Take the chance to write your own book review
[2008-5-20]
Tag: elastic thread
Once, there were four friends: shy, stammering Neil, so keen to remain invisible he was practically as thin as the light; fatherless Ricky, outwardly easy-going but filled with sudden rages; Steph, always the outsider at school and at home, increasingly aware that her growing beauty would soon become another thing to set her apart; and Del, fearless, headstrong and charismatic, their lynchpin and ringleader ? until the terrible day when the group was suddenly fractured.
Now, exactly 13 years later, they have been drawn back to the remote island on the North Wales coast where they grew up, and where the landscape soon starts to exert its grip on their memories. It's no cosy amble down memory lane, however; there are unspoken betrayals, questions and tensions, and all are haunted by their own ghosts ? the most powerful being Del herself.
Lucid and lyrical, this is a beautifully written novel; and while the ending is fairly evident from the start, the suspense en route never lets up.
Take one ordinary pair of pants, and trace them back to their origin. Not just to the Chinese factory where they were manufactured, of course (that would be far too easy), but right back to the fields where the cotton for the material and thread were grown, and to the rubber trees that eventually became elastic waistbands. It's a journey during which Bennett tries ? and mostly succeeds ? to peer behind the ubiquitous 'Made in China' label, at a country that already comprises one fifth of the human race.
The book's jaunty, slightly glib title is rather misleading. Yes, there are many moments of humour, but this is a surprisingly thoughtful book (indeed, you're left with the sense that China is not a country that 'does' jaunty or glib). As an introduction to this vast, fastchanging and still frequently baffling country, it's fascinating.
Can you dance a reel? Could you correctly identify sprigged muslin, or name the more fashionable areas of Regency London? If so, then your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take on the role of Elizabeth Bennett and infiltrate the plot of Pride And Prejudice with the aim of marrying 'prudently and for love'.
Adding her own decidedly waspish comments, Emma Campbell Webster has cunningly adapted Austen's novel in the manner of a choose-your-own adventure, giving you options at key intervals (should you call on the Lucases, or go for a long walk in the country?) that will lead you to wildly different endings ? or even into completely different novels.
It's exceedingly silly stuff ? no doubt, true Janeites will be appalled ? but it's also strangely addictive and fun.
Of course, you could find yourself married to Mr Darcy. But beware! You could easily end your days in a debtor's prisoner, or ? worse still ? married to Mr Collins.
Once, there were four friends: shy, stammering Neil, so keen to remain invisible he was practically as thin as the light; fatherless Ricky, outwardly easy-going but filled with sudden rages; Steph, always the outsider at school and at home, increasingly aware that her growing beauty would soon become another thing to set her apart; and Del, fearless, headstrong and charismatic, their lynchpin and ringleader ? until the terrible day when the group was suddenly fractured.
Now, exactly 13 years later, they have been drawn back to the remote island on the North Wales coast where they grew up, and where the landscape soon starts to exert its grip on their memories. It's no cosy amble down memory lane, however; there are unspoken betrayals, questions and tensions, and all are haunted by their own ghosts ? the most powerful being Del herself.
Lucid and lyrical, this is a beautifully written novel; and while the ending is fairly evident from the start, the suspense en route never lets up.
Take one ordinary pair of pants, and trace them back to their origin. Not just to the Chinese factory where they were manufactured, of course (that would be far too easy), but right back to the fields where the cotton for the material and thread were grown, and to the rubber trees that eventually became elastic waistbands. It's a journey during which Bennett tries ? and mostly succeeds ? to peer behind the ubiquitous 'Made in China' label, at a country that already comprises one fifth of the human race.
The book's jaunty, slightly glib title is rather misleading. Yes, there are many moments of humour, but this is a surprisingly thoughtful book (indeed, you're left with the sense that China is not a country that 'does' jaunty or glib). As an introduction to this vast, fastchanging and still frequently baffling country, it's fascinating.
Can you dance a reel? Could you correctly identify sprigged muslin, or name the more fashionable areas of Regency London? If so, then your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take on the role of Elizabeth Bennett and infiltrate the plot of Pride And Prejudice with the aim of marrying 'prudently and for love'.
Adding her own decidedly waspish comments, Emma Campbell Webster has cunningly adapted Austen's novel in the manner of a choose-your-own adventure, giving you options at key intervals (should you call on the Lucases, or go for a long walk in the country?) that will lead you to wildly different endings ? or even into completely different novels.
It's exceedingly silly stuff ? no doubt, true Janeites will be appalled ? but it's also strangely addictive and fun.
Of course, you could find yourself married to Mr Darcy. But beware! You could easily end your days in a debtor's prisoner, or ? worse still ? married to Mr Collins.
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