Scan barcode
zuly's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
1.0
The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert is an unusual book. Morgan Fletcher lives alone in his big house until Engel shows up. Then one day a baby is left at the door. Slowly other children start to appear at the house. When one of the children become ill, Engel finds Dr. Crane to come and visit. At first Morgan hides from Dr. Crane. Morgan was severely injured by his mother. His face and one hand are badly disfigured. Then slowly Morgan gets to know Dr. Crane and they spend time together. Then people come looking for the children. When they search the house, the children (and all of their things) disappear. Until one day they find one child (maybe they are supposed to), Moira. Morgan and Dr. Crane along with the children go looking for the Moira. Why was the little girl taken and what is their fascination with children?
The Children’s Home is just plain odd. I have tried to summarize it to the best of my ability. This book is really not that long, but it seem to go on forever. I really tried, but I was never able to get into this book. Odd things happen in the book, but nothing is ever explained (like what year is it, the country, last names). The writing style is convoluted and formal. I do not think I got the point of this book, but then I do not believe the writer knew what type of story he wanted to write. The world the writer created did not seem complete or whole. We are only given a little bit of information about it (like everything else). I give The Children’s Home 1 out of 5 stars (which means I really did not like it). It sounded like an interesting book, but I just found it odd and confusing (and very disgusting at the end). This book is not for someone with a light stomach. There are some nasty things that happen near the end of the book (with equally horrible descriptions).
I received a complimentary copy of The Children’s Home from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Children’s Home is just plain odd. I have tried to summarize it to the best of my ability. This book is really not that long, but it seem to go on forever. I really tried, but I was never able to get into this book. Odd things happen in the book, but nothing is ever explained (like what year is it, the country, last names). The writing style is convoluted and formal. I do not think I got the point of this book, but then I do not believe the writer knew what type of story he wanted to write. The world the writer created did not seem complete or whole. We are only given a little bit of information about it (like everything else). I give The Children’s Home 1 out of 5 stars (which means I really did not like it). It sounded like an interesting book, but I just found it odd and confusing (and very disgusting at the end). This book is not for someone with a light stomach. There are some nasty things that happen near the end of the book (with equally horrible descriptions).
I received a complimentary copy of The Children’s Home from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
badseedgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I would like to thank NetGalley.com for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When I finished The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert published by Gallic Books, I had a moment where my head started spinning and then I was left with so many question I just sat down and wondered “What the hell did I just read?” There was no way I was going to be able to write a review of this book as confused as I was. The author leaves several unanswered questions in this novel. My first dilemma was where the heck was this novel set. At first I thought it was set in England. But there were several references to some kind of civil uprising. This lead me to feel it was set in some English colony, possibly South America or India, but I eliminated this by the descriptions of the land which was definitely northern hemisphere, and the description of the people in the city, which was of a fair complexed people. Of course by the time I had gotten to the part of the book where the people in the village were described, the main character Morgan has gotten to his family’s factory and all other questions about the book dropped away. I decided to go to bed and sleep on this book for a while. While I was sleeping, I developed a theory. Just as I originally thought, this book is set in England, but is set in an alternate reality. The last two pages convinced me this was the case.
The first two-thirds of the novel are of a gothic nature, with a strong supernatural bent. Morgan Fletcher is the protagonist of the novel. He lives alone with his housekeeper, until the children start showing up. Morgan was severely burned in the face and hand in some sort of incident in the past. Although never described in any specific way, from the brief descriptions and the reaction of the other characters, it is obvious the burns were severe and left Morgan devastated both physically and mentally. What the author, Mr. Lambert, does so successfully is in laying down the backstory and past of Morgan in such a natural, organic way. There is never a point where the reader would say, this chapter, this paragraph, was dropped into the story to give the character’s history.
When the children start appearing at Morgan’s home, he takes them in and they bring if not joy, at least meaning into Morgan’s life. But right from the beginning, there is something unnerving about these children. They seem to appear and disappear at will. They are unnaturally well behaved. While reading this story I kept picturing the children from More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon or The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. What the children in all these books have in common, is that we as the reader know there is something wrong with these kids, this sense of “wrongness” is woven throughout the novel, and the reader is left with a sense of unrest as the weather the children are evil, or just different.
