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1979: A Big Year in a Small Town
 
 
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1979: A Big Year in a Small Town [Paperback]

Rhona Cameron
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Ebury Press (3 Jun 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0091896711
  • ISBN-13: 978-0091896713
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 181,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Rhona Cameron
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Product Description

Review

'A candid, open-hearted memoir...startling', The Observer .'Funny, painful, sad and true, this wistful teenage testimony isn't just a memoir of a particular time and place, it's also a universal elegy about how it really feels to be a young outsider of any and every sort.', The Guardian .'Eccentric, feisty and very funny', Jenny Eclair, The Guardian .'Wickedly amusing', The Times .'Utterly absorbing', The Mirror

Book Description

The bittersweet tale of a big year in a small town, in the spirit of Anita and Me

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've always liked Rhona Cameron, and we're the same age, so not getting this book wasn't an option. I was not disappointed and, although this is an awful cliche, I have never laughed so loudly nor cried so hard.

The book focuses on one pivotal year in Ms Cameron's life. It is a moving, hilarious and gut wrenching account of how it was to be her. You don't have to be scottish, lesbian or even female to enjoy this book. Anyone who was in their early teens in the late seventies will find references which amuse and satisfy. The honesty with with the author describes her feelings toward her friends, enemies, teachers is glorious, awe inspiring, funny and yet heartbreaking. You know without a doubt that Rhona had no option but to be herself but it couldn't be without consequence.

It's wonderful stuff from start to finish, but for me it was the way that Rhona had to deal with family tragedy at the age of 13 that I found so agonisingly moving. For me this part of the book was so raw,it allowed me to reach my own personal catharsis as I came to terms with a similar experience as an adult at the end of last year. To be allowed in to Ms Cameron's pain as she went through this as a child was a privelege and I thank her.

Somewhere is this book is something for all of us in those things that affect and shape us in our teens which often stay with us throughout our adult lives and who need to laugh at life and at ourselves just because life is too short.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book tells the story of Rhona's life, aged 13-14, in a sleepy Scottish fishing town. Almost immediately it becomes impossible not to like Rhona; all her tales of the boys she kissed and the girls she wished she kissed are funny and entertaining, and she comes across as a harmless teenager who is trying her best to come to terms with her sexuality in a small town. However I felt that the real power of this book lay in Rhona's talent in capturing the warm, comfortable atmosphere of her family life. Adopted at two months by William and Jean Campbell, it's evident that Rhona's childhood was filled with love and security. I've just recently read Janet Street-Porter's childhood memoir and it was interesting to compare the two. Janet's resentment towards her family was so obvious that it overwhelmed the book a bit whereas in contrast the warmth and love Rhona experienced with her family gently seeped from her story, enabling the reader to create an image of a kid with the usual teenage issues (perhaps more than others as she was also struggling with her sexuality) who, always quietly in the background, had this solid, comfortable family unit nurturing and encouraging her. And this of course, makes what happens next even more tragic.

I hope I'm not spoiling the tale for anyone (and it says this on the back of the book anyway) by saying that 1979 was an unforgettable year for Rhona for all the wrong reasons, as she lost her beloved dad during this year. Rhona's evocative and emotional memories of this incredibly difficult time are written with such pathos that I couldn't put the book down. She relates the tragedy from a teenager's perspective which enhances the sadness of this event and she describes her so loss so effectively and with such rawness that I found myself wincing with pain and sadness as I read it. Having lost my own father several years ago I empathised hugely with Rhona's loss and felt she articulated her feelings and emotions perfectly.

My final comment about the book was that I felt the epilogue was perfect. I was hoping like mad that the story wouldn't end abruptly without finding out what happened to some of the characters, and all I'll say is that the final paragraph in her book was so moving and poignant that I was once again gulping away tears. I finished this book thinking how much I liked Rhona Cameron. Read this book and see what I mean - it's an absolutely wonderful offering from a warm and talented woman.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Just Fabulous 19 Nov 2010
By teresa
Format:Paperback
I think this is in my top 10 books of all time. It has a
everything. I laughed I cried, but most of all I totally understood
exactly what she was feeling and realted to everything in it. What a debut, I cant
wait for more. I was bereft when I finished it and it was no longer in my life.
Loved loved loved it.
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