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farahchaudry's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a surprisingly enjoyable and tender queer coming-of-age story.
Initially following Eustace as an older man navigating relationships and health conditions, this book largely focuses on his memories and reflections of childhood in 1970s Weston-Super-Mare. Eustace grows up in a complicated family who own and live in an old people's home. His life completely transforms when he begins cello lessons, kick-starting an emotional journey of friendship, love, rejection and loss.
Initially following Eustace as an older man navigating relationships and health conditions, this book largely focuses on his memories and reflections of childhood in 1970s Weston-Super-Mare. Eustace grows up in a complicated family who own and live in an old people's home. His life completely transforms when he begins cello lessons, kick-starting an emotional journey of friendship, love, rejection and loss.
samstillreading's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve never read Patrick Gale before, which is a total mistake. He writes beautiful, haunting prose that evokes a scene perfectly in the reader’s mind. I would say he is the English equivalent of Tim Winton, taking care to detail even the smallest things in his characters’ lives which makes his novels a joy to read. He has a great backlist which I must now devour.
Take Nothing With You can be surmised so simply, but please don’t think that the story is boring. Eustace has found out he has cancer and post-surgery must isolate himself in a hospital room after he consumes radioactive iodine. The problem is that Eustace has just fallen in love and he and Theo will be meeting shortly after his release. Theo also doesn’t know about the cancer. As Theo is isolated in his hospital room, so close to home but so far away from the world, he reflects on his childhood. It’s not a conventional upbringing and it is equal amounts heartbreaking and fascinating. Eustace grows up in a care facility for the elderly, owned and run by his parents. His parents are polar opposites – father fun and jokey, mother more difficult to read. Eustace begins to learn the cello with the glamourous Carla after seeing her in concert. At first, the cello is all consuming and Eustace is pretty darn good. Soon he’s having overnight stays out of town to have his cello lesson and his mother and Carla are good friends. But when Eustace’s parents can’t afford the money to send him to private school (despite a music scholarship), everything changes. This occurs just as he’s going through puberty and learning things about himself. A week at a much dreamed of music school ends abruptly and Eustace’s life changes completely.
This is a beautiful, fascinating story that offers hope. It’s not without its darker moments as Eustace comes to realise and accept his sexuality (despite his family not being as accepting, with disgusting consequences). But Eustace is much stronger than he thinks, able to be an individual and with the love of friends who will support him no matter what. It also celebrates love in different forms – friends, family and the giddiness of a new lover. Patrick Gale is a master of showing, not telling. It’s on reflection that I realised how strong the bonds are between Carla, Louis, Vernon, Naomi and Eustace (or ‘Stash’ as he’s called in high school). Despite the majority of the story being told while Eustace is too radioactive to interact with others, it’s a lovely warm story full of interaction. Eustace also tells his story without bias or rose tinted reflection. It’s honest, bluntly so at times. It also describes adolescence so well – the worry of non-conformity, the discovery of self and having the world at your feet, but not knowing which choice to make.
If you enjoyed Sarah Winman’s Tin Man, you will adore Take Nothing With You. Patrick Gale is a highly skilled writer writing a story of warmth and hope.
Thank you to Hachette for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Take Nothing With You can be surmised so simply, but please don’t think that the story is boring. Eustace has found out he has cancer and post-surgery must isolate himself in a hospital room after he consumes radioactive iodine. The problem is that Eustace has just fallen in love and he and Theo will be meeting shortly after his release. Theo also doesn’t know about the cancer. As Theo is isolated in his hospital room, so close to home but so far away from the world, he reflects on his childhood. It’s not a conventional upbringing and it is equal amounts heartbreaking and fascinating. Eustace grows up in a care facility for the elderly, owned and run by his parents. His parents are polar opposites – father fun and jokey, mother more difficult to read. Eustace begins to learn the cello with the glamourous Carla after seeing her in concert. At first, the cello is all consuming and Eustace is pretty darn good. Soon he’s having overnight stays out of town to have his cello lesson and his mother and Carla are good friends. But when Eustace’s parents can’t afford the money to send him to private school (despite a music scholarship), everything changes. This occurs just as he’s going through puberty and learning things about himself. A week at a much dreamed of music school ends abruptly and Eustace’s life changes completely.
This is a beautiful, fascinating story that offers hope. It’s not without its darker moments as Eustace comes to realise and accept his sexuality (despite his family not being as accepting, with disgusting consequences). But Eustace is much stronger than he thinks, able to be an individual and with the love of friends who will support him no matter what. It also celebrates love in different forms – friends, family and the giddiness of a new lover. Patrick Gale is a master of showing, not telling. It’s on reflection that I realised how strong the bonds are between Carla, Louis, Vernon, Naomi and Eustace (or ‘Stash’ as he’s called in high school). Despite the majority of the story being told while Eustace is too radioactive to interact with others, it’s a lovely warm story full of interaction. Eustace also tells his story without bias or rose tinted reflection. It’s honest, bluntly so at times. It also describes adolescence so well – the worry of non-conformity, the discovery of self and having the world at your feet, but not knowing which choice to make.
If you enjoyed Sarah Winman’s Tin Man, you will adore Take Nothing With You. Patrick Gale is a highly skilled writer writing a story of warmth and hope.