This was a beautifully written story, and draws the reader in almost immediately, especially the first two-thirds. Once Morgan and the kids leave the home, the novel takes a sharp left turn away from “Gothic” and falls directly into an odd combination of “Weird ” or “slipstream” science fiction. This change does not change in anyway the beauty of the writing style, but let’s be fair, Weird fiction is much harder and less direct than Gothic fiction to understand and appreciate.
My favorite character in the entire book was Doctor Crane. He is introduced to the story when one of the children gets sick. He becomes friends with Morgan. Doctor Crane holds a unique position in the story. He is Morgan’s conduit to the world outside the manor house, but he is also the reader’s conduit into the manors home. That is not to say he is nothing but a window. Doctor Crane is a fully developed character in this own right.
Now This next section is filled with my theories of the ending of this novel. For that reason, there are spoilers in it. Not big spoilers, but you have been warned.
I have already stated that I feel strongly that this novel takes place in an alternate England. In this England, there was no World War II, but there was instead a civil uprising. Morgan’s house was the children’s home David mentioned when he was reading the story to Morgan and Doctor Crane about the children killed by gassing. To Morgan and Doctor Crane this story is from a science fiction book David found and read to them, but is in fact reality in our version of England, the England David and the other children come from. The children who show up at Morgan’s house were the children from our England, the War orphans, or disposed children sent to the Children’s home and ultimately gassed by the Nazis. I don’ think these statements are that much of a spoiler. The author practically drops this info in the reader’s lap. I have decided to take this theory one step further though. I think Doctor Crane is who David would have become if he had not been killed by the Nazis in our version of England. Doctor Crane’s first name is never provided, and David does show he has the power to heal wounds and injuries. Doctor Crane even calls him, David the healer. In the very last paragraph of the novel, Morgan says he sees in Doctor Crane “David before him, the man David might have become.”
I’m giving this novel 4 of 5 stars. Although not an easy read, it is well worth the effort.
When I finished The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert published by Gallic Books, I had a moment where my head started spinning and then I was left with so many question I just sat down and wondered “What the hell did I just read?” There was no way I was going to be able to write a review of this book as confused as I was. The author leaves several unanswered questions in this novel. My first dilemma was where the heck was this novel set. At first I thought it was set in England. But there were several references to some kind of civil uprising. This lead me to feel it was set in some English colony, possibly South America or India, but I eliminated this by the descriptions of the land which was definitely northern hemisphere, and the description of the people in the city, which was of a fair complexed people. Of course by the time I had gotten to the part of the book where the people in the village were described, the main character Morgan has gotten to his family’s factory and all other questions about the book dropped away. I decided to go to bed and sleep on this book for a while. While I was sleeping, I developed a theory. Just as I originally thought, this book is set in England, but is set in an alternate reality. The last two pages convinced me this was the case.
The first two-thirds of the novel are of a gothic nature, with a strong supernatural bent. Morgan Fletcher is the protagonist of the novel. He lives alone with his housekeeper, until the children start showing up. Morgan was severely burned in the face and hand in some sort of incident in the past. Although never described in any specific way, from the brief descriptions and the reaction of the other characters, it is obvious the burns were severe and left Morgan devastated both physically and mentally. What the author, Mr. Lambert, does so successfully is in laying down the backstory and past of Morgan in such a natural, organic way. There is never a point where the reader would say, this chapter, this paragraph, was dropped into the story to give the character’s history.
When the children start appearing at Morgan’s home, he takes them in and they bring if not joy, at least meaning into Morgan’s life. But right from the beginning, there is something unnerving about these children. They seem to appear and disappear at will. They are unnaturally well behaved. While reading this story I kept picturing the children from More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon or The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. What the children in all these books have in common, is that we as the reader know there is something wrong with these kids, this sense of “wrongness” is woven throughout the novel, and the reader is left with a sense of unrest as the weather the children are evil, or just different.
This was a beautifully written story, and draws the reader in almost immediately, especially the first two-thirds. Once Morgan and the kids leave the home, the novel takes a sharp left turn away from “Gothic” and falls directly into an odd combination of “Weird ” or “slipstream” science fiction. This change does not change in anyway the beauty of the writing style, but let’s be fair, Weird fiction is much harder and less direct than Gothic fiction to understand and appreciate.
