Poppy's Paperbacks 2012

[poppyshake]

 

Schindler's Ark - Thomas Keneally

 

Amazon Synopsis: In the shadow of Auschwitz, a flamboyant German industrialist grew into a living legend to the Jews of Cracow. He was a womaniser, a heavy drinker and a bon viveur, but to them he became a saviour. This is the extraordinary story of Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to protect Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland and who was transformed by the war into a man with a mission, a compassionate angel of mercy.

 

Review: This is often described as a novel and Thomas Keneally himself says he uses the format of a novel to tell the story, however none of it is fictional (there is no invented dialogue for instance) it's totally based on first hand accounts so it reads more like non-fiction. It is as thrilling and compelling as any novel though, indeed I doubt anyone could better it for plot ... truth as they say is stranger than fiction and in this case a lot more disturbing.

 

A lot of you will know the story from it's film adaptation 'Schindler's List' (why do they have to change the name of things? ). Oskar Schindler wasn't by any means a paragon of virtue. He was a Nazi, a womaniser, a profiteer, a drinker and a gambler amongst other things but what he also was was a compassionate human being. Someone who saw the atrocities being committed all around him and decided to take a different path. He didn't have to, it would've been much easier for him if he had not (during the war period anyway .. after of course maybe not but he didn't have life easy then anyway). What Oskar set out to do was to make life a little better for those Jews employed at his factory near the Plaszów concentration camp. Plaszów was run by infamous camp commandant Amon Goeth .. and really you'd be hard pushed to find a more evil man even amongst the Third Reich. Amon delighted in taking pot shots at his prisoners, it was said that he personally killed more than five hundred Jews (those that he observed going about their work too slowly or those that offended his eye in some way) .. he would step out of his villa every day (or maybe even just lean over the balcony or aim through an open window) and kill someone for the pleasure of it, he also trained his two dogs to rip people to pieces. He sent thousands to their deaths also but I think it was this personal vendetta that shocked me the most. One of his prisoners testified to say that when you saw Amon 'you saw death'.

 

The thing about tyrants is that, by their very nature, they're corruptible .. Amon was no exception. The one thing Oskar did have in abundance was money and he was able to ply him and others with copious amounts of food, drink, money, factory goods, diamonds etc etc in order to encourage them into being more amenable (often he just got them steaming drunk). He made much of the fact that his factory was important to the war effort and that his prisoners were highly skilled and irreplaceable and by doing so somehow managed to avert suspicion away from his real motives. In the factory the prisoners worked hard, but they were given adequate food (2,000 calories a day it's said), allowed time to pray and study their bible etc and they were kept safe from physical abuse. Oskar was arrested three times but always managed to evade further punishment by dropping all the highly influential names he'd been assiduous in collecting over the past months and years.

 

As the war began to draw to a close, the SS started evacuating the camps and marching the prisoners westward. Factories were to be closed and Oskar was persuaded to switch his business from enamelware to anti-tank grenades. He set about persuading (in his normal manner ) the SS officials to allow him to take his 1,000 Jewish workers plus 200 other Jews to Brünnlitz (one of these was Amon Goeth's housekeeper who had been subject to the most horrendous abuse) to his new factory and camp and a list was compiled. To be on the list was everything .. it was your saving grace. Without it you were more or less guaranteed a one way walk to the gas chambers. Schindler and his workers later claimed that the work from this factory was intentionally faulty and that nothing they manufactured aided the Nazi war effort at all (at the time .. though they were annoyed .. the powers that be put this down to incompetence). When liberation comes, Oskar and his wife Emilie are forced to flee with the help of their (now former) prisoners (poor Emilie - she was very ill used. She came in for all the rough bits of being a wife and not much of the good stuff .. like me ) Oskar was given a parting gift of a gold ring, the gold being pulled from the very mouth of one of his prisoners (at the prisoners suggestion and request I hasten to add) .. the inscription reads 'He who saves a single soul, saves the world entire'.

