Cosseti Gabriel Gabriel itibaren 29020 Ponte Organasco PC, İtalya
I thoroughly enjoyed this second installment in Kathleen Dayus's autobiography, and fairly galloped through it. Katie's recreation of life among the poorest Birmingham people between 1913 and 1945 is both poignant and funny. The life lead by Katie and her family was unbelievably difficult, misery piled upon misery, yet there are some highly entertaining moments too. The stuggles Kathleen had to endure just to survive are incredible, even sacrificing her children to the Barnardo's home to give them all a chance. I was shocked by just how draconian and inflexible the Barnardo's people were, and how difficult it was for Kathleen to get help from the Parish relief. This is a must for anyone interested in the social history of England during this period, and certainly a fascinating read for all Brummies. I am now looking forward to reading the third installment.
This was a very interesting and unique book. It took me readingt about 1/3 to 1/2 of this book to begin to feel like I was enjoying it. I think maybe the author could have made the beginning a little less drawn out and gotten to the "plot" a little quicker. The story line follows an older concierge and a young girl who live in the same building and the narration switches back and forth between these two with their view of the folks who live in the building they inhabit. The residents are very wealthy, mostly snobby people and these two "narrators" of the story critique all of their neighbors and in the end I think they become guilty of the crime they are accusing their fellow residents of - setting themselves up above others...snobbery! Some do it because of their wealth, some do it due to their higher education, but it seems that in this book everybody does it in one way or another - even the 2 main characters who I'm sure don't see themselves as setting themselves above anyone. Then...one day a new resident moves into the building. He is wealthy, educated, cultured and NOT snobbish. From here the story begins to be much more interesting and I'll leave it at that. Just hang in there if you are getting sick of the "holier than thou" attitude of the two main voices in the book. It gets better. Another thing I found annoying - though it is translated from French, there are still phrases and words all throughout in French and since I speak not a word of French, I sometimes felt I was in the dark.
loved loved LOVED this book...also a very quick read, I think I read it in about an hour