My favorite character in the entire book was Doctor Crane. He is introduced to the story when one of the children gets sick. He becomes friends with Morgan. Doctor Crane holds a unique position in the story. He is Morgan’s conduit to the world outside the manor house, but he is also the reader’s conduit into the manors home. That is not to say he is nothing but a window. Doctor Crane is a fully developed character in this own right.
Now This next section is filled with my theories of the ending of this novel. For that reason, there are spoilers in it. Not big spoilers, but you have been warned.
I have already stated that I feel strongly that this novel takes place in an alternate England. In this England, there was no World War II, but there was instead a civil uprising. Morgan’s house was the children’s home David mentioned when he was reading the story to Morgan and Doctor Crane about the children killed by gassing. To Morgan and Doctor Crane this story is from a science fiction book David found and read to them, but is in fact reality in our version of England, the England David and the other children come from. The children who show up at Morgan’s house were the children from our England, the War orphans, or disposed children sent to the Children’s home and ultimately gassed by the Nazis. I don’ think these statements are that much of a spoiler. The author practically drops this info in the reader’s lap. I have decided to take this theory one step further though. I think Doctor Crane is who David would have become if he had not been killed by the Nazis in our version of England. Doctor Crane’s first name is never provided, and David does show he has the power to heal wounds and injuries. Doctor Crane even calls him, David the healer. In the very last paragraph of the novel, Morgan says he sees in Doctor Crane “David before him, the man David might have become.”
I’m giving this novel 4 of 5 stars. Although not an easy read, it is well worth the effort.
amg2012's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'The Children's Home' by Charles Lambert is a moody book about a disfigured recluse and the people who enter his life.
Morgan Fletcher lives in a sprawling estate. We aren't told where or when. There are clues that it may not be on our world at all. The artifacts in his home are strange, like the wax figure of a pregnamt woman with a hinged womb containing a baby. When a couple children show up, Morgan takes them in. Then more and more start appearing. Morgan and the town physician, Dr. Crane, set out to try to figure out where these mysterious children seem to be coming from.
I liked this atmospheric tale, and I really liked the prose. For those looking for a specific story arc, this may be a disappointment. Morgan is more of an observer than a protagonist, and the ending left me with more questions than answers.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Scribner, Gallic Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Morgan Fletcher lives in a sprawling estate. We aren't told where or when. There are clues that it may not be on our world at all. The artifacts in his home are strange, like the wax figure of a pregnamt woman with a hinged womb containing a baby. When a couple children show up, Morgan takes them in. Then more and more start appearing. Morgan and the town physician, Dr. Crane, set out to try to figure out where these mysterious children seem to be coming from.
I liked this atmospheric tale, and I really liked the prose. For those looking for a specific story arc, this may be a disappointment. Morgan is more of an observer than a protagonist, and the ending left me with more questions than answers.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Scribner, Gallic Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
knittyreader's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free e-copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
'The Children's Home' was a weird, vague and most of the time bleak story. All of this in a good way: it feels like it gives a wonderful outline for the reader's imagination, for us to give colour to. Sometimes these colours are brighter than other moments, but there's some colour all the time - even if that one is red. It also made me think about the colours I give to my life, and about how I can write and paint my own story.
That said, sometimes the vagueness was too much, the things given over to the imagination of the reader too many. Because of that, it was not the easiest story to get into; it took me quite a while. It was totally worth reading on though.
'The Children's Home' was a weird, vague and most of the time bleak story. All of this in a good way: it feels like it gives a wonderful outline for the reader's imagination, for us to give colour to. Sometimes these colours are brighter than other moments, but there's some colour all the time - even if that one is red. It also made me think about the colours I give to my life, and about how I can write and paint my own story.
That said, sometimes the vagueness was too much, the things given over to the imagination of the reader too many. Because of that, it was not the easiest story to get into; it took me quite a while. It was totally worth reading on though.
meganraison's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still not sure what to think about this book but that being said it is well written and certainly makes you think. Read it if you like books that are off kilter. If you like a tidy story with a tidy ending avoid this one.
oreo143z's review against another edition
4.0
I really like this novel . I recommend this novel for fans of [b:The Bone Clocks|20819685|The Bone Clocks|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1398205538s/20819685.jpg|26959610]
jessethereader's review against another edition
2.0
...I just wanted MORE. From the beginning it planted the seeds to be something magical. It lacks of a lot of detail and I felt like it needs more depth in terms of the plot & the characters to be something that stood out to me.