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A review by thebobsphere
Feeding Time by Adam Biles
3.0
Adam Biles Feeding Time has been one of those books that I always take with me when I go abroad and then never manage to read it but after hearing that Biles has a new novel out soon, I thought I might as well read it.
Sometimes I think that early Galley Beggars was in a strange stage. On one hand they published some experimental fiction and then occasionally they would publish a slightly less than conventional novel. Feeding Time falls into the latter.
Dorothy is moving into an old age home after sending her husband there. The problem is that when she arrives she cannot find him. At the same time she bonds with the other residents who also have their fair share of ailments.
Things are not easy for the other people who work there as well; the non committal boss of the home is suffering from an unhappy marriage and begins an affair with a younger girl. One of the co-workers has a drug habit and has a habit of visiting another inhabitant on one of the top floors and where did Leonard go?
Feeding Time is a book about the trappings of old age, especially with dementia – one of the more interesting sub plots consists of a adventure style magazine which one character reads and then tries to mimic. In the end though it’s a book about surviving.
Although I did like the plot structure and the use of illustrations, my problem with Feeding Time is a big one – I did not like the style at all. It’s in the same casual way that authors such as Paul Murray, Steve Toltz and Richard Osman write: funny conversational. Personally this grates and it was a bit of an effort to finish the book.
To date I’ve never been disappointed by a Galley beggar book as their standards are high but sadly, I didn’t get along with this one.
Sometimes I think that early Galley Beggars was in a strange stage. On one hand they published some experimental fiction and then occasionally they would publish a slightly less than conventional novel. Feeding Time falls into the latter.
Dorothy is moving into an old age home after sending her husband there. The problem is that when she arrives she cannot find him. At the same time she bonds with the other residents who also have their fair share of ailments.
Things are not easy for the other people who work there as well; the non committal boss of the home is suffering from an unhappy marriage and begins an affair with a younger girl. One of the co-workers has a drug habit and has a habit of visiting another inhabitant on one of the top floors and where did Leonard go?
Feeding Time is a book about the trappings of old age, especially with dementia – one of the more interesting sub plots consists of a adventure style magazine which one character reads and then tries to mimic. In the end though it’s a book about surviving.
Although I did like the plot structure and the use of illustrations, my problem with Feeding Time is a big one – I did not like the style at all. It’s in the same casual way that authors such as Paul Murray, Steve Toltz and Richard Osman write: funny conversational. Personally this grates and it was a bit of an effort to finish the book.
To date I’ve never been disappointed by a Galley beggar book as their standards are high but sadly, I didn’t get along with this one.