The Autumn of the Ace by Louis de Bernières
Louis de Louis de Bernières new novel The Autumn of the Ace follows two previous novels about the same characters, The Dust That Falls From Dreams, published in 2015, and So Much Life Left Over, published in 2018. Even though this new novel could stand on its own, I would recommend reading the earlier books in order for a more complete understanding of the history of the characters and the time and place.
At the centre of The Autumn of the Ace is Daniel Pitt, a man who fought in both world wars, and was decorated for bravery as a fighter pilot and for his time spent flying spies in and out of France. All of these details are fully described in the earlier novels and are just mentioned as background in the new novel. We are then caught up in the lives of the Pitt and McCosh families who were first introduced to us in the first book in this trilogy. The children in the two families had grown up next door to each other, some had married, and all remained connected in some way throughout their lives.
Daniel Pitt is now a mature man and this novel will follow him to his death, and after. Those who had fought and returned to post war life in England have aged and gotten on with life, each in their own way. Most are somewhat – or very – eccentric. Most are intelligent – some very much so. Most are very decent people though some have lost their way. They struggled in So Much Life Left Over to find ways forward, back into a life they did not expect to live to experience. Now they are older and, some but not all, wiser.
Daniel and his wife, Rosie, separated from many years, have never reconciled and the damage done to themselves and their children carries on into another generation. Rosie holding a secret that might have brought happiness to Daniel. She is so sad now that he did not know the truth. There are times when the reader knows so much more about each of the characters in the novel than they do about each other, that one feels rather like a voyeur.
Louis de Bernières has spent a lot of time immersed in the story of these characters and the places in which they live – there is a chapter that takes place in Notwithstanding – as Daniel attempts to reconcile with his son, Bertie, who was so damaged by the relationship of his parents. De Bernières collection of short stories titled Notwithstanding perhaps an addition to the trilogy.
As The Autumn of the Ace concludes we may have seen the last of the Pitt and McCosh families, as so many of the older family members, who were born in 1900 or thereabouts, have now died and even their children are elderly – but I do wonder. There are the children of children of children and life goes on. Has Louis de Bernières finished with this family, or do we have another installment to look forward to? I do hope so.