 

As always when reading about the holocaust, it's emotional and harrowing and you learn things about the world which dent you and make you angry. The flip side here though is that you also feel incredibly humbled and awed and grateful when you read about Oskar and Emilie who put their lives on the line to save others. It makes your heart beat fast just like any top notch thriller (I imagine .. I've never read one ). You become attached to the prisoners and to Oskar so you're always fearful of the outcome and there are so many cliffhanger, heart in your mouth, moments .. if it had been a fictional story, I might have thought it was stretching credibility a little

 

9/10

[poppyshake]

Great review of Ella Minnow Pea. I loved it, thought it was brilliant and so original. I remember just loving the creativeness of the characters trying to omit the fallen letters from their correspondence.

Thanks bobbly I liked all the creativeness too .. it was a constant source of fascination to me.

I buy my best friend a book for Christmas every year. This year it's a toss up between Ella Minnow Pea and The Art of Racing in the Rain so far.

Our friends and relations really ought to appreciate all the hard work we do during the year so that they are guaranteed a good Christmas read

[poppyshake]

 

Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson

 

Amazon Synopsis: After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a few years, to let his kids experience life in another country, to give his wife the chance to shop until 10 p.m. seven nights a week, and, most of all, because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, and it was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and 'Gardeners' Question Time'.

 

Review: One of my favourite Bryson's and the first one I ever read - it was nice to re-visit it as part of the September 2012 Reading Circle. I like it because it gives me an alien's view of this country. Bill rants a lot, he's a bit dismissive not to say downright rude about places/people but the areas I've lived in got off lightly and so it didn't offend. I don't think I would be offended even if he had said Cirencester was a dump .. it's only his opinion after all and his unreasonableness makes me laugh .. ranting, slightly grumpy people amuse me (it's nice to know you're not alone in the world ) and with Bill it's all said with a twinkle in the eye. He does love it here anyway, he must do .. he's practically a native now .. so it couldn't have been ALL bad.

 

More views can be found here on the reading circle thread but spoilers abound so beware (though I don't think it's giving anything away if I tell you that he doesn't murder anyone and there aren't any twists).

 

9/10

 

For all those that think Bill is a bit of a grump this is to show he does have a soft side ..

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jateuSygnPM&feature=player_detailpage

[Kylie]

Oh boy, Poppyshake...so many books to add to my wish list! I've added Lady into Fox (Bloomsbury, yay!), Gigi, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, The Moving Toyshop and Schindler's Ark (the title never appealed to me in the past, but now that I know what it's about, I really want to read it). Thanks for the awesome reviews. I'm so glad you loved Ella Minnow Pea - I really want to re-read it!

[poppyshake]

Oh boy, Poppyshake...so many books to add to my wish list! I've added Lady into Fox (Bloomsbury, yay!), Gigi, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, The Moving Toyshop and Schindler's Ark (the title never appealed to me in the past, but now that I know what it's about, I really want to read it). Thanks for the awesome reviews. I'm so glad you loved Ella Minnow Pea - I really want to re-read it!

Oh I'm glad Kylie .. as long as you are Schindler's Ark (again .. have had to look up the apostrophe .. you'd think I'd just know wouldn't you? .. it's a possession fgs .. but nope!) is so worth reading, like Anne Frank's (you see .. I am learning ) diary .. it should be required reading, well for anyone at all interested in the second world war anyway.

There are so many books I want to re-read but I rarely, if ever, do. A Christmas Carol is the only one I regularly re-read and it's short so it's easy to tackle. I could never be one of those people who re-read The Lord of the Rings annually. I read it once and enjoyed it but I can't say it was an experience I'm eager to repeat (The Hobbit film though will probably make me want to dive back into Middle Earth). When I'm a poky old woman (not that far away now ) and sitting in my rocking chair covered in cat hair (even though the cat is long dead.) I will look forward to re-visiting all my faves, providing I've got my marbles and my eyesight. I suppose I will be trying to charge up my obsolete Kindle by then

[Janet]

I tried Schindler's Ark a few years ago but ended up giving up on it. I just couldn't get into it.

