Beryl, where have you been all my life?

See the review for the other version of this book, I'm on a mission to evangelise with this author!

Released on Saturday, January 08, 2005 at about 1:00:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Postal Release in Controlled release, England United Kingdom.

RELEASE NOTES:

Off to a fellow BCUK'er! Enjoy!

Fanx new bookcrossing friend from sheffield, i'll put this in the foothills of mount tooberead! I'm reading one of my Bainbridge's as promised to send back oop north with some woolly socks :)

(Long-time no review, funny how quickly one forgets)

Alan wants a ‘quiet life’. He is old before his time worrying about his wayward sister Madge; his flaky mother who alternates between Marlene Dietrich-style depressions and suspicious trips out; and his father, who is prone to angry outbursts and sulks about his failed business and the way that life is treating him. From the distance of more than 50 years, it seems a bit odd having such domestic tribulations with the shadow of the recent world-war hanging over everything. We get glimpses of this with German prisoners, held on the beach along the Lancashire coast it seems (?), and bombed-out buildings, although I remember these as gaps between houses in West London even as late as the 1960’s

In typical Bainbridge style, you have to work hard to like the main protagonists and even to fully understand the context of events. However, in the end one does feel some pity and pathos for Alan but no great sympathy for anyone else. A clever & atmospheric ‘kitchen-sink’ drama of character & manners...it reminded my a bit of those tableaux that you get in museums, grey and depressed post-war Britain, china tea set, mother in a housecoat, father in demob suit, the family gathered around a radio and an unlit hearth...

Thanks for sharing Beebarf. I’ve put this aside for a special anniversary book box that I’m planning.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted as part of my 'Spread the Word' bookbox

Received as part of BGM's bookbox and will continue travelling therin!

This was in Bookgroupman's 3rd birthday 'spread the word' Bookbox.
I'm not taking it out but since it was so short I wanted to read it before I sent it on its way.

A writer who has managed to catch a time and place with absolute precision, this was compelling, sad and sometimes laugh out loud funny. But as someone who has grown up in a house with parents who hate each other, I found a lot of this book to be too accurate to be anything other than depressing. The sudden shouting, the vicious silences, the knife-edge unpredictability of it all were portrayed with far too much accuracy for comfort. That said, I would definitely read more by Bainbridge if I had the opportunity.

Taken from BookGroupMans bookbox..... Will get to this one soon :o)

Hmmmmm..... i dont really know what to think of this one. It was only a small book but i found it quite hard work, in as much as gelling with it :o( I ended up asking myself several times whether i should continue with it. Would be interested in reading another Bainbridge, just to compare....

This one is going to accompany me to Toronto :o)

RELEASE NOTES:

This book is going with me to the Convention in Toronto. I will read it on the plane or while im there and hopefully it will go home with another BCer at the end of the Convention! :o)