Staying On

By: Paul Scott

Narrated by: Paul Shelley

Tusker and Lily Smalley stayed on in India. Given the chance to return ‘home’ when Tusker, once a Colonel in the British Army, retired, they chose instead to remain in the small hill town of Pankot, with its eccentric inhabitants and archaic rituals left over from the days of the Empire. Only the tyranny of their imposing landlady threatens to upset the quiet rhythm of their days. Both funny and deeply moving, 'Staying On' is a unique, engrossing portrait of the end of an empire and of a forty-year love affair.

©1977 Paul Scott (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great book, nicely read, but read the raj quartet first. This is in many ways a sequel.

Paul Scott was a brilliant writer and knew the late Raj very well. This book is a lovely follow-up to the Raj Quartet. Highly recommend all 5 books.

No wonder it won the Booker prize

I had tears in my eyes at the end and yet the novel is terribly funny. I had watched The Jewel in The Crown, then listened to the forth of the Raj quartets, followed by Staying On to find out what happened to Sarah Leighton and read about the sociology of those who stayed on. Of course . To my delight, I got much more. What a brilliant little story.

Brilliant. sensitive epilogue to the Raj Quartet

I was a huge fan of Paul Scott when his novels "The Jewel in the Crown" first started being published, waiting for each subsequent novel of the eventual Raj Quartet. Now rereading the epilogue read by Paul Shelly - who is truly a brilliant performer, I am reminded again of Scott's greatness , and his sad death at an early age.

Bugga!

Would you listen to Staying On again? Why?

I laughed; I cried; I was moved and learned a few things along the way. What a fabulous book! Absolutely loved it! I read this book for my book club and I have to thank Celia for suggesting it. This was such a delight to read. I loved the characters, the places and the story. I recommend this book to everyone. What a gem!!!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the interactions between the characters.

What about Paul Shelley’s performance did you like?

Paul was a phenomenal reader. He did all the accents perfectly. He made the story alive. Awesome narrator!!

If you could rename Staying On, what would you call it?

I would not change a thing.

Paul Scott, one of greats of British literature.

What made the experience of listening to Staying On the most enjoyable?

The sensitivity, the humor, the storytelling, and language of a great British novelist.

What other book might you compare Staying On to and why?

The Short Stories of William Trevor, because of the seamless manner with which both authors move between the past. the present and the future, the internal dialogue and the external action. The sensibilities of the characters and thus the authors. Their subtlety and ability to spot the quiet moral dilemmas of ordinary lives.

Have you listened to any of Paul Shelley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I don't believe so.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Paul Scott, author of the Raja Quartet, as well as a number of other wonderful novels, is one of the most overlooked and greatest writers of the 20th Century. In that respect he is like John Fowles, who wrote the Magus, which is perhaps one of the top five novels of the 20th Century and which sadly and inexplicitly has never been made into an audible book.

i felt like i was part of the characters lives

What a well written book with a rather bleak ending i was so sad to say goodbye to the characters , they were written in a way that i felt i knew them and was apart of their everyday lives. Poor poor lucy

Exquisite Novel

It is roughly 25 years since I read Paul Scott’s “Staying On,” which I remembered as beautifully poignant. Having just read E.M. Forster’s “Passage to India,” I decided to re-visit “Staying On” exquisite details, comically charming characters, and a setting in time as India and England shift their positions on the worlds political game-board.

An oldie but a goodie

For people of a certain age, this is a moving listen. Not having any sympathy with Colonialism doesn’t impede the enjoyment a listener can have from a story well told. The pace is of a golden age too, long gone, but for once there are no detectives or moody junior officers.
Shadows of Hari Kumar and indeed The Raj Quartet flit in and out of this story of people who are clinging to a time long past out of habit and for waning comfort.

Must read/listen for those who have enjoyed the Raj Quartet

This is beautifully poignant epilogue to the earlier Raj Quartet series (The Jewel in the Crown as televised), and to British India and the lives of the British in India. British racial attitudes are of course in evidence, as they were inseparable from that history, but there can be no other writer who so successfully evokes the tragedy and melancholy of what India meant to colonial Britons. Paul Scott's familiarity with a now vanished world are as essential as are Indian perspectives to recapturing the faint echoes of the Raj.

#PastMeetsPresent #Nostalgic #Heartfelt #Tearjerker #SouthAsia #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

ENJOYABLE

This should actually be the 5th book in the series about India by Paul Scott.
It is a meandering story of the past, connected to the present, mentioning some of the characters of the previous books.
Life and mentally, after the English colonialism is described.
There are sad and touching and humorous moments. The narrator did an OUTSTANDING job.
If you have read the previous books by Paul Scott, I highly recommend listening to this one.
My thanks to all involved in making the book available to us, JK