Return To Akenfield: Portrait Of An English Village In The 21st Century

It’s an interesting book, especially if you’ve read the original Akenfield, giving an insight into how things have changed. Some changes for the better, and some not. One thing that strikes me, the return to Akenfield was written around 2004, and at the time it was a modern update, but now in 2020 it is no longer up to date. Already after 16 years it is becoming simply portrait of it’s own time, just as the original was in 1969. Very soon a new update will be needed?

It doesn't and can't have the weight of the original which I read in the early 70's and again in the last few weeks. That was a masterpiece and very resonant for me as my father was a Suffolk horseman (b.1899). and it brought his stories back to life. The book is very well written and close to the style of Ronald Blythe and is a valid follow up of the original. Well worth reading, it has much to interest and surprise and helped keep my spirit in Suffolk (from afar).

I have read this book immediately following reading it's predecessor  Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village . I have given this book, Return to Akenfield four stars by comparison with its antecedent. In it's own right it deserves a five star rating.Return to Akenfield follows the same format as Akenfield, in that it recounts the oral history as it was told to the author by numerous villagers. Each recount is preceded by a short account of the villager in Taylor's own words.By comparison Return to Akenfield, in my opinion, does not have as much heart and soulfulness. I put this down to me not being particularly interested in the lives of newcomers to the village, living their C21st lives, as it happens in a village. As Ronald Blythe, (author of Akenfield) put it at the end of this book: "They're living urban lives in the countryside." What interests me far more is what the older generations have to. say; their recounts of the village during the last century, telling us about ways of life that have been lost. Akenfield brims over with such oral history. In addition I feel that Ronald Blythe's presence is more keenly felt throughout his book. By comparison Craig Taylor seems more of a fairly interested, though not riveted bystander. Whilst Blythe has lived his whole life in Suffolk, and I believe all if not the majority of it in villages, Taylor lives in London. Inevitably his heart would not have been in this project to the same degree as would Blythe's.Now having said all of this, in its own right this is a really interesting book. It catalogues the next stage in the destruction of traditional and now historical village life. It shows us clearly that the destruction is almost complete. It is illuminating as to modern farming methods, again of interest.Like Akenfield, its structure is such that it makes for easy reading.I recommend this book.

After recently reading, "Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village" by Ronald Blythe, I was curious about this sequel by Craig Taylor. In "Return to Akenfield" Mr. Taylor follows in Mr. Blythe's footsteps both literally and figuratively. The styles are similar and the subject is the same, so if you are either a Ronald Blythe fan, or a fan of the English countryside and its people - particularly those who live outside the walls of Downton Abbey - then I think you might enjoy this well written update. Surprisingly, Mr. Taylor was able to reconnect with many of the character types in the original, so you get a boots on the ground view of the changes that have occurred in the past 50 years, and you also get to meet a whole new set of recent arrivals. The tone is friendly and the text is conversational, coming in the form of easy going interviews in a living room or on a walk around the farm or village. Like Mr. Blythe, Mr. Taylor lets the villagers speak for themselves and in aggregate, they limn the demographic map of Suffolk as clearly as a high resolution satellite map does the terrain.

I read the original "Akenfield" book by onald Blythe many years ago and enjoyed it. I was slightly worried that this follow-up might not work but found it fascinating. I read my Kindle books at the table and found myself reading long passages of "Return to Akenfield" aloud to my husband as we ate our meals. It gives an excellent glimpse into modern rural life against the background of the "olden days". I can't recommend it highly enough.

Akenfield was pure nostalgia and left us on an optimistic note This takes us on a further 30 years and is more pessimistic. Where did it all go wrong?

Very sensitive to the original, a delight to read.

I must admit that I have only glanced at the book at this time but the small sections that I have read in full are very good.