William Boyd is always worth spending time with, even if not every novel will hit his best heights - 3.5 rating

Trio, set in 1968, follows the personal, secretive journeys of three people, loosely connected to each other through a rather dreadful sounding film, shooting in Brighton.

One of the many reasons I enjoy reading Boyd so much is that he seems to deeply embed in time and place, most particularly in a couple of his ‘sweeping through the Twentieth Century zeitgeist’ novels, Any Human Heart, and The New Confessions. Here, I felt somewhat in disconnect from the times, even though there were marginal connections to what was happening in Paris, with radical insurgency arising particularly from the student movement.

The Trio of the title are Talbot, the somewhat melancholic producer of the film, Anny, the American actress who is the star of the film, a woman with a disastrous affinity for unsuitable, dangerous men, and Elfrida, a once highly successful novelist hailed as heir to Virginia Woolf, challenged by her own writing block, and her marriage to Reggie-who-wants-to-be-known-as-Rodrigo, director of the getting progressively more awful film.

Reggie, whom Talbot (quite rightly) thinks is ‘an insufferable, deluded, self-important little man’ bears much of the comedic butt of the novel, though there are others who share in being types to laugh at, particularly a collection of past their best Grand Actors and Variety Artistes.

The comedic and devious challenges involved in the making of the less than masterpiece film are a backdrop to the secrets and lies behind the façade of each of the three main characters. Each of them, their character flaw, and what they are hiding, is very obvious, right from the start.

My rating, 3.5 raised to 4, might well have been higher had this been the first Boyd I had read. Nonetheless, I am very glad to have read it, and grateful to have received a digital ARC of it from NetGalley

Usually enjoy Boyds books but this one was very much a disappointment for me. Tricky to keep track of the characters and their comings and goings although enjoyed the reminders of the 60s and the descriptions of Brighton and environs.

William Boyd novels never disappoint and this one is no exception.
It is 1968 a year of world upheaval: assassinations in the USA, riots in Paris, the disastrous war in Vietnam. Against this backdrop the author takes us to a film set in Brighton where all the cliches of low budget British film production are used to full effect.
This is a bittersweet look at the flip side of success for it's three central characters. The writing is tender and profound.

WILLIAM BOYD – TRIO

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Though I think the title lame, Trio is a novel I enjoyed for many reasons. And not just because its characters are interesting. and the engrossing story deceptively well told by a skilful and experienced novelist.

Most of the characters are involved with the making of a film and I love film, so that scored a big plus. By coincidence they were filming in Brighton and Rottingdean and Beachy Head (as well, later, Paris), my stomping grounds, none of which descriptions rang false.

From the first page the gallery of characters were intriguing; Elfida Wing, a novelist who’s addiction to her bottle of Sarson’s White Wine vinegar has kept her from putting pen to paper for ten years (the bottle doesn’t contain Sarson’s!), Talbot, the repressed gay producer, Anny Viklund, the American star with a sinister crack-pot ex wanted by the FBI, her sexy co-star Troy, rapidly steering life so that it imitates art. Or at least, the film they are making.

I don’t want to give away the plot twists but suffice to say I was sorry when it came to an end. It was full of life, of humour, every page bulging with literary goodies; I enjoyed this novel immensely.

Witty and thought-provoking, like all William Boyd's books.
I'm a big fan of William Boyd's books and was looking forward to reading Trio. The "trio" of the title are Elfrida Wing, Talbot Kydd and Anny Vilkland, and they caught my imagination immediately. 60-year-old Talbot is the producer of a film improbably titled Emily Bracegirdle's Extremely Useful Ladder To The Moon, in which 28-year-old Anny is starring. Elfrida Wing is married to the film's director Reggie Tipton. His request to be known as Rodgrigo for professional purposes sets the tone for this funny, yet insightful look at Britain's rapidly changing society in the late 1960s. Despite the faux-glamour of the world they move in, Talbot, Anny and Elfrida all have their challenges to face - Talbot is a closet gay at a time when homosexuality has just been made legal; Anny's ex-husband Cornell Weekes, a fugitive from justice, is hounding her for support and money; and Elfrida is trying to overcome writer's block. In a swift-moving, multi-stranded plot, it's the latter's story that appealed to me most. Elfrida hates that her writing has been compared to Virginia Woolf's, so much so that she hasn't been able to write for 10 years, turning to alcohol for solace instead. And yet she finds herself researching the last days of Woolf's life in order to write a fiction novel about her nemesis! While I empathised less with the other two, I still enjoyed this book. Colourful characters, a racy plot, humorous dialogue and a sense of pathos to keep the emotions engaged made it an entertaining read.

