Synopsis (Credit: back cover)

Olive Wellwood is a famous writer, interviewed with her children gathered at her knee. For each of them she writes a separate private book, bound in different colours and placed on a shelf. In their rambling house near Romney Marsh they play in a storybook world — but their lives, and those of their rich cousins, children of a city stockbroker, and their friends, the son and daughter of a curator at the new Victoria and Albert Museum, are already inscribed with mystery. Each family carries its own secrets.

Shortlist: Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009.
Winner: James Tait Black Memorial Prize: Fiction 2009.
On the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List.

(Bought second-hand at Help the Rural Child Charity Bookshop, Victoria Road, Mowbray.)

I rated The Children's Book a 9 but only because an 8 would have done it a disservice. It wasn't as good as Possession, I felt.

I'm not strong on family sagas but the thing is: AS Byatt does her homework so well. There is always something new to learn and it's usually not the kind of information one is likely to get in a library or other public resource: the contextual cladding has the feeling of an eye-witness account. Moreover, just when you wonder if the narrative is going to turn out as rather ordinary, she comes up with a scene or observation of sheer genius.

I noticed there was no copy of this book in the 1001-library and felt that should be rectified.

Donated to the 1001-library to be included in the library of books on the combined 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

A word of caution: at 617 pages and 800 g (1,8 lb) this is no lightweight. You must be prepared to ship it to the next reader, internationally if necessary. If you are interested, let me know.

Thanks so much for your donation Stoepbrak!

This book is now part of the 1001-library. If you want to take this book from the library but don't know how to proceed, please refer to the 1001-library bookshelf.

The book is on its way to sarahmangan in the UK. I posted it this morning, opting for surface mail. It's likely to take up to 4 months, according to the post office.

Thank you! This arrived really quickly! It must have snuck onto a plane - sneaky little book! Looks very interesting- I look forward to reading it. :)