The Offing

by Benjamin Myers | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 1526611279 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingCross-patchwing of Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on 1/1/2022
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13 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingCross-patchwing from Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, January 1, 2022
One summer following the Second World War, Robert Appleyard sets out on foot from his Durham village. Sixteen and the son of a coal miner, he makes his way across the northern countryside until he reaches the former smuggling village of Robin Hood's Bay. There he meets Dulcie, an eccentric, worldly, older woman who lives in a ramshackle cottage facing out to sea.

Staying with Dulcie, Robert's life opens into one of rich food, sea-swimming, sunburn and poetry. The two come from different worlds, yet as the summer months pass, they form an unlikely friendship that will profoundly alter their futures.

Journal Entry 2 by wingCross-patchwing at Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, January 1, 2022
This was the very first book chosen for me by Mr. B’s Emporium as my monthly subscription gift from Christmas 2020 and read in February 2021. It is beautiful bucolic stuff of the Laurie Lee Cider with Rosie or As I walked out one Midsummer Morning flavour. I see there are inaccuracies ( alpacas, crab sticks and the like) but the mood and bygone feel is a joy.

Journal Entry 3 by wingCross-patchwing at Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, January 1, 2022
Chosen by me as My Favourite Book of 2021, going to:-

1. Poodlesister
2. Earthcaroleanne
3. Greenbadger
4. Grovalskii
5. Paulanni
6. Fifna
7. Estelle1806
8. Mathgirl40
9. Mcsar
10. Valpete
11. Dark-Draco
12. Ythan
13 back to Cross-patch

Enjoy.

Released 2 yrs ago (1/1/2022 UTC) at -- By Post or by Hand--, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

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Starting an epic adventure travelling through the hands of like-minded BookCrossers.

Journal Entry 5 by wingPoodlesisterwing at Walthamstow, Greater London United Kingdom on Friday, January 7, 2022
Thanks for sharing your favourite book. I got a copy of this book for Christmas but I haven’t read it yet.

Journal Entry 6 by wingPoodlesisterwing at Walthamstow, Greater London United Kingdom on Saturday, January 22, 2022
I’m putting a holding JE here as I am reading my own copy but don’t want to hold up this year’s roundabout. I will update this when I have finished it. Liking it so far.

ETA I carried on liking it! A lovely read, with a writing style that brought the landscape, the characters and the food to life.

Journal Entry 7 by wingPoodlesisterwing at Book Roundabout , -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom on Saturday, January 22, 2022

Released 2 yrs ago (1/22/2022 UTC) at Book Roundabout , -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

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Sending this on to earthcaroleanne.

Journal Entry 8 by wingearthcaroleannewing at Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, January 28, 2022
It's arrived!

Journal Entry 9 by wingearthcaroleannewing at Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Sunday, April 10, 2022
This is a lovely story set in the North East of England after the war. A young boy leaves home to seek adventure before he succumbs to a life down the pit and flourishes intellectually after a chance meeting with an eccentric woman in a decaying house in the woods. A whole new world is revealed to him. Although it tries a little too hard at the beginning with laboured descriptions, I felt six words are used when fewer would have sufficed. It did have beautiful descriptions and I could easily imagine everything until the final chapter which seemed a bit out of place. Also, I had a couple of question marks, for example an alpaca in 1940’s England? There was one sentence that jumped out at me relating to current events "Build bigger bombs and better bombs .... there'll be another angry little man along in due course".

Journal Entry 10 by wingearthcaroleannewing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Sunday, April 10, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (4/12/2022 UTC) at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom

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Sending on in the roundabout.

Journal Entry 11 by winggreenbadgerwing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Friday, April 29, 2022
After an amazingly slow journey in the post this has arrived this morning, thank you!

Journal Entry 12 by winggreenbadgerwing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Monday, May 2, 2022
This is a beautiful book. Set just after World War II, the young Robert Appleyard, not keen on starting down the pit, goes wandering. Getting a little work as a labourer where he can, sleeping under hedgerows, living off the land, and roaming where he will. Eventually he meets Dulcie - an eccentric older woman living alone, and with parts of her home falling into disrepair. Robert stays to fix things up and is introduced to fine food, wine, and a world far removed from his pit village. D.H. Lawrence is mentioned repeatedly in the book and I found this reminded me a bit of Lawrence - Dulcie says it's about class but I think it's also about a segment of people losing their connection to the land, and we see the contrast between the industrial, polluted area in which Robert lives and his first sight of the sea away from shipbuilding. And of course this book is also about class.
My grandad grew up in a mining village where it was expected that everyone would go down the pit. He escaped by becoming a teacher.
I don't think nowadays it would be possible to do what Robert did, to wander getting work here and there. That way of life has gone. Of course many of the mining communities have also been destroyed as pits closed.
Anyway, I absolutely loved this, especially the descriptions of nature, and will look out for more by this author.

Journal Entry 13 by winggreenbadgerwing at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (5/4/2022 UTC) at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom

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Sent to grovalskii who is next in the ray.

Journal Entry 14 by grovalskii at Zehlendorf, Berlin Germany on Thursday, June 2, 2022
The book must have been meandering as it took almost a month to get here, but it finally arrived! It will be my next book after the one I'm reading right now.

Journal Entry 15 by grovalskii at Zehlendorf, Berlin Germany on Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (6/21/2022 UTC) at Zehlendorf, Berlin Germany

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What a great book! Sort of slow to read, but not in a tedious way, more in a relaxing way. At the same time absolutely time appropriate as it is set right after another war. I love how one of the main characters try to teach the other main character about the fact that not every citizen of a warring country is evil. So true today as well!
Two of my favorite quote were right in the beginning of the book:
p. 7: No one ever really wins a war. Some just lose a little less than others.
p. 12: war was an illness... treatable only by the passing of time.