William Boyd's writing is impeccable, full of humour with great story telling. Boyd's writing reminds me of my own workplace colleagues. You thought you knew and liked them, then realised they were not friends but colleagues. You just had to suffer the working day in their presence!! This novel is all about characters.

The year is 1968, three people, three secrets., a film shooting in Brighton. A story about a film director's wife, film producer a young American actress. I would recommend this novel.

I give 4-start rating.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS NOVEL.

I was excited to have the opportunity to read a novel by this great writer. I’ve read other books he has written previously& love his attention to detail, atmospheric setting & strong plot- but for some reason this latest offering did not live up to my expectations.

The setting was clearly signposted as the 60s, and even though I was tiny then, there were enough references that I could recognise to make it feel authentic.
The three main characters are well developed and credible, if not particularly likeable, which isn’t an issue, but I wasn’t particularly interested in their back stories. Their lives are connected through the shooting of a film; the producer, a novelist & an actress. The plot contains affairs, secret loves & addictions but didn’t excite me..

This isn’t to take anything away from the quality of William Boyd’s writing, it may not have been as satisfying as others for me, but I certainly felt as though I had been immersed in the lives & unsavoury world of the characters.

William Boyd is always good for a read. Original plots and excellent characterisation and this is no exception. Except that it didn't engage me quite in the way some of his other novels have. I found all the characters desperately sad, all hiding behind facades and getting little enjoyment out of life. Dialogue was witty, sense of place was spot-on, parts were extremely enjoyable, just found it a bit muddled, a bit too clever in parts. Perhaps I am dulled down by isolation but not my favourite Boyd.

The Trio is a charming, character driven historical novel set in 1960. It’s fun, intriguing and thought-provoking. All the characters are brilliantly written and memorable, even the minor ones. A pleasant and enjoyable read.

From the wonderfully inimitable William Boyd comes a rollicking novel with a dark undertow, set around three unforgettable individuals and a doomed movie set. There's Talbot Kydd, a middle-aged and largely successful movie producer, husband and father, former soldier and, in a secret parallel life, an amateur photographer gradually reconciling with his hidden self. Elfrida Wing is a novelist formerly celebrated as ‘the new Virginia Woolf’, but she’s mired in a ten-year writer’s block, a displeasing marriage, and alcoholism. Anny Viklund is a talented young American actor of considerable renown, but her unfortunate relationship history refuses to stay in the past. It's summer 1968--a time of war and assassinations, protests and riots. While the world is reeling, our trio is involved in making a disaster-plagued, Swingin' Sixties British movie in sunny Brighton. All are leading secret lives. As the movie shoot zigs and zags, these layers of secrets become increasingly more untenable. Pressures build inexorably. The FBI and CIA get involved. Someone is going to crack--or maybe they all will.

From one of Britain's best loved writers comes an exhilarating, tender novel--by turns hilarious and heartbreaking--that asks the vital questions: What makes life worth living? And what do you do if you find it isn't? Peeling back the layers of idealism, Boyd’s heartfelt and beguiling novel, set on the Sussex coast towards in the late 60s, charts the emotional knots and interconnected fates of the eponymous threesome who turn out to be memorable and engaging central characters but with little in the way of redeeming features. Set against the backdrops of Brighton, London and Paris in the pivotal summer of ’68, the locations are vivid and richly described and the writing so immersive you feel as though you are there living through the times. Globally there's unrest and it becomes a year of historic significance through the student protests around the world, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam war as well as the backlash it evoked, to name a few. People are also learning to be freer since the passing of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which liberated homosexuals.

