I ordered this book after reading Beryl Bainbridge's obituary in the newspaper. Such accolades! I felt like a dolt for never having read any of her work, so I chose "The Dressmaker" to begin.This slim novel is a testament to the power of the mundane. The book, nominated for the Booker prize, f...
Read: July 2010Master Georgie in one tweet-sized chunk:Short and apparently simple, Master Georgie is an enjoyable snapshot of lives and the Crimean War.It is a rare delight to encounter a book of such apparent simplicity as Master Georgie. The narration – split between three voices – is compelli...
I really didn't like this book. Had it not been a bookclub book, I'm not sure I'd have finished it.The writing was flat: I never cared about any of the characters, and as such had trouble keeping them straight. The plot was pretty much nonexistent: the only driver seemed to be whether or not th...
A disclaimer! I don’t claim to have brilliant taste in movies and so Titanic by James Cameron is one of my favourites. When I was 17 and in the first throes of love, the film gave me an insight in to another world both opulent and past and this book by Beryl Bainbridge has just done the same thin...
In her novel The Bottle Factory Outing Beryl Bainbridge creates a remarkably surreal world out of a deceptively mundane situation. Brenda and Freda are two employees in a British factory that bottles bulk-imported wines, sherries and brandies. Owned by and largely staffed by Italians, the working...
"He almost took the wrong turning at the next roundabout. Muriel remained silent but pointed a contemptuous finger, at the last moment, in the correct direction"Its that little clause at the last moment that captures the delight of this odd awkward story. The awkwardness is not of the writing, th...
A motley group -- two couples, a kid, a special-needs obesity case, a couple on-site hands -- roughs it together (well there are cabins) on holiday in the Welsh woods. But as the cold winds blow and an evasive bottle of meds goes rogue, everything falls apart. This is all likely an elusive allego...