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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
A really interesting novel about a period that's been much written about - but from a different perspective. I was totally ignorant of the fact that fascists were trying to make a come back less than 20 years after the end of the Second World War - and equally ignorant about the Jewish Anti-fascist groups that were protesting against them.
In fact I was almost more interested in this bit of the story than I was in Vivian and Jack's romance. But I still enjoyed the book - and I'll be looking out for more from Jo Bloom.
I also reviewed this book for Novelicious: http://www.novelicious.com/2015/01/review-ridley-road-by-jo-bloom.html
In fact I was almost more interested in this bit of the story than I was in Vivian and Jack's romance. But I still enjoyed the book - and I'll be looking out for more from Jo Bloom.
I also reviewed this book for Novelicious: http://www.novelicious.com/2015/01/review-ridley-road-by-jo-bloom.html
This book seemed really interesting but when I started reading it, it just didn't really grab me. I got about half way through & realised I don't really care about the characters that much. So I didn't finish it, but maybe one day I'll go back to it (note to self, I got to page 142)
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
I would highly recommend this book to any age. It was an amazing depiction of fascism in 1960's London as well as a beautifully realistic love story with very relatable characters.
When I first saw the cover of Ridley Road, I was hooked. I loved how the title looked like a street sign and the clearly 1960s photograph. So it sounded like a good choice to start my Audible membership with. Harriet Carmichael does a great job of narrating the story and she manages to make each character sound slightly different. The story, however, was a little jumpy for me. The content, covering the rise of fascist movement in London in 1960s, was great. I knew nothing about that period and I find that reading fiction based around actual events improves my knowledge greatly. But the story moves from being about Vivien, a hairdresser who moves to London after her father dies to look for a lost love to a political thriller. Poor old Vivien, cutting away happily, gets pushed into the corner while Jack, her lover takes over. Jack is a newspaper man who has gone undercover to investigate the fascist group that is planning to make a comeback. They’re vandalising Jewish businesses and places of worship and printing out propaganda. As Jack gets more involved with Vivien (who is Jewish), he struggles to maintain his cover and composure. Will he make it out to file his story?
I think the first half of this book is dramatically different to the second part, which is why it didn’t work so well for me. Vivien’s story is a romance/coming of age one, with her trying to find Jack in London and making new friends. She’s also trying to avoid the attentions of Stevie, a boy who thinks she’s just great. I went from feeling sorry for Stevie with his slave like devotion to Vivien to just being annoyed when he was around. He’s rather immature with a knack for getting in trouble. Plus the way he followed Vivien and Jack around town was more stalker-ish than cute. When Jack makes his reappearance, things move to being from his point of view. We hear more about the things he’s involved and the danger he’s facing. This part had more of a thriller feel and less of the charm of Vivien’s story. I think if I’d been more prepared that the story was going to change tone dramatically, I would have enjoyed things more.
As Vivien reappears in what is now Jack’s story, it’s obvious that this young lady from Manchester has grown up. Gone is her naivety, replaced with a composure and grace to help the man she loves. She’s also calm in the face of a radical group trying to destroy her faith. Jack too undergoes a revelation as tensions between the fascists and anti-fascists heat up. He realises that he isn’t Superman and that is what brings he and Vivien even closer.
While the history was fascinating for me, the change in pace and focus in this book didn’t work overly well for me. I would be interested to read more by Jo Bloom, as she has a great ability to bring history to life.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
I think the first half of this book is dramatically different to the second part, which is why it didn’t work so well for me. Vivien’s story is a romance/coming of age one, with her trying to find Jack in London and making new friends. She’s also trying to avoid the attentions of Stevie, a boy who thinks she’s just great. I went from feeling sorry for Stevie with his slave like devotion to Vivien to just being annoyed when he was around. He’s rather immature with a knack for getting in trouble. Plus the way he followed Vivien and Jack around town was more stalker-ish than cute. When Jack makes his reappearance, things move to being from his point of view. We hear more about the things he’s involved and the danger he’s facing. This part had more of a thriller feel and less of the charm of Vivien’s story. I think if I’d been more prepared that the story was going to change tone dramatically, I would have enjoyed things more.
As Vivien reappears in what is now Jack’s story, it’s obvious that this young lady from Manchester has grown up. Gone is her naivety, replaced with a composure and grace to help the man she loves. She’s also calm in the face of a radical group trying to destroy her faith. Jack too undergoes a revelation as tensions between the fascists and anti-fascists heat up. He realises that he isn’t Superman and that is what brings he and Vivien even closer.
While the history was fascinating for me, the change in pace and focus in this book didn’t work overly well for me. I would be interested to read more by Jo Bloom, as she has a great ability to bring history to life.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
I was drawn to this book for a few reasons. Firstly by the title - Ridley Market reminds me of my childhood. Secondly the cover is lovely. Finally, the time period and the Jewish aspect. On the whole, I liked Ridley Road. It was comforting in the way of a Sunday night drama on ITV. The blurb says it is for fans of Maggie O'Farrell and I would agree.
With regards to the characters, Vivien started off really strong. In fact, the beginning of the story in itself is very strong. She was intriguing and I was looking forward to her journey. However, she kind of became a background character in, what I believed to be, her own story, which was a shame. On the other hand, Jack wasn't much of a character but his story was interesting. This is where I encountered my only real issue with Ridley Road. I think wished the story was focused on one thing or the other - either a girl moving to London who, whilst getting used to all the glitz and glamour, meets a man from the shadows OR a man dealing with life as part of a fascist group. Full stop. Personally, I would read both - especially the latter as some of the scenes with Jack at the HQ were really great.