Boyd is one of the few writers that I feel I can never do justice to with each new book and new attempt to at least try in a review such as this; the main reason for this is because his stories aren't simply stories, and you don't merely read them. His books are an EXPERIENCE. A world you inhabit alongside the characters and live through every moment with. The three of them have only two things in common: the set of the film where their lives collided and the fact that each of them is troubled and living a double life. The potent mix of the three titular figures who drive the narrative, a fascinating time both socially and politically around the globe, and Boyd's masterful prose make this a novel to get lost in. Effortlessly wrought and endlessly compulsive and with the added touch of some sly wit, those who are already admirers of Boyd’s work will find lots to love in Trio and those new to him will swiftly come to the realisation they've ambled onto something spectacular. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Many thanks to Viking for an ARC.

William Boyd is a well-established writer whose first novel was published in 1981. His style is elegant and the language erudite, as befits someone who has won a range of awards including the Costa and the Whitbread. He has written a number of screen plays, original stories and adaptations and, in the last decade, he has also written for the stage. I list these achievements because “Trio” clearly draws on his experience, giving it an easy authenticity, especially in its depiction of the chaos of a film set as problems are met and surmounted, or worked around, or rewritten.
As the title suggests there are three overlapping tales one for each of it’s three principal protagonists; plus a full supporting cast, and a range of real, or caricatured, famous people, who populate the background in various scenes.
Talbot, a movie producer whose film is being made in Brighton in 1968, is a closet homosexual maintaining a separate house under an assumed name. He could come out, of course, because the Sexual Offences Act had been passed the year before. Although seemingly effete he has a much stronger personality than might be thought, especially where finance is concerned.
Elfrida, the wife of the Director, is a once famous writer who has ‘dried’, in the literary sense, largely because she has become ‘wet’ in the alcoholic sense. That her husband is having an affair with the screenwriter is also a factor. Haunted by thoughts of Virginia Wolff, to whom she had been foolishly compared, she determines to write a novel about her last day and the motive for her suicide, with surprising consequences.
Anny, the star of the film, is deeply involved with her co-star, a pop-singer forging a new career as an actor. For various reasons she doesn’t want this to become public knowledge, one being her French philosopher lover and another being her American ex-husband, a terrorist who has recently escaped from prison and is being sought by Special Branch and the FBI. These pressures pile up on her and lead to an outcome which cannot be foreseen.
It requires more concentration than an average novel, and there some interesting language tricks spicing the mix, but, overall, it has a light-hearted feel which smooths the way.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

William Boyd's latest is, as suggested by the title, three linked stories concerning Elfrida, an author, Anny, an actress and Talbot, a film producer - all successful in their fields but all feeling unfulfilled or unable to get through the days without recourse to drugs or alcohol.
Set in 1968, these characters have their own separate narratives: I found Elfrida's the most engrossing and, maybe because of Boyd himself, the one I felt the most sympathy for. Suffering from writer's block, she is inspired to write about the author who she is most compared to - Virginia Woolf. You share the excitement at her ideas and new venture but then become despairing as re-written passages gradually get worse the more she drinks.
Anny falls from one bad relationship to the next and, although able to set her own agenda on the film set, let others dictate her real life. Her tale I found the least satisfying because when she actually breaks free and makes her own decisions, she ultimately makes the wrong one.
Talbot has suppressed his feelings for other men and throws himself into his work and his photographic hobby of portraits as an outlet. His story promises a happy ending but is left unfinished as to the future his life holds.
Like many of his books before this, I am sure that this will encourage lots of discussion at reading group meetings and be a popular choice.

Summer 1968 and all the glamour of a filmset on location in beautiful Brighton. I loved the storylines and the weaving narrative of Trio - and William Boyd writes really sensational characters who all come to life off the page. You feel like you know them intimately by the end of the book, heart-break, alcoholism and all. Secrets and lies, but the show must go on; a perfect read for these autumn nights. Definitely recommend.