 

I re-read A Christmas Carol every year - I haven't started it yet though.

[poppyshake]

I tried Schindler's Ark a few years ago but ended up giving up on it. I just couldn't get into it.

You've reminded me actually that I did struggle with it at the beginning and that was mostly because of the German/Polish/Czech words and names etc .. I kept tripping on them and not always understanding what was meant. It's fairly heavyweight too to begin with, a lot of info to take in and process .. I bore with it though and it started coming together. It was a read out loud book to start off with (this is what I do when it's not going in) and you should've heard some of my pronunciations luckily only the cat did and she can't say much .. she hasn't really learnt English yet

I re-read A Christmas Carol every year - I haven't started it yet though.

I'm getting ahead Janet Actually it's because of the puddings, when I make them I listen to a story and often it's this one. This version is read by Tim Curry and I'm not sure he does a brilliant job but it's ok. I'm always quoting bits out loud before he gets to them .. my favourite bits - this morning it was 'don't be hard upon me! Don't be flowery, Jacob' I love the thought of Jacob being flowery.

[Janet]

You've reminded me actually that I did struggle with it at the beginning and that was mostly because of the German/Polish/Czech words and names etc .. I kept tripping on them and not always understanding what was meant. It's fairly heavyweight too to begin with, a lot of info to take in and process .. I bore with it though and it started coming together. It was a read out loud book to start off with (this is what I do when it's not going in) and you should've heard some of my pronunciations luckily only the cat did and she can't say much .. she hasn't really learnt English yet

I might attempt it again one day. Maybe I'll take a leaf out of your book and read it aloud!

[poppyshake]

 

One Pair of Feet - Monica Dickens

 

Amazon.com Synopsis: Considering herself unsuited to any other contribution to the war effort, Monica Dickens chose nursing. This account of her experiences includes descriptions of the gaol-like nurses hostel and the austere matron. (They haven't put themselves out have they? I won't have to go far to improve upon that ).

 

Review: Quite enjoyable actually, I'm not sure Monica has quite the way with words that her great Grandfather had but she's very amusing all the same and not half as long winded. This is an account of her time spent as a trainee nurse during the second world war and it's a follow up to her book One Pair of Hands which recounted her experiences as a cook.

 

It's a bit like reading the script of one of those jolly b&w films with sensible pretty nurses being ever so chipper about emptying bedpans and dealing with the grumblers. Nurses that would make you a cuppa in the middle of the night and hold your hand and say 'there there .. buck up' or 'I say what rotten luck' and then later climb out of a window after curfew to go to a dance. She's good company though, she lets you in on the gossip, is kind and conscientious, falls foul of the dragons (ward sisters and matron) and is not afraid of hard work. Actually when I say she's kind, there were one or two unfortunate descriptions of both fellow nurses and patients where I thought, I do hope the person concerned was dead before she published this .. she is a little bit satirical and not always generous, perhaps she made them up though.

 

I did enjoy it so will be looking out for the 'Hands' book and any of the others she wrote. I have read one of her fictional stories Mariana and enjoyed that too. She also wrote the Follyfoot books that were turned into a TV series in the 1970's.

 

8/10

 

I might attempt it again one day. Maybe I'll take a leaf out of your book and read it aloud!

Are you good at accents Janet?

[Janet]

Are you good at accents Janet?

Nope!

[poppyshake]

Nope!

Neither am I, I'm rubbish. My Scottish one (for Miss Jean Brodie) had to be heard to be believed.

[Alexi]

Whoops, I appear to have accidentally added Schindler's Ark and Ella Minnow Pea to my ever growing wishlist...

[poppyshake]

Whoops, I appear to have accidentally added Schindler's Ark and Ella Minnow Pea to my ever growing wishlist...

Hope you enjoy them .. with Ella Minnow Pea it is guaranteed.