Thank you to Hachette for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
nicjohnston's review
3.0
A beautifully written book but one which, for me, lacked story and it’s been a bit of a trudge to the end.
jacki_f's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book! It's the story of a boy called Eustace, growing up in Somerset in the late 70s/early 80s. Two things dominate his life: his love for the cello which he studies assiduously, and his gradual awareness that he is gay. It's a slow story and you get lost in the characters - I felt like I knew Eustace so well and I fell heavily for him. It feels incredibly truthful.
The story is bookmarked by present day Eustace, undergoing cancer treatment in his 50s and thinking back to his upbringing. Those segments feel less believable but by the end, when you are so invested in Eustace, they do pay off.
While I really loved this, it does have a LOT of information about learning the cello - I enjoyed that, but if that's not your thing, this may not be the book for you.
The story is bookmarked by present day Eustace, undergoing cancer treatment in his 50s and thinking back to his upbringing. Those segments feel less believable but by the end, when you are so invested in Eustace, they do pay off.
While I really loved this, it does have a LOT of information about learning the cello - I enjoyed that, but if that's not your thing, this may not be the book for you.
carlybarly6's review
4.0
In his fifties, Eustace finds himself newly in love, and in a radiotherapy treatment chair. As he undergoes cancer treatment, his wandering mind takes the reader back to the 1970’s — to his naive and awkwardly endearing boyhood years. We follow him in his adolescence as his world is illuminated by his newfound love and devotion to the cello, his admiration for his cello teacher, Carla Gold, and his growing understanding of his sexuality. Eustace, with his sincerity and earnest heart, is so easy to love. Many of the supporting characters, who are unassuming, but meaningful, (tenderhearted toward Eustace to utterly conniving), are also easy to hold in fond regard. From school days and lazy afternoons in a secret hideaways, to the drama of music camp and family betrayal, this book is the perfect mixture of unremarkable days of one’s youth mixed with the pain of discovering the realities of the world, of one’s desires, and one’s dreams. Just the right amount of conflict, boyhood heartache, and adult heartbreak - dare I say it’s a lovely feel-good read.
margaret21's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book by Patrick Gale. Need I say more? This is a wonderful portrayal of a young boy, a slightly odd boy who doesn't quite fit in, but who discovers joy through learning the cello. It's the portrait of this same boy as an older man undergoing urgent treatment, who has newly fallen in love again. As always with Gale, it's a compelling story, sympathetically and beautifully told.
portybelle's review
5.0
This book has to be my most anticipated read of 2018 and I was over the moon when I received an early copy. It most definitely did not disappoint. But then, I am never disappointed with a Patrick Gale novel. (I am still beside myself that part of my review for the wonderful A Place Called Winter is quoted on his website!)
Take Nothing With You is the story of Eustace. On the face of it, it's a coming of age tale, something which has been done so many times before but feels fresh and new with Patrick Gale's compelling and elegant writing. Throughout the book, Eustace is learning what's important in life, who he is, what matters. Passion runs permeates the book. A quiet passion for music and indeed for life. There are also chapters from an older Eustace's point of view. This is a Eustace facing his own mortality, looking back at what and who he has loved.
Eustace has an inspirational teacher in Carla Gold and later her own mentor Jean Curwen. Who would think that chapters about learning to play and buying a cello could be so enthralling? Yet in Patrick Gale's masterful hands, they are just that. His own passion for music is clear and conveyed so beautifully through Eustace.
The lesser characters in the book are no less significant. Carla's friends and flatmates Louis and Ebrahim showing Eustace there was nothing out of the ordinary in a loving gay relationship, his friend Vernon, who was not afraid to be that bit individual and looked after his ailing father with quiet dignity, even Eustace's mother who wasn't particularly likeable. All in some way served to show the complexities and variety of adult relationships.
Take Nothing With You is a wonderful read. It's powerful, touching and thought-provoking and fully deserves a five star rating. In fact, it's deserving of more than five. I can't wait for the Edinburgh Book Festival event next month to hear the author talk about this book. Eustace and his cello have stolen my heart.
Take Nothing With You is the story of Eustace. On the face of it, it's a coming of age tale, something which has been done so many times before but feels fresh and new with Patrick Gale's compelling and elegant writing. Throughout the book, Eustace is learning what's important in life, who he is, what matters. Passion runs permeates the book. A quiet passion for music and indeed for life. There are also chapters from an older Eustace's point of view. This is a Eustace facing his own mortality, looking back at what and who he has loved.
Eustace has an inspirational teacher in Carla Gold and later her own mentor Jean Curwen. Who would think that chapters about learning to play and buying a cello could be so enthralling? Yet in Patrick Gale's masterful hands, they are just that. His own passion for music is clear and conveyed so beautifully through Eustace.
The lesser characters in the book are no less significant. Carla's friends and flatmates Louis and Ebrahim showing Eustace there was nothing out of the ordinary in a loving gay relationship, his friend Vernon, who was not afraid to be that bit individual and looked after his ailing father with quiet dignity, even Eustace's mother who wasn't particularly likeable. All in some way served to show the complexities and variety of adult relationships.
Take Nothing With You is a wonderful read. It's powerful, touching and thought-provoking and fully deserves a five star rating. In fact, it's deserving of more than five. I can't wait for the Edinburgh Book Festival event next month to hear the author talk about this book. Eustace and his cello have stolen my heart.
thevelvetunderground's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0