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Catching the Sun [Paperback]

Tony Parsons (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Release Date: 7 Jun 2012

Just how badly do you want to find paradise?

When Tom Finn is almost jailed for confronting two burglars in his own home, this taxi driver takes his young family to live on the tropical island of Phuket, Thailand.

Phuket is all the Finn family dreamed of – a tropical paradise where the children swim with elephants, the gibbons sing love songs in the jungle, the Andaman Sea is like turquoise glass and this young family is free to grow.

But both man-made disaster and the unleashed forces of nature shatter this tropical idyll for Tom Finn's family.

CATCHING THE SUN is a gripping, moving story of a family who go in search of Paradise – and end up discovering themselves.

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Catching the Sun + Departures: Seven Stories from Heathrow + Men from the Boys
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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (7 Jun 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007327811
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007327812
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 57,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘Simmering beneath the dazzling sunlight there are gritty undercurrents aplenty’ Express

‘The prose seamlessly pulls you along…a lasting novel about belief and longing’ Daily Mirror

‘A love letter to Thailand’ BBC

‘ … a simple yet effective story, exploring the incessant search for happiness and what people will do to secure it’ Irish Examiner

‘Tony Parson's great skill is that he can cut to the core of relationships’ The Book Bag

‘[The Finn Family] soon discover the start truth behind the tourist-brochure ‘holiday paradise’ image, before emerging emotionally stronger from the strains of their relocation’ Sunday Times

About the Author

Tony Parsons is the author of Man and Boy , winner of the Book of the Year prize. His subsequent novels – One For My Baby, Man and Wife, The Family Way, Stories We Could Tell, My Favourite Wife, Starting Over and Men from the Boys were all bestsellers. In summer 2011 he was Writer-in-Residence at London Heathrow, and his first book of short stories, Departures, is based on the experience. He has written a novella about pirates for Quick Reads – Beyond the Bounty.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Over hyped 31 July 2012
By Ceb1960
Format:Paperback
Catching the Sun
This book leaves the reader feeling frustrated as though having been invited to a friend's house and then ignored for the duration. We don't get to know the characters as we are given nothing. The characterisation is one dimensional and repetitive. The style is rather like reportage with some overblown descriptions of place. The storyline provides lots of opportunities to develop the main characters which are systematically ignored, sometimes blatantly. How could the author tell us that the main character is bitten by a gibbon and then proceed to tell us that the gibbon is to be tested for HIV but follow with absolutely nothing of what Tom might feel or think about such a situation? There is no depth. The first page tells us that Rory is lying on his front in the sand with a book in his lap! How does that work then? Was there an editor at HarperCollins looking after this book, or was it an experiment in publishing a book without an editor? We are also given rudimentary and patronising lessons in the societal issues of Thai beach culture, such as how the bar girls are exploited by rich foreign businessmen, yes thanks I think we knew that. I could go on but you get my drift. Disappointing.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear 17 July 2012
By Adopado
Format:Paperback
It rolls along as a story but never seems to get anywhere. There were no particular questions answered. There was little power of emotion or description. Despite incorporating the most devastating natural disaster to afflict humanity in modern times this seemed to fall rapidly into the background within a few pages. Some concrete details just weren't realistic or accurate. (For example, the never ending pallets of water bottles or his stored petrol in his hut ... for his, ahem, diesel powered motorbike!)

