Books
by Sadie Jones
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Amy & Lan |
A group of townie families hope to make a go of semi-communal farming and the story is told by two children, Amy & Lan. Inevitably their ideals and best intentions prove hard to fulfill and real life, human nature, not to mention the neighbours all get in the way. I found Amy & Lan's level of emotional maturity hard to believe sometimes but it's charming, entertaining and full of recognisable traits of contemporary British life.
(Victoria Grey-Edwards - bwl 110 Autumn 2023) |
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The Outcast |
A first novel by this young writer, it is the story of abuse in a middle-class, churchgoing community in the 1950s. An unstoppable read, rather like a stream of consciousness coming out from somewhere, it compels one to keep going. It's hard to see a shattered boy struggling to cope with his neglected grief, while those around him remain in blind denial.
(Polly Sams Plant - bwl 50 March 2009) |
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The Outcast |
A good page-turner about the grief of a boy after the sudden death of his mother which paints a bleak picture of a claustrophobic, judgmental and hypocritical post-war village society. Ignored by a distant father and family friends, his loss and despair builds into withdrawal, self- harm and violence. The contrast between modern thinking on grief, emotional intelligence and expectations of parenting is stark.
(Rebecca Howell - bwl 62 Autumn 2011) |
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