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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Breathtaking, I absolutely fell in love with Mandy. The afterword made this book so much more personal.
I was 15 in 1974 and remember the murder of Sandra Rivett and the disappearance of the prime suspect, Lord Lucan. Even at the time, the focus was more on Lord Lucan than the victim and she became a minor distraction to subsequent events and eventually in the main forgotten.
Dawson in this fictionalisation of those events puts Sandra in the forefront of the story as Mandy River.
The story is told through two nannies Mandy and her friend Rosemary. Rosemary's point of view being in the first person, Mandy's in the third.
Throughout Dawson's use of language is very poetic and her descriptions give a real sense of place and times of the 1970s.
That said, using the term 'a Dick Emery walk may go over the head of some of the readership. It cases like this it will be worth a look on You Tube.
Dawson in this fictionalisation of those events puts Sandra in the forefront of the story as Mandy River.
The story is told through two nannies Mandy and her friend Rosemary. Rosemary's point of view being in the first person, Mandy's in the third.
Throughout Dawson's use of language is very poetic and her descriptions give a real sense of place and times of the 1970s.
That said, using the term 'a Dick Emery walk may go over the head of some of the readership. It cases like this it will be worth a look on You Tube.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly, not the way I thought the ending would go! I enjoyed this book a lot, but it was kinda random about the bird thing...? It just didn't seem to fit.
I loved this weirdly hypnotic, poetic novel. It's very rare that a book is both beautiful and brutal, but I think this counts.
This is another book about the power men have over women and the danger they can represent. This beautifully written novel tells the story of a woman who becomes a nanny for an aristocratic family who are going through an acrimonious divorce. There is a dual narrative of the nanny and her friend who has a spiritual connection with birds and believes she can speak to and understand them ( this lands her in an asylum and this is where she meets her friend who she then encourages to be a nanny). The book has an under current of danger weaved throughout and explores topics such as motherhood, friendship, relationships and class. It was an enjoyable and quick read - I will be looking out for more of her books in the future.
The Language of Birds is a compelling retelling of the notorious Lord Lucan case. Lucan, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, disappeared in 1974 after being suspected of murdering his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett. I daresay peoples continued interest in this mystery stems from not knowing whether Lucan, also known as John Bingham, is alive or dead but as a body has yet to be discovered it has fed into many different conspiracy theories about what happened to him. Being a late 80s baby I wasn't too aware of the vibe and the way society worked during the decade this crime took place, however, Ms Dawson does a fantastic job of describing what was acceptable/unacceptable and the range of views from those present during the 1970s and does so in an eminently readable style.
There have been a plethora of books sensationalising the case but none of them are centred around the victim in all of this, Ms Rivett. Ms Dawson dedicates this novel to her and main character Mandy is formed around known information about her; for all intents and purposes, she's a warm, vivid character and most engaging to follow on her journey. I found that the 70s were described beautifully and Dawson explores the issue of class within the context of the story where the affluent family of Lord Lucan is contrasted with the poor, downtrodden nannies who moved in their droves from closed-minded rural locations in search of freedom in the big city. This is a gripping yet sensitive tale which I enjoyed immensely.
Many thanks to Sceptre for an ARC.
There have been a plethora of books sensationalising the case but none of them are centred around the victim in all of this, Ms Rivett. Ms Dawson dedicates this novel to her and main character Mandy is formed around known information about her; for all intents and purposes, she's a warm, vivid character and most engaging to follow on her journey. I found that the 70s were described beautifully and Dawson explores the issue of class within the context of the story where the affluent family of Lord Lucan is contrasted with the poor, downtrodden nannies who moved in their droves from closed-minded rural locations in search of freedom in the big city. This is a gripping yet sensitive tale which I enjoyed immensely.
Many thanks to Sceptre for an ARC.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes