornwalk. The country manor is now crumbling and has been sold to a luxury hotelier to be transformed, erasing all of its history, character, secrets and memories.

The story is narrated by the Gilberts’ neighbor and friend Maximus. He leads readers on a room-to-room tour of the house, explaining the importance and intimate secrets held within each room. During his detailed narration readers learn the backstory of each of the five Gilbert children, covering the siblings from their childhood on the eve of World War II through the early 2000s, upon their deaths.

Readers learn that the Gilberts were a troubled but interesting family. It was war time and their father was gone. Their mother was weak, thus allowing Aunt Beatrice to control all of the decisions concerning the children, many of them devastating decisions.   

Short chapters make this book an easy read. In each chapter, Maximus gives insight into the physical deterioration of the once stately home, the siblings relationships with each another, their relationships with people outside of family, their mental health struggles and their struggles with life in general. The result is feeling as if you’re reading a family diary, exposing the harsh realities of war, childhood neglect, and the inability to adapt to a changing world. 

Although the downward spiral of the Gilberts is dark and depressing, the narrator adds enough amusing accounts to keep readers engaged and wondering what possibly will happen next.

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