- Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New edition edition (24 Jun 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0749312297
- ISBN-13: 978-0749312299
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11.2 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 834,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Two narrow London houses stand side by side. The households are so close it is easy to glimpse and to be glimpsed. As the long hot summer draws on so the two families draw close, drawn by their desires and their delusions, towards the inevitable impact of collision.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very satisfying read from one of my favourite authors,
By
This review is from: Close to Home (Mass Market Paperback)
Having read a few of Deborah Moggach's other books I had high hopes of a cracking good read. As ever Moggach has introduced us to some very real characters; identifiable without being too stereotypical. By portraying many of the key scenes from several points of view, we can understand why the characters behave, think and worry as they do. This works really well, and generally the story moves along at a nice pace. We follow two sets of neighbours over the course of a long, hot summer - a sweet and very hassled Kate at home with her two small kids while her husband James is flying back and forth to Brussels to bring the cash in for his family. Meanwhile next door, flippant and good-humoured Sam has given up work to write his first novel; his extremely competent and liberal wife, Jetta, works as a psychiatrist solving anything which comes into her path; along with their angst ridden teen daughter, Marion, who refuses to rebel and prefers to eat left-overs she has hidden under her bed. The way Moggach develops the characters means that you really get to know them. You care about what happens to them. This also makes events funnier, more poignant and increases the dramatic tension. All of which make this a top read and keep the pages turning and make it feel a far shorter read than it actually is. If you have read and enjoyed any other of Deborah Moggach's novels, then I have no doubt you will enjoy this. If you haven't read her before then this is as good a place to start as any.
3.0 out of 5 stars
...young girls' fingers...,
By
This review is from: Close to Home (Mass Market Paperback)
I was disappointed by this book as I always expect a riveting plot and plenty of development with this writer, but this one takes for granted that the reader will stick with a story that doesn't entirely get off the ground or go anywhere interesting. The situation is, as in so many other books, the young married couple, the pains of losing your status as a fascinating lover and becoming just the mother of your children when the first gloss comes off the marriage and honeymoon scenarios. Kate has a toddler and a baby to take care of while her husband James is part of the British delegation to the EU. When they are able to be together Kate feels out of her depth with his complex political conversation and wonders if he still loves her as he used to do. Next door there are Jetta - a psychologist with a full workload, and her husband Sam who is writing a novel, though that isn't going very well. There is also Marion, their teenaged daughter who has eating problems and suddenly develops an awkward fixation for one of the neighbourhood's fathers. Not a lot happens, but everyone finds a solution to their problems. There is the potential here for one to wonder why Deborah Moggach bothered. It was rather like reading other people's diaries. You get the bare bones, but you never feel you are inside anyone's head.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as I remember,
By
This review is from: Close to Home (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book years ago and loved it so much I specifically searched for it. I've given up with it half way through because it just hasn't hooked me at all. I feel really disappointed because I love Deborah Moggach, Final Demand was great, but this hasn't done it for me the second time round.
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