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anatomydetective's review against another edition
2.0
The whole framing device of this book made it tedious and the twist at the end made it feel so pointless I wanted to toss the book out the window. The quality of the writing itself was pretty good.
margot95's review against another edition
4.0
The story of a tragic family history, charmingly told by Jonathan Coe. It’s deceptively simple at times, and the ending packs quite a punch, though Coe never veers into melodrama. Would recommend to people who like meandering stories about mothers and daughters.
sophie8mae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
rdebner's review against another edition
3.0
Creative structure of the book, which really keeps the reader guessing about what is going on. Overall, not Coe's finest work, but still an enjoyable read.
strb's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
empheliath's review against another edition
3.0
One of the reviews on the back of this book calls it "a psychological mystery" and describes it as "evoking...suspense and dread". So for starters -- I got none of that from this book. An interesting drama, yes. Telling the story of generations of neglect and abuse as seen from an outside family member who truly loves all those involved, and her attempts to save them from themselves over the years. Well enough told, but not my typical kind of book, and not something I find myself wanting to rave about.
harkinna's review against another edition
5.0
I read these two books, The Rain Before It Falls, and Pieces of the Left Hand, last month and really enjoyed both of them. The first story, purchased on impulse at Target (I now know that Target was targeting just me with this book: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/books/22target.html), consisted of vignettes told to a tape recorder by Rosamond. Rosamond uses old pictures to tell the story, mostly chronologically, of her family and her life. There are shocking events that take place, and as you read along you really feel like you can see the pictures taking form in your mind; for example you feel what it was like to be sent away from your family to the English countryside during the Second war. I was surprised that a male wrote this book for some reason.
The book left me with a few questions because at least one story line is not concluded. I often wonder if this is just poor editing or whether it was intentional. (Mr. Coe what happened with the daughter’s boyfriend? Did it matter? Just wondering.)
The second book, Pieces for the Left Hand, comprises of loosely related vignettes (again) told about life in a small northeastern town (I see Williamstown, MA in my head when I read the book). The stories are told from a first person plural point of view most of the time. This is typically very difficult to pull off, because most of the time two people don’t see and feel the same things. You know the author is really a man, and he is often telling things from the point of view himself and his wife. (One very famous book for using the first person plural point of view is The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.)
The books both tell about the ins and outs of families and life, both the mundane and the unintended, yet interesting events of everyday life that sometimes take your breath away. Some stories in Pieces of the Left Hand, forced me to read the stories out loud to Brent. And then once I read that some of the stories were true, I became even more interested in the stories. Crazy. None of the anecdotes is more than a few pages long, with most being under two pages.
One of the stories tells of a farmer who was tired of repairing his mail box after teenagers on Saturday nights used baseball bats to whack them off of their posts. This was a continual problem in Montana too. So the farmer fills the post with cement. Naturally, the star baseball player not only ends up breaking an arm, but his girlfriend in the back seat gets killed when the bat flies back and hits her in the back seat of the car. In another story, a man is a lucid dreamer, meaning he can control his dreams while he is dreaming. I won’t give it away, but needless to say, he ends up questioning his control.
Both books were excellent good reads. Check them out.
The book left me with a few questions because at least one story line is not concluded. I often wonder if this is just poor editing or whether it was intentional. (Mr. Coe what happened with the daughter’s boyfriend? Did it matter? Just wondering.)
The second book, Pieces for the Left Hand, comprises of loosely related vignettes (again) told about life in a small northeastern town (I see Williamstown, MA in my head when I read the book). The stories are told from a first person plural point of view most of the time. This is typically very difficult to pull off, because most of the time two people don’t see and feel the same things. You know the author is really a man, and he is often telling things from the point of view himself and his wife. (One very famous book for using the first person plural point of view is The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.)
The books both tell about the ins and outs of families and life, both the mundane and the unintended, yet interesting events of everyday life that sometimes take your breath away. Some stories in Pieces of the Left Hand, forced me to read the stories out loud to Brent. And then once I read that some of the stories were true, I became even more interested in the stories. Crazy. None of the anecdotes is more than a few pages long, with most being under two pages.
One of the stories tells of a farmer who was tired of repairing his mail box after teenagers on Saturday nights used baseball bats to whack them off of their posts. This was a continual problem in Montana too. So the farmer fills the post with cement. Naturally, the star baseball player not only ends up breaking an arm, but his girlfriend in the back seat gets killed when the bat flies back and hits her in the back seat of the car. In another story, a man is a lucid dreamer, meaning he can control his dreams while he is dreaming. I won’t give it away, but needless to say, he ends up questioning his control.
Both books were excellent good reads. Check them out.
jessica_reis's review against another edition
3.0
Jonathan Coe surprises me once again!
This book is great for anyone who likes good writing, history or photography because it encorporates a bit of all of those.
This book is great for anyone who likes good writing, history or photography because it encorporates a bit of all of those.
carolabola's review against another edition
5.0
http://nomadeando.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/un-nuevo-favorito/