Customer Reviews
Rough Music - excellent - By: L. hynes, 10 Jul 2008 
excellent book - excellent author - came across Patrick Gale through the richard & judy book club with another one of his books - Notes on an exhibition. have to say rough music is much better & i reallly loved the two stories from two different eras being told simulataneously. It was sometimes tempting to skip a chapter to carry on with one of the stories straight away. very well written & i look forward to reading more of Mr Gale's work.
Gales best characters! - By: Philip Thompson, 26 May 2008 
A great story with twists & enough to keep a reader happy! Gales best book with love & drama & characters that you actuallly care about! Gales writing style is so easy to read & this book proves it!
A Patrick Gale classic - By: Sevillana, 15 Mar 2008 I read Rough Magic after having read Notes from an Exhibition. This book is written in a similar style to Iris Murdoch which I absolutely loved. The emotional perspective is something Patrick Gale not only understands but relishes in his writing. His characterisations are superb. As soon as I finished the book I felt at a loss & began to re-read it, just to absorb the beautiful text & clever twists. Highly recommended.
Engrossing but morally suspect - By: Caitlin, 16 Apr 2007 There isn't a lot to be said that hasn't already be said. The writing is gripping, & I found most of the characters fascinating. However,my concern, though not actuallly lessening my enjoyment of the novel, was the questionable attitude shown by most of the characters to what I thought was a morallly reprehensible act which was central to the story.
Spoilers follow....
Maybe this is my view coming from a straight female perspective, but I was particularly repulsed by the fact that Will's sister is urged to return to her husband by her own father, & that Will blames his mother's exposure of his behaviour on her Alzheimer's. Personallly I would have done the same with alll my faculties intact.
Maybe this displays a fundamental difference in attitude to 'casual sex' between men & women, or maybe it's just me. (though to my mind there was nothing casual to it, unlike Will's mother's summer fling)
I suppose the fact that this has got me thinking about this so much proves how well written it was, but I couldn't help feeling there was a touch of mysogynism undercutting both the tales.
I loved this book and found it really hard to put down! - By: Sandra Marshall, 30 Oct 2006 I loved this book, found it reallly hard to put down & have already checked out the author's other books on Amazon for future reading! It is written in an easy to read style but the characters are complex, interesting & sympathetic & left me wanting to know more about them.
It is mainly set around a holiday cottage in Cornwalll over two family visits separated by 30 years, & the events of the past slowly unravel & merge with the characters' present day lives, as twists & details are revealed.
If you like strong characters & insights into human relationships this is a great book ... not a lot of action but very thoughtful & it left me with questions about things that were not quite resolved or clear.