I was delighted to receive a review copy of William Boyd’s latest book because I regard him as one of my favourite writers and was looking forward very much to this release. Unfortunately and surprisingly, though, this has been a DNF for me.

The trio of the title are three characters all linked to a greater or lesser through the British film industry in the 1960s. The narrative style is jaunty and captures a sense of what it might have been like on the set of a Carry On film - everyone putting on a hilarious performance in front of the camera, while mired in various troubles and issues in real life. So far, so good. The difficulty I had with the text, however, was that everyone is so relentlessly unlikeable and unpleasant. I have no problem reading about such characters in general - who wants a story where everyone is PollyAnna? But there just seemed too much of it here. Perhaps it is a reflection of trying to read in these troubles 2020 times, I’m not sure.

I see on Goodreads that there have been plenty of four and five star reviews, but it was a disappointment to me.

The place is Brighton. The year is 1968. Talbot Kydd is shooting a film bizarrely named Emily Bracegirdle’s Extremely Useful Ladder to the Moon starring Anny Vikland and Troy Blaze. In an era famously known as the swinging sixties,society is changing rapidly and for the three protagonists in this novel, who up until now have been leading duplicitous lives, this is a chance to emerge from their secret selves and become who they really want to be. Against a backdrop of unrest in terms of the French riots and the Vietnam war, this colourful cast of characters are sure to delight and entertain as their private lives collide with their professional ones.

The trio are Talbot Kydd, film producer and one half of the YSK film company, Anny Vikland, the film’s leading lady and Elfrida Wing, wife of film director Reggie Tipton.
My initial thoughts were that they are all quite tragic characters, the author’s writing imbuing them with a sense of pathos yet at times they or the situations they find themselves in are quite comical. My favourite has to be Elfrida, a once acclaimed novelist who has suffered writers block for ten years. Married to Reggie Tipton (or Rodrigo) as he prefers to be known, her intense dislike of being hailed the new Virginia Woolf is like a millstone around her neck. To cope with her philandering husband and lack of creativity she has become an alcoholic, a ‘sipper’ as she so wonderfully describes herself. Using a Sarsons bottle to disguise her vodka I found her both an amusing and pathetic figure since the only person she’s hiding her addiction from is herself. The fact that all she is capable of writing are long lists of would be titles for novels that will never be written is also comical. However her time in this south coastal town reignites her desire to write, paradoxically choosing to use Woolf’s final hours as a basis for her long overdue masterpiece, which hilariously never gets beyond the first paragraph. Ultimately Elfrida is leading a double life but if she can face up to her addiction and call time on her marriage to Reggie, her future may just be more hopeful.

Anny Vikland the American actress starring opposite Troy Blaze, a pop star, is also leading a double life. She eschews stardom, has a dubious taste in men and unlike Elfrida who uses alcohol as a crutch, Anny is addicted to pills, namely tranquillisers and barbiturates to see her through each day. Conducting an affair with Troy whilst trying to keep it secret from her French philosopher boyfriend Jacques Soldat, Anny is another tragic figure penned beautifully by the author. That she is a reluctant star seeking solace in sex and drugs suits the atmosphere of the era. Hampered by an ex husband on the run from the FBI desperate to extract money from her, it’s hard to imagine how Anny will avoid her private life interfering with her professional one giving the author the opportunity to explore the price of stardom. What the future holds for Anny is anyone’s guess but it could well be a case of life imitating art.