[poppyshake]

 

Dear Fatty - Dawn French

 

Amazon Synopsis: For French, early dreams of becoming a ballerina or an air hostess came to nothing, but the loss to the worlds of dance and aviation was a gain for TV audiences. All of that, of course, is covered in this frequently hilarious and often moving collection. We are invited into her most personal relationships with (among others) her mother and father, her husband (fellow comedian Lenny Henry), and, of course, her most important comedic ally, Jennifer Saunders. Everything French describes -- from the agonies of being a teenager to the death of her father -- and (of course) the way in which society defines her by her generous size -- is treated with a highly diverting insight. Fans of Dawn French's TV appearances will lap it up, but Dear Fatty has a lot more to offer, even to those only vaguely familiar with her. But is anyone in Britain only vaguely familiar with Dawn French?

 

Review: I listened to this as opposed to read it and enjoyed it more than I was expecting. Instead of telling her life story in the normal way, Dawn chooses to tell it in letter form .. mostly to her Father who sadly committed suicide when Dawn was nineteen. As she reminisces with him about times gone by and then brings him up to date with news we get to listen/read along. It feels a little bit intrusive but not in a bad way (in a letting you in on secrets sort of way). She begins it all by writing 'Dear Dad, so you're still dead' .. which immediately sets the tone because of course Dawn always finds the humorous angle (I can only do that in a changing room with a three way mirror ), that's not to say that the letters are all like jokes, some of the ones to her Dad, Lenny and her daughter Billie are almost unbearably moving. There were one or two which made me think 'too much information' but then that's probably only me .. I'm a bit squeamish when it comes to other peoples relationships. The Fatty of the title is ironically Jennifer Saunders ... it would be wouldn't it? This book was written and published before her split with Lenny and her letters to him, though few, make you wonder how on earth they could ever have parted. She has a little rant occasionally about how rude the general public can be when they spot a famous person (not the general general public but the odd one or two who think that they can come and sit with you when you're out for a romantic meal or generally like to disrupt your holidays) but on the whole she's pretty laid back, warm and friendly. I didn't find it hilarious but I did a lot of smiling. There is lots of info here about her beginnings in comedy and the Comi Strip crew in particular.

 

Because some of the letters are very emotional, Dawn doesn't narrate them herself .. she gets her very good friend Liza Tarbuck to do it and after a while you don't even think about it, she does a marvellous job.

 

8/10

[Kidsmum]

I love Liza Tarbuck & think she's much funnier than her Dad, sorry Jimmy Does it say wether Dawn chose her to narrate it or was it the publisher, Poppy ?

[poppyshake]

I love Liza Tarbuck & think she's much funnier than her Dad, sorry Jimmy Does it say wether Dawn chose her to narrate it or was it the publisher, Poppy ?

It was Dawn's choice and she actually explains it herself at the start of the audiobook which I thought was a nice touch. I love Liza too .. Jimmy's not that funny is he?, perhaps he was .. it wears out after a while

[bobblybear]

Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson

 

That reminds me that I've yet to finish this one. I put it aside in favour of some library books that need reading. I'm about 2/3rd through, and amazed by the amount of walking Bryson did. I found it exhausting just thinking about it.

[julie]

Morning Miss Poppy

The last book you reviewed sounded good,and interesting told in the way it was. I'm not familiar with Dawn French,so I'm assuming she is a famous person from your country ? Maybe a comedian or TV star of some sort ?

I like reading memoirs ,no matter if the person is well known or just a regular old person. I can usually take some type of information from ther life that might give me direction in my life from time to time. Sometimes it'll be a little thought that Hey,that happened to me, too ----or maybe I wish I would have handled that situation like this person did ..

Good luck with finishing your Bryson book. I'd think it'd be much more enjoyable for you folks who live over there. I have liked all of his books ,but the ones written about life over here are easier to relate to,since I'm a little more familiar with the places he mentions here. I have yet to find one of his I didn't like . ( I also have yet to tackle a Short History of Nearly Everything . I have it,but haven't read it .)

