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bookpossum's review against another edition
4.0
I have discovered Jane Gardam only relatively recently, and love her spare and elegant style.
I enjoyed this book very much. The young orphan cared for very kindly by her comparatively elderly aunts, who knows almost nothing of the real world and shares much of her life with her hero, Robinson Crusoe. Despite her reclusive life, it is for her full of rich incidents as she lives through most of the tumultuous 20th century.
Highly recommended.
I enjoyed this book very much. The young orphan cared for very kindly by her comparatively elderly aunts, who knows almost nothing of the real world and shares much of her life with her hero, Robinson Crusoe. Despite her reclusive life, it is for her full of rich incidents as she lives through most of the tumultuous 20th century.
Highly recommended.
carola_janssen's review against another edition
3.0
Als luisterboek genuttigd, maar irritante stem. Kan daarom niet zo goed beoordelen wat ik ervan vind.
wrencameron's review against another edition
Ich konnte weder mit dem Buch noch mit der Hauptfigur irgendetwas anfangen.
ueberraschmich's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
penandneedles's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
aspiralingreader's review against another edition
4.0
It might be true that no man is an island, but in the first half of the 20th century women are stranded.
The language is simple and the prose feels wide-spaced, beautifully reflecting the open landscape of the marshes. I loved how the drama was subdued and all the strands were subtly woven together in the end. It starts out pretty slow though and in the beginning, it was (at least to me) not very clear, where the story was going. But you might just as well see this as a strength.
Only in the end, the Robinson theme became really heavy-handed. That might have been partially justified by those illiterate readers, that actually haven’t read Robinson Crusoe before (like me ;)) and who otherwise wouldn’t have figured out some of the themes. But I would have appreciated it more, if it had been kept in the subtext (I might be illiterate, but I’m very apt at using google).
Otherwise I would definitely recommend it.
The language is simple and the prose feels wide-spaced, beautifully reflecting the open landscape of the marshes. I loved how the drama was subdued and all the strands were subtly woven together in the end. It starts out pretty slow though and in the beginning, it was (at least to me) not very clear, where the story was going. But you might just as well see this as a strength.
Only in the end, the Robinson theme became really heavy-handed. That might have been partially justified by those illiterate readers, that actually haven’t read Robinson Crusoe before (like me ;)) and who otherwise wouldn’t have figured out some of the themes. But I would have appreciated it more, if it had been kept in the subtext (I might be illiterate, but I’m very apt at using google).
Otherwise I would definitely recommend it.
lenneke's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
blanca7's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
psalmcat's review against another edition
2.0
OK, I nearly gave up on this. It's one of those "ahh...an Allusion; oh, look...Foreboding" books that I usually don't like much. I also broke all my rules in finishing this, but it turned out to be ok.
So, from the title you can see that Robinson Crusoe is involved. And from the blurb you know that this is about a woman who came to live in the yellow house by the sea in the North of England in 1904 (at age 6) and never moved away again. The book was published in 1985; you do the math.
Very intriguing premise. She's an odd little child, an odd teenager, and a VERY odd middle-aged woman. Because she lives, as a child, in a house with three middle-aged, single women, she has nothing much to do but read...they are her teachers as well as her benefactors. She fixates on Crusoe. There is no other word for it. She totally identifies with him in virtually every way. Consequently, if you haven't read that book--as I haven't--it will be a challenge to understand all the Allusions.
Still, once I got to about page 150, the plot picked up and it rolled along a bit better. There are Surprises in this book; very Victorian and not at all modern, or even post-modern. But a little to literary for me.
So, from the title you can see that Robinson Crusoe is involved. And from the blurb you know that this is about a woman who came to live in the yellow house by the sea in the North of England in 1904 (at age 6) and never moved away again. The book was published in 1985; you do the math.
Very intriguing premise. She's an odd little child, an odd teenager, and a VERY odd middle-aged woman. Because she lives, as a child, in a house with three middle-aged, single women, she has nothing much to do but read...they are her teachers as well as her benefactors. She fixates on Crusoe. There is no other word for it. She totally identifies with him in virtually every way. Consequently, if you haven't read that book--as I haven't--it will be a challenge to understand all the Allusions.
Still, once I got to about page 150, the plot picked up and it rolled along a bit better. There are Surprises in this book; very Victorian and not at all modern, or even post-modern. But a little to literary for me.
dynamo170's review against another edition
4.0
This story narrates the life of someone from the turn of the twentieth century through to the mid 1980s. Although it dwells mainly in the war years you still get a sense of the world moving on around an individual, other people and places. Different to the other Jane Gardam books I have read but still a good read.