As for Talbot, he is leading a separate life from his wife and two adult children, in reality a closeted homosexual. Although the year is 1968 the road to society wide acceptance for men like Talbot is a long one yet to be travelled. He is still coming to terms with his sexuality which has been a long held secret. In some ways though that’s the least of his problems since on set he’s facing mounting pressure. Numerous demanding stars, hastily rewritten scripts, trying to accommodate agents wishes, finding roles for actor friends in need of a buck or two not forgetting a potentially double crossing partner, light fingered employees and a missing leading lady all threaten to derail the filming process. Where’s the glamour and glory in all that?? No wonder the poor man has stomach problems! Despite the fact he too is at a crossroads in his life I found him to be immensely likeable, hoping the future would prove to be one where he could accept and embrace his sexuality. The dialogue between him and the rest of this motley film crew is often humorous, making this novel an entertaining read.

Brighton has to be the perfect setting for this novel, taking place at a time when society is on the cusp of a new age, becoming more liberal.Set a smidgeon before my time, I think the author has evoked a sense of the town’s loucheness which has never really gone away, a precursor to the city as it is today with its diverse and inclusive way of life. I loved all the references to places in and around the city, the author taking us back to a time when there were set licensing hours, no modern technology and the cars driven by the likes of Talbot now classed as vintage. I also appreciated the references to the Bloomsbury set, of which I have vague knowledge, conjuring up images of Charleston and a very alternative way of living.

As the storyline draws to its conclusion, the lives of our Trio are in stark contrast to their lives when this novel opens. Hopeful, encouraging or dramatic their personal changes in circumstance now reflect the mood for change that is happening all around them. This novel is exactly what you would expect and want from William Boyd. His exquisite use of language, atmospheric scene setting and great characterisation together with an amusing plot puts Trio firmly in the category of an all round pleasurable read. It is clearly well researched and I think if you haven’t already discovered this acclaimed author’s work , then this novel would be a great introduction . My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

It was the blurb on this that drew me in
It was incredibly well researched - the detail was amazing
Loved the characters - even though some are not very sympathetic !!

Highly recommend

It was 1968: the year when Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated. It's also the year when YSK Films are making a movie in Brighton. It's called Emily Bracegirdle's Extremely Useful Ladder to the Moon, or Ladder the Moon as it's known on set. Anny Viklund is the female star in a production which is proving to be just a little bit rackety. There are odd pressures on the producer, Talbot Kydd, to employ this old actor friend for a couple of days because he needs the money, allow a fading star to use his catchphrase, or include a song from the leading man, whose musical star is fading.

Anny and Troy are having an affair, as are their characters, Emily and Ben, in the film. In either case, no one must know. Emily's boyfriend, French philosopher Jacques Soldat, could turn up on the set at any time and Ben is Emily's driver, so the relationship would be frowned upon: this is the sixties, after all. Reggie Tipton - well he prefers to be called Rodrigo Tipton - is the director and one of the perks of the job is that he gets a rather splendid house for the duration of the filming and installed there is his wife, novelist Elfrida Wing. Well, I call her a 'novelist' but the days when she was known as the new Virginia Woolf have passed by in a cloud of alcohol fumes and she thinks that no one knows what's in those bottles of Sarson's white vinegar. She can't make up her mind whether she's a 'sipper' or a 'bender' as far as her vodka consumption goes but she's rarely far removed from her last glass. She does know that she doesn't trust Reggie: he has form.

Anny Viklund has another problem. Well, it shouldn't be a problem, really as Cornell Weekes is, as she keeps stating, her ex-husband, but he's just escaped custody and the FBI are sure that she knows something about his whereabouts. She does, actually, but it's not sympathy with his views which persuades her to give him some money but an attempt to simplify her life: trying to keep a professional face on a boyfriend, an affair and an ex-husband who's a terrorist is getting a bit much.

Talbot Kydd has a secret too. He might have a wife and two adult children but he's been keeping his sexual proclivities well hidden since his adolescence. He's got a flat his wife knows nothing about and that's where he takes his photographs. Then there's the fact that his partner, Yorgos Samsa, is trying to defraud him. Anny, Elfrida and Talbot have built their lives around keeping their true lives secret but there comes a point when a decision has to be made about what makes life worth living - and what you do about it.

