I only bought this book because Amazon told me to. I started to read it and hated the writer's style. It really annoyed me but I persevered nonetheless.
Pretty soon, I realised suddenly that I was quite liking it and I was no longer bothered by the style. Kind of like when you have hiccups and then suddenly realise that you haven't had them for a while, but can't pinpoint the time when they stopped.
So once I got over being annoyed by the style, I was really into the book and found it a really wonderful story. Very touching and very sad in places. Quite profound in others.
Passing on to Dododumpling.

Many thanks to turbobarge for spotting this on my wishlist and sending it on to me. I'm looking forward to reading it. :)

“On a street in a town in the North of England, perfectly ordinary people are doing totally normal things – children play cricket, window-frames are painted, a couple argues, students pack up their belongings, and nameless people pass each other like every other day, interweaving yet never connecting. But a terrible event shatters the quiet of the summer evening and no one who witnesses it will ever be the same again.”

I loved this book. It is fantastically written, with the things that are unsaid having as much impact as what is said. The dialogue is spot-on in capturing the rhythms of everyday speech. Everyday life is captured in minute detail and there are poignant and often heartbreaking insights into people’s lives (I’m thinking in particular of the elderly gent in number 20, but it could apply equally to the boy at number 18, the man with scarred hands, the narrator's family, and many others).

I’ve just googled this book and found this page, which says that McGregor began writing while studying at Bradford University. It’s funny but as I was reading, I did wonder if the unnamed Northern city was Bradford (where I also went to university). The link includes some interesting discussion points.

Anyway, this has to be a candidate for my book of the year so far. Thanks so much to Turbobarge for RABCKing this to me.

This is too good to keep to myself so I'm sending it off on a bookray adventure!

Some brief "rules"
* Journal the book when you receive it.
* PM the next person on the list for their address when you receive it so as to try to avoid hold-ups later on.
* If you don't hear from the next participant within a few days, PM them again. If after a few more days you still haven't heard from them, PM me to let me know, and move on to the next person on the list.
* Read (and hopefully enjoy!)
* Journal again when you've read it to let us know what you think of it!

Participants
1. Arrived safely with Molyneux, Harwell on 20 July 2005
2. scotsbookie, Peebles
3. Iagegu, Preston
4. sunflowergirl, Pocklington
5. angellica, Worksop
6. nocton4, Lincoln
7. FabClaire, Malvern
8. purplerosebud, Petersfield
9. chelseagirl, Farnborough

The person at the end of the list decides what to do with it.

Sent to Molyneux on 15 July.

Received this book today - cheers, dododumpling! It was recommended to me by a colleague at work - the librarian responsible for reading development, so should be good!

Interested to see it was originally registered by Turbobarge who I've met and lives not far from where I work!!

Oh -WOW! What a beautifully written, poetic book. I absolutely loved it - thank you for sharing it, I will now have to go out to buy it since I know it's one of those rare books I will want to read again.

'..if nobody speaks of remarkable things, how can they be called remarkable?'

It is so haunting...ah well, off to scotsbookie when I have an address.

An all time favourite of mine I hope whoever finds this book enjoys it as much as I have. Releasing in Leeds at the BCUK Unconvention

Iupdate: 6/10/13 - only just realised this was part of a ring that I thought I'd posted ages ago! I found it lurking in the bottom of a box of books which I was storing before I moved house. sorry!

I picked this up at the Leeds Uncon. I see that it was a bookring once upon a time so when I have read it I will pm the person next on the list.