[poppyshake]

 

The Voyage Out - Virginia Woolf

 

Synopsis: First published in 1915, The Voyage Out is Virginia Woolfs first novel. It begins as Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose embark on a sea voyage for South America. Throughout their voyage and once they reach land there are many characters that float in and out of the text. Indeed, one is not sure who the main characters are until halfway through the novel. Clarissa and Richard Dalloway, the main characters of Woolfs later novel Mrs. Dalloway, even make an appearance. Once reaching land, Mrs. Ambrose along with her niece, Rachel, explore the environs and make friends with other tourists-notably with two young men, Hewet and Hirst. Here these four friends form several intertwining and interesting relationships that guide us through the rest of the story.

 

Review: Ok as this is one of Virginia's I'm probably going to witter on for ages, the short version is that I liked it a lot but I didn't love it and I didn't think it was very representative of her work. A good 'breaking you in gently' sort of read though and it has added interest because it was her debut novel. There is an earlier, more punchy version (Melymbrosia) which I'd like to read at some point.

 

It reads very much like a Jane Austen novel or at least it kept giving me Austenesque nudges. Our heroine Rachel is very naive, a sort of Catherine Morland figure except perhaps not quite so fanciful (and probably therefore not quite so interesting). She wouldn't thank me for saying that however for she is not an admirer of Jane Austen, confessing that .. 'she's so--so--well, so like a tight plait' Rachel's on a voyage to South America with her aunt and uncle (and also her father whose ship 'The Euphrosyne' they are sailing on .. her mother died when she was a child and she lives in Richmond with two other aunts.) On board are a number of characters who form part of the backdrop to the main story. When the ship docks in Lisbon we're introduced to Clarissa Dalloway (later of course to get a whole book to herself) who temporarily joins the ship with her husband Richard. Before disembarking Richard steals a kiss from Rachel which throws her into turmoil .. it fascinates her but also scares her into nightmares .. 'She dreamt that she was walking down a long tunnel, which grew so narrow by degrees that she could touch the damp bricks on either side. At length the tunnel opened and became a vault; she found herself trapped in it, bricks meeting her wherever she turned, alone with a little deformed man who squatted on the floor gibbering, with long nails. His face was pitted and like the face of an animal. The wall behind him oozed with damp, which collected into drops and slid down. Still and cold as death she lay, not daring to move, until she broke the agony by tossing herself across the bed, and woke crying "Oh!" Light showed her the familiar things: her clothes, fallen off the chair; the water jug gleaming white; but the horror did not go at once. She felt herself pursued, so that she got up and actually locked her door. A voice moaned for her; eyes desired her. All night long barbarian men harassed the ship; they came scuffling down the passages, and stopped to snuffle at her door. She could not sleep again.'

 

Her aunt (Helen) is somewhat shocked at her naivety and can't help blaming her brother-in-law .. 'she could hardly restrain herself from saying out loud what she thought of a man who brought up his daughter so that at the age of twenty-four she scarcely knew that men desired women and was terrified by a kiss. She had good reason to fear that Rachel had made herself incredibly ridiculous'. It's all too obvious that Rachel is a little green behind the ears. When the boat reaches South America, Helen persuades Willoughby (Rachel's father and another Austen nudge of course) to let Rachel stay for a while with her and her uncle in their villa, perhaps it would be a good deed to take her under their wing for a bit (and perhaps throw some men at her ). Here Rachel meets Terence Hewet, an aspiring writer. At first they are hardly attracted but soon admiration turns to fancy and then love .. 'They knew that they could not separate; painful and terrible it might be, but they were joined for ever. They lapsed into silence, and after a time crept together in silence. Merely to be so close soothed them, and sitting side by side the divisions disappeared, and it seemed as if the world were once more solid and entire, and as if, in some strange way, they had grown larger and stronger'.

 

The social gatherings, outings, dances and walks in this book put me much in mind of Emma. Some of the secondary characters are gems and Virginia is every bit as good at character observation as Jane. Perhaps she doesn't stray into absurdity as much which makes it a touch less entertaining and it could be that it needed to be tighter, there are some lulls. Also Rachel remains a bit of a closed book, we don't get to know her all that well because for a lot of the book she's trying to figure herself out. I've read criticisms about Virginia's geography concerning this particular story but that sort of thing never gives me any trouble The ending was known to me so it wasn't the surprise it should have been but all the same it did hit home.

