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nedge's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
beckycliffe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
janinevduijn's review against another edition
3.0
I quite enjoyed this novel set on a farm in England in the 1930s. It's very slow, but yet managed to capture me as a reader. There's not much of a plot to speak of, but we follow young Edie's life on the farm, and through her perspective learn about farming in those days, but also the hardships that are involved. Throughout the novel there is a sense of foreboding, as a woman with some disturbing political ideas shakes up the life at the farm. This does eventually culminate towards a rather more exciting ending of the book.
Although I enjoyed this book overall, I have to mention one of my pet-peeves : it contains references from a narrator as to what will happen in the future (f'this was to be the last summer I spent ....'). This annoys me to no end.
Although I enjoyed this book overall, I have to mention one of my pet-peeves : it contains references from a narrator as to what will happen in the future (f'this was to be the last summer I spent ....'). This annoys me to no end.
drianturner's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was a wonderful book but just did not deserve five stars. I read it very quickly - always a good sign - but the pace was slow and not a lot happened. The description of nature, post-WWI country life, the veil of Fascism and the sexual awakening of a teenage girl was well done; and the climax had been nicely bubbling under the surface for much of the second half. It reminded me of one of my favourite books, Atonement, especially as the narrator is recalling events many years later. But ultimately would I recommend it to everyone? No, is the answer. My wife likes me to recommend books to her that I have enjoyed. Whilst I loved All Among the Barley, I know she will hate it!
elzap's review against another edition
dark
emotional
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
aliwhaley's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I knew nothing about this book going into it, other than the fact that this was a nature-writing classic. And I’m glad I knew nothing.
The writing is lyrical and very specific, trees and birds are named as elms and skylarks, which constantly reminds you of this girl’s intimate knowledge of the land. There is an enormous amount of detail in the processes and techniques of farming, and in a way it’s hard to believe that this was written so recently when the details of 1920s farming are so meticulously laid out.
And then, as a novel, it is a strange thing. On the surface, very little happens. But, we’re reading from the perspective of a 14 year old girl. She wasn’t alive during the 1st world war, but her parents and siblings were, so the shadow of the war hangs over the book. There are plenty of things that she is not aware of, but you the reader do pick up on. And so, there’s this feeling that so much is going on in the dropped lines and quiet allusions that pass this little girl by.
I loved the moment when Edie suddenly broke and revealed all that happened after the fete (drunken father breaking the vase) that she never told the reader. It was so powerful - we thought she was suppressing the sexual assault, but really she was suppressing much more, and suppressing it so far that even the reader didn’t know
When I was reading it, I felt like the ending (fire, politics) was out of step with the rest of the book (subtle and quiet), but thinking back on it now, it had been brewing all along, and the drama of the fire and the political fist fight were the only way to end the myriad fissures and problems that had been bubbling under the surface the whole time.
The book was also a really interesting portrayal of mental illness and OCD-like tendencies, from the inside. Almost reminded me of the Yellow Wallpaper in that way
The writing is lyrical and very specific, trees and birds are named as elms and skylarks, which constantly reminds you of this girl’s intimate knowledge of the land. There is an enormous amount of detail in the processes and techniques of farming, and in a way it’s hard to believe that this was written so recently when the details of 1920s farming are so meticulously laid out.
And then, as a novel, it is a strange thing. On the surface, very little happens. But, we’re reading from the perspective of a 14 year old girl. She wasn’t alive during the 1st world war, but her parents and siblings were, so the shadow of the war hangs over the book. There are plenty of things that she is not aware of, but you the reader do pick up on. And so, there’s this feeling that so much is going on in the dropped lines and quiet allusions that pass this little girl by.
The book was also a really interesting portrayal of mental illness and OCD-like tendencies, from the inside. Almost reminded me of the Yellow Wallpaper in that way
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Mental illness
sjparker98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Largely beautiful — the epilogue feels a bit GCSE-student-writing-short-story, which is a real shame. It did make me ugly cry though, so depends on the aim I guess!
thechemicaldetective's review against another edition
5.0
A recommendation from Mel at Drake Bookshop in Stockton led me to this bucolic tale and I was charmed from the first page. Edith's coming of age story takes place in 1930’s rural England, set against a larger canvas of change.
The seasons pass – winter “ice stood in the cart ruts, bubbled and opaque”, flanked by spring and autumn “massy hedgerows filigreed with old-man’s beard and enamelled with rose hips and black sloes”, but it is summer and the decisions around the “rippling acres of gold” “like bullion, strewn with the sapphires of cornflowers and the garnets of corn poppies” which determine if the farm will survive: “the pause between haysel and harvest is like a held breath”.
A story of change --“nothing stands still, and nor should it”—personal and political with a powerful reminder how easily people are swayed by manipulative rhetoric. The way things were (the labour of laundry before washing machines) is stripped bare.
If you admired the poetry in John McGregor’s Reservoir 13 or loved Sheila Stewart's glorious “Lifting the Latch” (the latter still one of my all-time favourite books) then this is a book not to be missed.
The seasons pass – winter “ice stood in the cart ruts, bubbled and opaque”, flanked by spring and autumn “massy hedgerows filigreed with old-man’s beard and enamelled with rose hips and black sloes”, but it is summer and the decisions around the “rippling acres of gold” “like bullion, strewn with the sapphires of cornflowers and the garnets of corn poppies” which determine if the farm will survive: “the pause between haysel and harvest is like a held breath”.
A story of change --“nothing stands still, and nor should it”—personal and political with a powerful reminder how easily people are swayed by manipulative rhetoric. The way things were (the labour of laundry before washing machines) is stripped bare.
If you admired the poetry in John McGregor’s Reservoir 13 or loved Sheila Stewart's glorious “Lifting the Latch” (the latter still one of my all-time favourite books) then this is a book not to be missed.