Ian Marshall
Member
Re: Scarborough's Rate and Review Thread
Tony Parsons - Man and Wife.
5/10.
You can probably tell from this review and the previous, that I'm hardly reading cutting-edge books here. I made a conscious decision when on holiday to read stuff which isn't too challenging. Engaging and absorbing was what I was going for.
This was a book I reached for having finished the four of five I'd taken with me and it was lying the book exchange thing, so I threw in a couple of books and took this one. It had a picture of some Star Wars lego type characters on the cover. That was enough for me.
Parsons is one of those names which is always there or about in WHSmith, in the reviews section of the literature supplement in newspapers etc. Bit of a household name. I'd always thought it was all family orientated, observationalist, middle of the road stuff. Not even holiday reading, a few beers, margaritas, sunshine etc could really lift this out of the mediocrity I expected. I couldn't really pick a massive flaw or anything to dislike here, there just wasn't enough of a plot for me. I find this 'oooh I'm in one relationship but I'd quite like to be in another one.... but lets drag it out over 300 pages' stuff a bit convoluted and dull, especially where there is no clever twist. There is even some sort of bleak overt moral message about not striving to make things better and appreciating what you've got (hard to disagree with that part) but just making do etc (harder to agree with).
Anyway, its all really about conflict I suppose, heart vs head... loveless marriages.... divorces where a spark still exists.... children caught in the middle....
I reckon my other half would like this a lot more than me. Perhaps I just missed the point, but when I got back from hols, I had to MAKE myself finish it. I just didn't care at all what happened.
I've given it five because at times I found myself enjoying Parson's simple (very very simple) style. Its a pretty effortless read, you just don't get much back from it. It's evidently been described as a love letter from a father to his son and really I don't think thats far off at all. As far as is being 'wistful, touching and funny' as the back cover claims, I concur that its wistful (Parsons certainly has wistful in his armoury) but touching and funny? Not from my reading. The cover is quite cool though.
Tony Parsons - Man and Wife.
5/10.
You can probably tell from this review and the previous, that I'm hardly reading cutting-edge books here. I made a conscious decision when on holiday to read stuff which isn't too challenging. Engaging and absorbing was what I was going for.
This was a book I reached for having finished the four of five I'd taken with me and it was lying the book exchange thing, so I threw in a couple of books and took this one. It had a picture of some Star Wars lego type characters on the cover. That was enough for me.
Parsons is one of those names which is always there or about in WHSmith, in the reviews section of the literature supplement in newspapers etc. Bit of a household name. I'd always thought it was all family orientated, observationalist, middle of the road stuff. Not even holiday reading, a few beers, margaritas, sunshine etc could really lift this out of the mediocrity I expected. I couldn't really pick a massive flaw or anything to dislike here, there just wasn't enough of a plot for me. I find this 'oooh I'm in one relationship but I'd quite like to be in another one.... but lets drag it out over 300 pages' stuff a bit convoluted and dull, especially where there is no clever twist. There is even some sort of bleak overt moral message about not striving to make things better and appreciating what you've got (hard to disagree with that part) but just making do etc (harder to agree with).
Anyway, its all really about conflict I suppose, heart vs head... loveless marriages.... divorces where a spark still exists.... children caught in the middle....
I reckon my other half would like this a lot more than me. Perhaps I just missed the point, but when I got back from hols, I had to MAKE myself finish it. I just didn't care at all what happened.
I've given it five because at times I found myself enjoying Parson's simple (very very simple) style. Its a pretty effortless read, you just don't get much back from it. It's evidently been described as a love letter from a father to his son and really I don't think thats far off at all. As far as is being 'wistful, touching and funny' as the back cover claims, I concur that its wistful (Parsons certainly has wistful in his armoury) but touching and funny? Not from my reading. The cover is quite cool though.
