Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780330451352
ISBN: 0330451359
Label: Picador
Manufacturer: Picador
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: October 03, 2008
Publisher: Picador
Release Date: October 02, 2008
Studio: Picador

---

Related Items:

• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Definitions)
• The Road Home
• The Forgotten Garden
• The Book Thief
• Mudbound
• see more

Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display

---

Rating: - Tough going
I was slightly shocked that Helen kills her mother in the first few pages of this book, It made depressing reading and made me contemplate old age and how in some cases we become so dependent on others. Helen and her mother had a difficult relationship but dealing with mental illness drove her to what she did and her mother made her the person she was. I guess it made me think of the problems associated with getting old and this is not always pleasant. Alice Seobold is an excellent writer, I enjoyed ... Read More

---

Rating: - A mammoth struggle!
I did get through this book, but struggled and had it not been our book group selection this month I would have abandoned it long long before the end. I absolutely could not feel anything at all for Helen or many of the other characters for that matter, hard though I tried. I thought the whole story was stupid and get the impression that the author is 'clutching at straws' here. So much was unexplained and unresolved, but at the root of it was that I could feel no empathy for the characters and couldn't ... Read More

---

Rating: - An accurate portrayal of mental illness
I feel compelled to add my views after reading the other comments here. I found this book a well-written account of the destructiveness of mental illness, not to the person suffering it, but to those close to them. The narrator, Helen, isn't a 'nice' or 'pleasant' person, but that is because of her up-bringing. This is a dark book, and, yes, it could be seen as depressing because of its subject matter, but there is some sense of absolution for Helen at the end. The first sentence should forewarn readers that ... Read More

---

Rating: - I can't even finish it.....
..... and that's a first for me. I read all the time and would usually see a book through to the end even if it's not my thing but I just can't bring myself to keep reading this one. I really enjoyed The Lovely Bones and Lucky so I was expecting to like this. In fact, I made the mistake of buying it on impulse rather than looking at the reviews first. Big mistake.

I found the premise gripping initially. For a woman who has cared for her mother for so long to end up murdering her there had ... Read More

---

Rating: - What a waste
As always,I was looking for a recently published book that would provide our Book Group with some new insights and good discussion. I hadn't read 'Lovely Bones' but knew that it had provoked fury and enthusiasm in equal parts amongst friends. AS writes with great clarity which made the first few pages a pleasure to read. Then I realised she didn't know where to go with her initial idea and introduced new people and old situations in a disjointed way which failed to grow the character of Helen and her insights ... Read More

---