There were quite a few supporting characters, who we might've gotten to know more about if the story had been one or the other. Either way, they were all likeable in their own way - even mixed up Stevie. Oh, and I definitely wanted to know more about Vivien's land lady for some reason - I liked her a lot.
Before reading Ridley Road, I didn't know anything about the anti-Jewish activities in 1960's East London. Due to my background, I know about the racism but nothing about the Jewish story, so I found that part of the book really interesting. I'll have to look up some of the sources listed by Jo Bloom at some point.
Still, overall, Ridley Road is a nice read. My commute is long and boring, so I don't have much patience for books that don't particularly grab me these days, however I quite looked forward to catching up with story each morning and I finished the book, which isn't something I have been doing a lot recently.
With regards to the characters, Vivien started off really strong. In fact, the beginning of the story in itself is very strong. She was intriguing and I was looking forward to her journey. However, she kind of became a background character in, what I believed to be, her own story, which was a shame. On the other hand, Jack wasn't much of a character but his story was interesting. This is where I encountered my only real issue with Ridley Road. I think wished the story was focused on one thing or the other - either a girl moving to London who, whilst getting used to all the glitz and glamour, meets a man from the shadows OR a man dealing with life as part of a fascist group. Full stop. Personally, I would read both - especially the latter as some of the scenes with Jack at the HQ were really great.
There were quite a few supporting characters, who we might've gotten to know more about if the story had been one or the other. Either way, they were all likeable in their own way - even mixed up Stevie. Oh, and I definitely wanted to know more about Vivien's land lady for some reason - I liked her a lot.
Before reading Ridley Road, I didn't know anything about the anti-Jewish activities in 1960's East London. Due to my background, I know about the racism but nothing about the Jewish story, so I found that part of the book really interesting. I'll have to look up some of the sources listed by Jo Bloom at some point.
Still, overall, Ridley Road is a nice read. My commute is long and boring, so I don't have much patience for books that don't particularly grab me these days, however I quite looked forward to catching up with story each morning and I finished the book, which isn't something I have been doing a lot recently.
I bought this book as a mystery book, wrapped in brown paper in a bookshop with a few clues written on it. On reflection, the clues had been written by someone who read the synopsis and looked at the picture on the front, but didn’t read it.
They could have done so quite easily because it’s a book with less nuance and complexity than many children’s books. That’s no exaggeration either, I literally borrowed a book, not so long ago, from my then eleven year old daughter that was far better written and more enjoyable with actual plot twists and interesting characters instead of this plodding, cliched dirge.
The characters are all as plain as they could be. The book’s written as though the author has no more insight into what they think and feel than if she met them for tea once a week and got the story that way.
The plot is incredibly dull, I was quite looking forward to an insight into the fascist and anti-fascist movements of the 60’s but there was nothing at all in the book about it, despite that being the ostensible subject! I could have guessed they painted swastikas on shuls and fought at rallies, what about an actual idea of how the movement formed, what the motivations were, their goals, how they fit in mainstream society, literally anything at all that you couldn’t just replace with any other distasteful group?
But that’s not the point of the book, the point of the book is a love story between Jack and Vivian, United in dullness. I can’t even muster the vitriol to tell you about why this is as pointless as the non-event that was the infiltrator plot line, just take my word for it. A relationship with all the passion and tumult of a bus journey with your gran, who fell asleep before the first set of traffic lights.
If I wanted to be charitable and recommend it to anyone it would be to ESL students, it’s a remarkably simple read. Anyone else should avoid and perhaps instead read something by the bookshop employee who told me, via the wrapper, that this book had Paul Auster vibes, surely one of the great fiction writers of the 21st century.
They could have done so quite easily because it’s a book with less nuance and complexity than many children’s books. That’s no exaggeration either, I literally borrowed a book, not so long ago, from my then eleven year old daughter that was far better written and more enjoyable with actual plot twists and interesting characters instead of this plodding, cliched dirge.
The characters are all as plain as they could be. The book’s written as though the author has no more insight into what they think and feel than if she met them for tea once a week and got the story that way.
The plot is incredibly dull, I was quite looking forward to an insight into the fascist and anti-fascist movements of the 60’s but there was nothing at all in the book about it, despite that being the ostensible subject! I could have guessed they painted swastikas on shuls and fought at rallies, what about an actual idea of how the movement formed, what the motivations were, their goals, how they fit in mainstream society, literally anything at all that you couldn’t just replace with any other distasteful group?
But that’s not the point of the book, the point of the book is a love story between Jack and Vivian, United in dullness. I can’t even muster the vitriol to tell you about why this is as pointless as the non-event that was the infiltrator plot line, just take my word for it. A relationship with all the passion and tumult of a bus journey with your gran, who fell asleep before the first set of traffic lights.
If I wanted to be charitable and recommend it to anyone it would be to ESL students, it’s a remarkably simple read. Anyone else should avoid and perhaps instead read something by the bookshop employee who told me, via the wrapper, that this book had Paul Auster vibes, surely one of the great fiction writers of the 21st century.