Reviews

A superb book. It's an extremely relatable set of stories about the life of a young boy with a stammer living in a small town in England. He experiences a fall from an already precarious social position, and suffers through unpopularity and cruelty. There are glimmers of hope, however, and the stories allow us to feel and learn right along with the main character throughout the book. For me personally, I felt a lot in common with the main character, and that really added to the power of the narrative. My only complaint is with how the book ended. Things got a little bit too neat and tidy, and that took away from the realism evident in the rest of the book. Still, it's really a terrific piece of work, and it's very nice to see how David Mitchell is able to pull off a focused and contained story just as well (if not better) than his sprawling other novels.

hectaizani's review against another edition

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3.0

This book reminded me a lot of the Adrian Mole series even though it wasn't in diary form, it was paced similarly. I think David Mitchell captured the angst of adolescence very believably, even if his protagonist Jason seems somewhat old for his years.

sarahbaileyreads's review against another edition

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1.0

Wow, I just really hated this book. I didn’t like how it was organized or how each chapter seemed like it’s own little book. I struggled with the time period and setting, which is definitely a fault of my own, but it really took me out of the book. There were a few quotes that stuck with me, but other than that this was a chore to read.

sarahhautman's review against another edition

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3.0

To Borrow

biophile's review against another edition

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5.0

Amazing...been on my shelf for ages, why did I wait so long to read this gem! Absolutely brilliant.

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