 

** Beware, this is a really spoilery spoiler **

 

Rachel and Terence get engaged and start planning their marriage, but Rachel catches a fever and shortly afterwards dies whilst still in South America.

 

8/10

[poppyshake]

Morning Miss Poppy

The last book you reviewed sounded good,and interesting told in the way it was. I'm not familiar with Dawn French,so I'm assuming she is a famous person from your country ? Maybe a comedian or TV star of some sort ?

I like reading memoirs ,no matter if the person is well known or just a regular old person. I can usually take some type of information from ther life that might give me direction in my life from time to time. Sometimes it'll be a little thought that Hey,that happened to me, too ----or maybe I wish I would have handled that situation like this person did ..

Good luck with finishing your Bryson book. I'd think it'd be much more enjoyable for you folks who live over there. I have liked all of his books ,but the ones written about life over here are easier to relate to,since I'm a little more familiar with the places he mentions here. I have yet to find one of his I didn't like . ( I also have yet to tackle a Short History of Nearly Everything . I have it,but haven't read it .)

Morning dear Julie, it's lovely to have you here again

Sorry yes, Dawn is a British comedian and actress, someone who's been on our screens constantly since the 1980's. I love reading memoirs too, as long as the person has done something with their life and are not 22 or something. I know there are lots of 22 year olds that have done far more than me already but you know, I wish they'd wait until they'd lived a bit longer before spilling all their beans .. it always feels like a pension plan and I wonder if they constantly have to invent stuff to do just so that they can fill the next volume of their biog.

I love Bill, I did have problems with A Short History of Nearly Everything because it was very scientific and I'm not it was still interesting though, sometimes I was lost for a while but he always bought me back to safe territory (I would've loved to have him as my science teacher .. I might actually know stuff by now) Good luck with it

[poppyshake]

 

Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Sausages (A Comedy of Transdimensional Tomfoolery) - Tom Holt

 

Amazon Synopsis: Polly, an average, completely ordinary property lawyer, is convinced she's losing her mind. Someone keeps drinking her coffee. And talking to her clients. And doing her job. And when she goes to the dry cleaner's to pick up her dress for the party, it's not there. Not the dress - the dry cleaner's. And then there are the chickens who think they are people. Something strange is definitely going on - and it's going to take more than a magical ring to sort it out.

 

Review: The title says it all - you probably wouldn't be far out if you let your imagination come up with a plot to fit the title. It's surreal, clever and lots of fun. There is so much magical realism that you really do have to be ready for anything. I've read a lot of fast paced absurd books but never really come across anything like it, though I think fans of Jasper Fforde and Terry Pratchett will probably get on just fine with it (and I am so I did )

 

It has quite a large cast of characters which is something that daunts me a bit and they're not all connected or at least not until later so it was a challenge for me to remember them all (they're not all people either ) Amongst them is Polly, an in-house lawyer. On the surface of things she's leading a pretty normal life but someone's been drinking her coffee, finishing her work and writing HELP on her notepad. Also her dress has gone missing .. no, scratch that .. the dry cleaners where she took it has gone missing. Her brother Don goes looking for the dress without much success but now he thinks he's making people disappear and doing .. there's no other word for it .. magic. There's a pig with a grip on thermonuclear physics, two eternally duelling knights and a herd (? ) of talking chickens and it all seems to hinge on the answer to the question 'what came first the chicken or the egg?'

 

If you like all things to do with physics and time travel (anything like Hitchhikers for instance) then you'll love this, as long as you like big dollops of humour with it. I listened to it being read by Ray Sawyer and that helped enormously because it works along Karsa's 'whatever you don't understand will be explained later' theory. I'm sure if I had read it I would have tried to puzzle out the meanings more but Ray just sailed on .. completely unaware that he was talking to an idiot. I'm not entirely sure that I understood the ending having said that, I am a bit obtuse when it comes to science. However I got the gist and I think most people would be fine with it.