For years my husband has been trying to persuade me to read William Boyd but somehow the opportunity has never arisen until this week when Trio landed on my desk. Now I know what I've been missing. The writing is exquisite: Boyd is a writer who has the ability to make what he's doing look simple and uncontrived to the extent that you realise the skill and talent which has gone into the book. It is crafted, with not a wasted word and the plot is brilliant.

The characterisation is excellent too. I've just been looking back at my notes and there's a substantial cast of characters all of which have stayed in my mind as individuals and the beauty of it is that it took just a few words to bring each one off the page. I rooted for all the main characters - and cried for one of them. It was a book which I read all too quickly.

I'd like to thank the publishers for making a review copy available to the Bookbag.

Trio by William Boyd

The story of three characters during the making of a film in Brighton in 1968: Talbot the producer, Anny the star, and Elfrida the writer. A compelling read and testament to the author's skill that we are invested in the characters even though they aren't always terribly likeable! An excellent portrayal of the world in 1968 and fascinating historical detail. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK for the ARC of this book.

This is the first book of William Boyd’s that I’ve read so I had no idea of what to expect, although I know he is a highly acclaimed author.It definitely held my attention and made me want to keep reading. It’s an interesting depiction of late 60s Britain which also touches on the 1968 riots in France.
The three people who form the trio of the title are involved in the making of a film in Brighton. Elfrida is an alcoholic author, suffering from writer’s block, whose husband is directing the film;Talbot is the film’s producer facing problems with his business partner and with his hidden sexuality, and Anny is the star of the film whose ex- husband is causing problems for her.
None of them is very likeable,so it’s hard to feel any empathy, but I was interested to find out how the author resolved their problems and was satisfied with the way the book ended.I also liked the descriptions of the film making process ,and some of it was quite funny too.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

Trio
It’s 1968 in Brighton, England and a film crew is entrenched there making a movie with the unlikely title of ‘Emily Bracegirdle’s Extremely Useful Ladder to the Moon’ or ‘Moonladder’ for short. Anny Viglund, an American actress, plays the Emily of the title and is having a torrid affair with her leading man, pop singer Troy Blaze.
It’s a troubled shoot and Talbot Kydd, the producer is feeling the strain. He’s having to deal with actors and actresses that he didn’t want in the film and had no say in the casting, older actors desperate to make money with a cameo role as well as Troy’s shady managers. These are just the tip of the iceberg. But at least he can escape to a flat in North London where the neighbours know him only as Mr Eastman and which his family and friends know nothing about.
Meanwhile the director’s wife, Elfrida Wing, attempts to solve her 10 years of writers block with the stash of vodka she hides in a vinegar jar. Until inspiration finally strikes…..
Anny takes many pills and hadn’t wanted to do the film in the first place. Jacqus, her boyfriend in Paris, dismisses it as ‘merde britannique.’ But she’s a hot property and still riding on her success in an earlier film. However, her ‘urban terrorist’ ex-husband has come calling followed by Scotland Yard and the FBI.
These three are the trio of the title. All linked together by the film and leading secret lives which are about to overwhelm them.
Now that Elfrida finally stops jotting down the titles of novels and finds inspiration in Virginia Woolf will she finally put pen to paper?
As Talbot questions the way in which he’s chosen to live a double life is he about to play with fire?
And as Anny runs away from the film is she taking the only way of escape?
This is the first William Boyd novel that I’ve read and although it was well written and captures the atmosphere of late ‘60’s England It left me a little cold. I didn’t care about two of the characters and Anny seemed a tragic heroine with echoes of the doomed Jean Seberg. Elfrida never came alive for me as I found her irritating. I did start to find myself guessing as to whom the characters might have been based upon.
Despite the unrest in 1968 with student riots in France and the Vietnam War Britain was making escapist films like this with a bus and a Mini invariably part of the cast. Pop stars could be renamed Troy Blaze instead of Nigel Farthingly and his managers, the Appleby brothers, reminded me of the Krays.
Ultimately this book wasn’t for me but I am happy to read the next one.
My thanks to Viking and NetGalley for an advance preview copy of this book.