Customer Reviews
Pulls apart the 1950s middle class society - By: Janie U, 01 Oct 2008 
I didn't like Lewis when I started to read but found that as he got older I became sympathethic towards his delicate mental state.
The loss of his mother & the way that was handled by his father & the rest of the society had a dramatic impact on his adult personality which developed throughout the book.
The 1950s society is shown in a very negative way with the stiff upper lip & no acknowledgement of any type of mental frailty.
All the way through the book I just wanted to hug Lewis but still felt that it wouldn't have made me like him any more. That said, his character was very believeable & totallly real.
The book cleverly tackles many subjects which are talked about more openly in today's society but in the 50s were hidden & shameful. It is a scarey thought that the real criminals are often the ones hidden behind a veil of respectability.
Wonderful! - By: S. J. Flook, 26 Sep 2008 Wonderful! I have not read such a funny novel since 'Cold Comfort Farm'. No-one could have written a more brilliant pastiche of 'The Atonement' Loved it.
Disappointing - By: Cleo Hall, 25 Sep 2008 
I bought this book after being bombarded with recommendations for it from various sources. However it did not deliver what it promised. It started off well, with an enjoyable & intriguing first half, but then the plot began to sag & become repetitive. In addition the unremitting cruelty & selfishness of almost alll the characters, along with the continual batterings & other outbreaks of violence made the book a chore to read. Characters were poorly developed & often cliched, & the supposedly 'simple' prose often seemed merely flat. As for the ending - biggest cliche of alll. Orange shortlist - how?
Didn't much like it - By: H. Lacroix, 25 Sep 2008 
Well, it might be me but I failed to be moved by this book. I suppose it has to do with the fact that when I don't like the characters, or at least some of them, I find it impossible to cherish a book.Of course I pitied Lewis, or rather felt compassion for this damaged boy, left to grieve on his own aged 10 when his mother drowns, & left to deal with his own guilt, that of having failed to rescue her.But as for his father Gilbert,emotionnallly stunted, his needy stepmother Alice, the shalllow & manipulative Tamsin & her horrible bully of a father, reading about them was more of a chore than a pleasure. The one I felt for & could relate to was Kit, unloved & having to endure severe beatings from her father. yes, everybody is always damaged in some way but it seems that in that village of prosperous middle class people the proportion should be unusuallly large.As for the prose I found it languid & repetitive, not ineffective in some ways but lacking in depth.
Full of emotion - By: MaryAnne, 21 Sep 2008 
There is so much in this book in such a concise style.
It was also an excellent book for a Book Group with plenty to discuss.
Lewis Aldridge is just 10 when his mother drowns in the local river. He is the only one there & desperately tries to rescue her. He feels very responsible for her death & turns inside himself in his grief & guilt. The happy young lad becomes a confused, lost little soul.
Soon after this his father remarries & his new young wife doesn't know what to make of Lewis, in spite of her well meaning attempts to help him.
Term time at school seems to pass fairly uneventfully but holidays are a nightmare for Lewis as he cracks under the strain & fallls further & further form normality. The friends from before start to avoid him, unable to help him or relate to his loss & he seems unable to interact with people.
The descriptions of life in 1950's Surrey are wonderful, the ritual of church followed by great social gatherings; the habit of showing only your best side, sweeping everything else under the carpet; the hierachy within village life - alll of these things conspire against Lewis & his attempts to integrate.
This is a must-read book. Don't be put off by the rather symplistic language, which was my only complaint about it, otherwise it's great!