Madcap and mind boggling but with plenty of laughs. He's definitely an author on my 'yes list' .. but tbh there's not many on my 'no list'. Henry James is still on the 'not sures' and he can count himself fortunate

 

9/10

[poppyshake]

 

The Fifth Child - Doris Lessing

 

Amazon Synopsis: Four children, a beautiful old house, the love of relatives and friends, Harriet and David Lovatt’s life is a glorious hymn to domestic bliss and old-fashioned family values. But when their fifth child is born, a sickly and implacable shadow is cast over this tender idyll. Large and ugly, violent and uncontrollable, the infant Ben, ‘full of cold dislike’, tears at Harriet’s breast. Struggling to care for her new-born child, faced with a darkness and a strange defiance she has never known before, Harriet is deeply afraid of what, exactly, she has brought into the world.

 

Review: I read this as part of April's Reading Circle (sorry Maureen I should have written my views down on the thread but I wasn't sure what they were at the time .. which is no excuse because involvement in the discussion would probably have helped.)

 

I'm not altogether keen on stories like this, they make me uncomfortable so I was postcodes away from my comfort zone. There were parts of it that I thought were too far fetched as well .. I wasn't entirely convinced about Harriets behaviour

especially at the asylum.

Also I thought that Harriet and David were a little bit smug if I'm honest, I wasn't wishing a goblin child on them but they were definitely starting to irritate before he came along. I suppose, for the sake of contrast, it's necessary to show the domestic idyll before all hell breaks loose but I thought there was too much stuff written about how wonderful they all were and how you wouldn't want to go anywhere else for Christmas (I think, apart from family, it's rather vexing to go places where everything and everyone is just perfect, makes you head for the sherry bottle when you return home to your disorganised hovel ) Having said all that I thought it was gripping, thought provoking and rather unputdownable. The character of Paul was particularly well written, even having a terminally ill sibling can be an isolating experience for a child because of the attention they naturally require so his treatment and subsequent misbehaviour rang true.

 

I wasn't sure about the ending, the teenage Ben that I was reading about in the last few chapters didn't seem like the same child I'd read about up to that point but his parents had demonised him so he often felt more fiction than fact. Of course it begs the question as to who was ultimately responsible, obviously the parents were negligent but did their behaviour spark his or vice versa? (oh not the chicken and egg again surely ) I thought the subject was better dealt with in We Need to Talk About Kevin .. equally disturbing and very similar in lots of ways but, for me, more convincing but all the same this was creepy and horribly fascinating.

 

It wins the award for worst cover this year hands down

 

8/10

[julie]

Poppy

Quite an interesting take on the Lessing book . I was wondering for a bit about your grading scale because the first part of your description makes it sound like a pretty unlikeable book --so I'm thinking you must give high grades for books to give one that bad an 8 -- although as I read further, it seemed to hit the spot enough to get high marks.

I dont think I've ever read a book by Lessing. If I have, I can't remember .

Edited November 22, 2012 by julie

[poppyshake]

Poppy

Quite an interesting take on the Lessing book . I was wondering for a bit about your grading scalembecause the first part of your desription makes it sound like a pretty unlikeable book --so I'm thinking you must give high grades for books to give one that bad an 8 -- although as I read further, it seemed to hit the spot enough to get high marks.

I dont think I've ever read a book by Lessing. If I have, I can't remember .

To be honest Julie my marking is all over the place, never take any notice of it The weird thing is I remembered a lot of the stuff I didn't like about the book BUT my mark was given straight afterwards so when finishing it I must have seen more positives then negatives. A lot of people might make amendments to the score because the after taste (long after ) was not so good but I've left it as a sort of homage to how I felt when closing the book. It's not an unpleasant book, well the subject matter is but she writes well and it was very readable.

[julie]

Sounds great to me -- anyway you choose to grade your books is fine. I guess we all have our system . I think I tend to grade pretty harshly . There are very few books I'd give a 5/5 rating . Many would get a 4, but the majority would get a 3 .