Here's the story to save you some time and money: The family had some problems in the UK so chose to live in Thailand for a while ... we note that Thailand is different to the UK ... some (mostly unlikely) events took place, and without any particular good reason they decide to go back home.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd borrowed if from the library, not bought it. Disappointing 5 July 2012
By Jasper
Format:Paperback
Like everyone else, I loved 'Man and Boy' and keep hoping for a similar read from Tony Parsons. I've read each of his books since and this was probably the least interesting yet. Unlike some other reviewers, I liked the setting and thought it was described well but I couldn't become interested in the characters. The narrator's children were meant to be cute but the boy was so irritating and both came across as much older than they were. Unrealistic dialogue and the plot wasn't much better. What a shame.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing 27 Jun 2012
By Jefferson
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I heard the author on radio 2 talking about this book and having been to Thailand on a number of occasions ordered the book as it sounded like something I would enjoy. The book is very easy reading but ultimately unbelieveable and one-dimensional.
There is little depth to the characters and the story unfolds with many cliches and things that just do not make sense.
I found it really hard to believe what the author ws trying to tell me. Disappointed.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars So bad it was painful to read 26 Jun 2012
By Irish_in_bkk
Format:Paperback
I hate starting a book and not finishing it ... so I struggled through this one to the end ... and it really was so bad that it felt painful to read. Anybody who has spent any time in Thailand will cringe at the picture painted of life here ... really really disappointing book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time 14 Nov 2012
By Peggy G
Format:Paperback
I have read Tony Parsons before & really enjoyed him, but this book is not worth bothering with at all.

It seems like he's trying to cram 100s of different things into the book, but doesn't expand or spend much time on any of them.

The main character just came across as really pathetic & irritating rather than the hard done by modern hero that I think he was intended to be. There was no depth to any of the characters and the book left lots of unanswered questions.....except I didn't care at all about the answers!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing 2 Oct 2012
By Darren6270
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Have been a Tony Parsons fan since the early days. Man and Boy absolutely blew me away. Had the pleasure of meeting Mr Parsons at the Time Out book club a couple of years ago which only enforced my opinion of the man and his works. Rather sadly I feel his last couple of books have gradually gotten worse, to the point that I never even bothered to finish this one, which is something I couldn't have comprehended a couple of years ago. I feel like I have lost my favourite author. The story splutters along, often backfiring, the characters do not develop, and the usual heart rendering emotional moments are missing.
No doubt I will still pre-order the next and await in anticipation for delivery, I just hope he is back to his best.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Overhyped and boring, best as a doorstop 29 Sep 2012
By velvet
Format:Paperback
This is such a dull and cheesy book. I was really bored. I was given it by a hotel guest, who never got to grips with it, but I thought I would give it a go. I only read a few chapters. It was a waste of my time. I thought I should spend less time reading this dull book and concentrate on having a good time on my holiday.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to previous books
A disappointing read. Certainly it was not up to his previous books. The Characters or the story never really developed.
Published 2 months ago by Valerie
3.0 out of 5 stars Not my choice
I only read this because it was a book club choice. It's an easy read, a predictable subject and simplistic.
Published 2 months ago by H M VASPER
4.0 out of 5 stars Catching the sun
Reliable relaxing comforting read. You can almost feel the heat on the beach and the spice in the Thai fish curry!
Published 3 months ago by Iv Puttmann
4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful.
I loved this beautifully written book. Tony Parsons does not disappoint as always. Its beauty is how it moves easily along and leaves the reader imagining this wonderful place that... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ali
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting animals
I did enjoy reading this book, particularly the details of the animals - albeit slightly unconvincingly provided by the young boy. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Katie
4.0 out of 5 stars Lacks something
Love this book but can't quite put my finger on what was missing, perhaps it was the moments of humour which any fan of Tony Parsons knows usually play a big part in his books. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Janice Atkinson
4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
When I was asked to review this book I jumped at the chance. My grandad lives in Thailand and so I don't get to see him often, in fact I can't remember the last time I saw him... Read more
Published 9 months ago by zobo_cop
1.0 out of 5 stars the pretty money spinning 'summer read' cover is the best part
Having read a couple of Tony Parson's novels before I expected more of the same from the blurb- likeable familiar characters exploring what it means to be a parent, a spouse, make... Read more
Published 10 months ago by N Myatt
5.0 out of 5 stars Such a lovely book......
Just read Catching the Sun by Tony Parsons. Really enjoyed the book and would certainly recommend it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Fiona
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant
I read a review which said this is TP's best yet...I thought how can it top or equal his previous work...but it does. Read more
Published 10 months ago by 80s fan
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