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kay_ampersand's review against another edition
4.0
It does not do what it says on the tin, but I still enjoyed this weird set of characters.
enidkeaner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Before picking up Faith Fox, I’d never heard of Jane Gardam, which isn’t a slight on her, but on myself as she appears to be quite an awarded writer. I purchased Faith Fox completely on a whim - I was in a bookstore, saw it on a shelf, liked the cover, the fact that it had french flaps and thought it sounded kind of interesting.
I am so glad I bought it because I love it.
The flap description makes Faith Fox sounds as though it’s about an orphan and the people who raise her. It is - but not really. Faith isn’t actually an orphan, her last name isn’t actually Fox, and all the people in this book don’t actually raise her. Faith’s mother dies in childbirth, so her father takes her to his brother and his sister-in-law to look after her. This book begins and ends in Faith’s infancy and is more about the motley crew around her (her maternal grandmother who can’t bare to look at her, her overwhelmed father, her paternal grandparents, her uncle and aunt, the Tibetan refugees they take in, the cousin that calls himself her brother and a few family friends) than it is about her. This is really a book about people who reach a crossroads and are having to make decisions about who they really are and what they really want. Faith’s birth (and her mother’s death) is simply the fork in those roads. It’s a classic English farce and it’s a glory and I want to read everything Jane Gardam has ever written.
I am so glad I bought it because I love it.
The flap description makes Faith Fox sounds as though it’s about an orphan and the people who raise her. It is - but not really. Faith isn’t actually an orphan, her last name isn’t actually Fox, and all the people in this book don’t actually raise her. Faith’s mother dies in childbirth, so her father takes her to his brother and his sister-in-law to look after her. This book begins and ends in Faith’s infancy and is more about the motley crew around her (her maternal grandmother who can’t bare to look at her, her overwhelmed father, her paternal grandparents, her uncle and aunt, the Tibetan refugees they take in, the cousin that calls himself her brother and a few family friends) than it is about her. This is really a book about people who reach a crossroads and are having to make decisions about who they really are and what they really want. Faith’s birth (and her mother’s death) is simply the fork in those roads. It’s a classic English farce and it’s a glory and I want to read everything Jane Gardam has ever written.
lorrainelowereads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a funny little book. I didn’t like it that much for the first half. Lots of strange tangents and conversations that didn’t make sense. And it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, I thought it would be a tug of war as to who would get to keep the motherless baby Faith Fox. But it was more about the jolly neglect of the little girl. Very Dickensian. Actually the book got more and more Dickensian as it went on; children practically bringing themselves up, a fear of foreigners, people who act and live far beyond their means and plenty of old characters who provide light relief. That’s probably why in the end I was stuck into it and didn’t really want it to end. And exactly as in my favourite Dickens novel (Dombey and Son) the ending was poignant but satisfying.
ahsimlibrarian's review
5.0
I am loving this book! Great, solid writing and characters. Magnificant, touching and funny--reminds me of an Iris Murdoch novel, which is a very good thing. I am totally running out and reading all of her stuff.
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