Having said all of this war related stuff, the book in no way focuses on war, more on the personalities of the main characters and on life. I loved this!

The book will travel on to the next reader tomorrow.

Journal Entry 16 by wingPaulanniwing at Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland Finland on Friday, July 1, 2022
And it arrived today. Thank you.

Journal Entry 17 by wingPaulanniwing at Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland Finland on Wednesday, July 13, 2022
I liked this a lot. It appeared to me as a coming of age novel first, but it gradually evolved into another story altogether. I loved it how Myers brought the boy's wanderings together with the older woman's past. After a slow start, the book really kept me interested. A great book and a good choice for the roundabout.

Journal Entry 18 by wingPaulanniwing at Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland Finland on Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (7/14/2022 UTC) at Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland Finland

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On to Fifna next.

Journal Entry 19 by wingFifnawing at Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Arrived today, thanks Paulanni!

Journal Entry 20 by wingFifnawing at Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Monday, August 8, 2022
This is the kind of book that could meander on and you just wouldn't want it to end. Beautifully written and an excellent companion on my train journey to the Unconvention in Newcastle!

By the way, I found this on alpacas in the UK: "Alpacas have been in the U.K. since the middle of the 19th century, mostly in zoos. The first privately-owned alpacas in England were surplus zoo stock, and these formed the foundation of several early alpaca herds"

Great roundabout choice, thanks for sharing!

Journal Entry 21 by wingFifnawing at Clonsilla, Co. Dublin Ireland on Monday, August 8, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (8/8/2022 UTC) at Clonsilla, Co. Dublin Ireland

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On its way to estelle1806.

Journal Entry 22 by wingestelle1806wing at Clonsilla, Co. Dublin Ireland on Thursday, August 18, 2022
Just received, thank you.

Journal Entry 23 by wingestelle1806wing at Clonsilla, Co. Dublin Ireland on Friday, September 2, 2022
A nice read, I enjoyed the story more towards the end, as the beginning was a bit slow and boring for me.
I also really had a major issue with the vocabulary used, and found it quite unplausible to be coming from a 16-17 year old...
All in all I gave it 6*
Thanks for sharing Cross-patch!

Journal Entry 24 by wingestelle1806wing at Waterloo, Ontario Canada on Sunday, September 4, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (9/5/2022 UTC) at Waterloo, Ontario Canada

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To the next reader on the roundabout.

Please let us know when you release it again...

Journal Entry 25 by wingmathgirl40wing at Waterloo, Ontario Canada on Friday, September 16, 2022
This book is now with me!

Journal Entry 26 by wingmathgirl40wing at Waterloo, Ontario Canada on Friday, October 14, 2022
This was a charming book, slow paced but still very engaging, with some really lovely passages. It made me motivated to read more poetry.

Thank you very much, Cross-patch, for contributing the book to the roundabout. I would not have discovered this author otherwise.

Journal Entry 27 by wingmathgirl40wing at Waterloo, Ontario Canada on Monday, October 17, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (10/17/2022 UTC) at Waterloo, Ontario Canada

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This book is on its way to mcsar.

Journal Entry 28 by wingmcsarwing at Richmond, British Columbia Canada on Tuesday, November 15, 2022
This arrived last week. Thanks for sending. I am still reading Poodlesister's book and will start reading this as soon I am done with that one.

Journal Entry 29 by valpete at Walnut Creek, California USA on Saturday, February 18, 2023
This was a lovely book about Robert Appleyard, aged 16, desperate to escape his expected coal mining future, who sets out to explore the world. He runs into Dulcie, a Bohemian free spirit. I love the pacing of the book as Robert ends up staying at Dulcie's place for the summer, experiencing many things for the first time. A wonderful coming-of age story and also a sad back story that slowly unfolds from Dulcie.

Journal Entry 30 by valpete at Walnut Creek, California USA on Sunday, February 19, 2023

Released 1 yr ago (2/22/2023 UTC) at Walnut Creek, California USA

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This is a replacement copy. The original is stuck with Mcsar (hope she's OK). Off across the pond to the next reader.

Journal Entry 31 by wingdark-dracowing at Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Monday, March 20, 2023
It took me a while to get into this and there were a couple of times that I nearly put it down looking for something a little more action led. But the language is beautiful and that's what keeps you reading. The story itself is kind of 'nice' with no real big surprises or revelations - and a happy ending where Robert essentially gets the lifetime of his dreams after a summer in Dulcie's company.

Released 11 mos ago (3/28/2023 UTC) at Book Roundabout , -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

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Off to the next reader


Journal Entry 33 by Ythan at Ellon, Scotland United Kingdom on Thursday, March 30, 2023
It's here, my final book of the roundabout has arrived. This is another new author for me. The front cover is far too pretty, I might not be able to turn the page and read what's inside. :)

I'm a bit behind with my other reading at the moment, so it will just have to be patient for a few weeks until I'm able to get to it.

Journal Entry 34 by Ythan at Ellon, Scotland United Kingdom on Monday, April 17, 2023
I enjoyed the companionship between Dulcie and Robert; how they helped each other to move forward and be released from their burdens.

I liked this author and would read more by them in future.

I've now read all the books in the Roundabout, thanks to all for sharing.

Journal Entry 35 by Ythan at Book Roundabout , -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom on Monday, April 17, 2023

Released 11 mos ago (4/17/2023 UTC) at Book Roundabout , -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

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Replacement copy now heading home to Cross-patch.

Journal Entry 36 by wingCross-patchwing at Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, April 22, 2023
Welcome home, replacement copy. I’m so pleased that it is the same cover as copy no. 1, as publishers update covers all the time altering the novel’s identity. Thank you all for your reviews and your appreciation of Benjamin Myers’ talent.

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