The Book Depository The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison
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Price: £13.18
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: The Very Thought of You : Paperback : Alma Books Ltd : 9781846881008 : : 23 Jun 2010 : England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, 8-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which has been opened up to evacuees. The Book Depository The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9781846881008
MPN: 9781846881008
GTIN: 9781846881008
Author: K. Storch
Rating: 5
Review: I couldn't help noticing that some people have not given this book a very favourable review and it set me to wonderfing why - because it is fabulous!!!! I thought it did such a good job of setting the scene for that brief space of time prior to when the bombs began to fall on London. The decisions that people had to make, heartbreaking, regarding their own children and whether to send them off to relative safety in the countryside or keep them with them and take their chances in the cities. We, in England, have lived through an extended period of peace on our own shores without any major threats since that time and are a generation of parents who cannot even begin to imagine how difficult that decision would have been to make. For the most part, the parents had no idea even of where their children would end up! I thought the writer did an amazing job of exposing us, through the eyes of the child, Anna, to how it was from a childs point of view as well. For the most part, children are very accepting and flexible and adventurous and it was only days later, even weeks later that Anna really began to realise what had happened to her. And then got on with those very circumstances. I liked the "Plot" of the story regarding Thomas and his wife because it was so very plausible. Especially for those times. These afflictions do occur to us in lifes walk and again Miss Alison masterfully showed us how unexpected travesties that beset us in life, can slowly take their toll on many lives. Those years were exceptional in our history and yes, for much of the time, it was simply about putting one foot in front of the other. Therefore, at times the pace was slow, but in my mind that added to rather than took away from the story. Love lost, love gained, love snatched away, love cherished. This book has it all. It is certainly not being deleted off my kindle! Great read.
Author: Gerund
Rating: 1
Review: All credit to Rosie Alison for getting her first book published, by whatever means. Most of us dream of being a 'writer' and never get past a first page of idle jottings. It requires grit and determination to go all the way. However, just a few pages into this book I was reminded of the old adage, 'Everyone has a book in them and that is where it is best left'. Words alone can't describe quite how bad this book is. I don't want you to put yourself through reading it, so words will have to do. I've read a review where someone threw the book over the side of a cross-channel ferry rather than finish it. Another where they binned it as it wasn't worth sending to the charity shop. I know exactly how they felt. I plodded around a fifth of the way through it before throwing in the towel, and that fifth was a real struggle. Unfortunately, Rosie Alison just can't write. If she was prepared to spend a little time doing a creative writing course, or even read a primer on the subject, she might realise that 'less is more'. Overuse and, or, strange use of adjectives and adverbs just doesn't cut it, eg "Nazi stukas", "lustrous moustache", "gummy teeth" or "eerie warning". And 'point of view' changes grate; they're continuous and inappropriate. There is even the odd error in tense. Metaphors are laughable: "It was as if her heart had been suddenely tuned into a strange new wireless station for other people's sorrows." Characterisation of an eight year old child is totally inappropriate. We have Anna, at eight, hearing the wheels of a man's wheelchair squeak and feeling sorry for him and for his wife: "She worried that Mrs Ashton might not be happy being married to a cripple - they couldn't go dancing together, and she could imagine Mrs Ashton dancing. That must make him sad, too, she thought. How could such a beautiful woman be married to a man who couldn't walk?" It just isn't credible. Or the following: "Did the Ashtons have any children of their own, she wondered? She hoped so. He must be a kind father." But it's the standard of written English that is truly unforgiveable. Or maybe it is. It's difficult to tell someone their written English isn't up to scratch, particularly a graduate in English Literature from Oxford. But surely her friends could have helped out a little? If you haven't read the book you may be wondering just how bad it is. It's very bad, page after page. Just two examples will make the point: "He could not contain his own joy..." "Norton found a woman streaming with blood in a crater, and he pulled her out, while his wife ran to help an old man trapped by a wall." I really recommed giving this a miss. Life's too short.
