There's quite a good recent interview with Barb on the BBC bookclub webiste - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/bookclub/ If you go to this website you can find the link on the right hand side of the page. I particularly enjoyed her reading the opening paragraphs of the book.
And even though I'm only a couple of chapters in I can tell already I'm going to love this book.
I think I can quite honestly say that this has now become one of my all time favourite books. It was such a pleasure to read, so well crafted in telling the story through the eyes of the 5 women in the family, all with such different personalities. (And interestingly, never hearing the father's story). Such drama & suspense too. I could barely put the book up in the lead up to the 'event' which was devastating. Rarely does a novel make me cry, but this one did.
I'm half way through this book (10 mins a night in bed is just not enough!). Each time I read a little more of this book I grow to dislike Our Father a little more each time. What a selfish, insufferably stubborn and arrogant man. Perhaps he redeems himself towards the end... we'll see. I love Adah's word games.
Oh yes, the father is very unpleasant- read on it gets worse. I believe it a deliberate move that Barb doesn't give him a voice in the book, other that through the eyes of the 5 women.
Again, Adrienne, I agree with you completely. It is a beautifully crafted book, the five female protagonists are all so different yet so well and deeply evoked. The same passage made us cry too! I wasn't particularly expecting to like this book (it was a BBC Bookclub read I thought I ought to try, but it was wonderful, and taught me a lot about a part of the world I knew nothing about (The Congo) as well as being a swingeing attack on patriarchy and religion at its most unbending. Highly recommended. Elena
5 comments:
There's quite a good recent interview with Barb on the BBC bookclub webiste - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/bookclub/ If you go to this website you can find the link on the right hand side of the page. I particularly enjoyed her reading the opening paragraphs of the book.
And even though I'm only a couple of chapters in I can tell already I'm going to love this book.
I think I can quite honestly say that this has now become one of my all time favourite books. It was such a pleasure to read, so well crafted in telling the story through the eyes of the 5 women in the family, all with such different personalities. (And interestingly, never hearing the father's story).
Such drama & suspense too. I could barely put the book up in the lead up to the 'event' which was devastating. Rarely does a novel make me cry, but this one did.
I'm half way through this book (10 mins a night in bed is just not enough!). Each time I read a little more of this book I grow to dislike Our Father a little more each time. What a selfish, insufferably stubborn and arrogant man. Perhaps he redeems himself towards the end... we'll see. I love Adah's word games.
Oh yes, the father is very unpleasant- read on it gets worse.
I believe it a deliberate move that Barb doesn't give him a voice in the book, other that through the eyes of the 5 women.
Again, Adrienne, I agree with you completely. It is a beautifully crafted book, the five female protagonists are all so different yet so well and deeply evoked. The same passage made us cry too! I wasn't particularly expecting to like this book (it was a BBC Bookclub read I thought I ought to try, but it was wonderful, and taught me a lot about a part of the world I knew nothing about (The Congo) as well as being a swingeing attack on patriarchy and religion at its most unbending. Highly recommended. Elena
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