- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (7 April 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753818612
- ISBN-13: 978-0753818619
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 987,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Kathy Page's novel is a claustrophobic page-turner focused on a manipulative young man called Simon, who's serving a life sentence for having strangled his girlfriend.... Page makes his journey towards partial redemption an intriguing one.' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
Roz Kaveny, TIME OUT
' a book which lets us see the humanity and vulnerability that accompany monstrous acts.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
seriously readable,
By
This review is from: Alphabet (Hardcover)
Alphabet is the story of Simon Austen, a handsome, intelligent, damaged young man serving life for a murder he DID commit. The story is about his painful struggle to come to terms with what he has done, to connect with his own emotions and allow himself to feel and, ultimately, to love. I was gripped first of all by the pitch perfect tone of the narration. Simon's dry, bitter, humourous voice evokes the harsh environment of British prisons in the 1980s and takes us through his own battles to "progress" through the system and ultimately get parole. My sense of the authenticity of the research is backed up by the fact that there is an admiring quote from Lifer & one-time Guardian columnist Erwin James on the dustjacket. Following the twists and turns in Simon's story there were moments when my breath was quite literally taken away by what was happening. And the ending is both uplifting and utterly unpredictable. This is both a serious and very readable work.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book.,
By
This review is from: Alphabet (Hardcover)
I picked up a copy on a recent trip to the UK, and was surprised and gripped by the power of this novel. The subject matter is grim, but Page has conveyed the black humour and harshness of prison life very vividly. In parts, it is at once shocking and unnervingly hilarious. We are given a rare insight into the psychological complexities, and realities of the central character, a murderer and life sentence prisoner, which allows the reader to sympathise with him, but never too much.I found "Alphabet" beautifully written, intelligent, fast moving, funny, sad and shocking; and totally gripping. The best book I've read this year.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best books I have read this year,
By
This review is from: Alphabet (Paperback)
I loved this book, and felt quite sad when I got to the end.
The story is about a young man serving life for murder and how he gradually comes to accept his crime and starts to deal with his problems in building relationships with women. Not the sort of material I would normally choose, but I really felt that I got to understand his feelings and thinking - and by about halfway through I was really rooting for him. I found this book fascinating reading - it held me both intellectually and emotionally. I would love to know how much research the author did - in particular whether the descriptions of the prisons and the therapies he underwent realistic or completely fictional.
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