Start reading Comfort and Joy on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

 
 
 

Try it free

Sample the beginning of this book for free

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
Comfort and Joy
 
 

Comfort and Joy [Kindle Edition]

India Knight
2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)

Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £4.99 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £3.00 (38%)
* Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.
This price was set by the publisher

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £4.99  
Hardcover £12.39  
Paperback £4.69  
Audio, CD, Audiobook £52.14  
Unknown Binding --  
Audio Download, Unabridged £9.74 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product Description

Review

Fabulous. Laugh-out-loud funny, moving and as cuddly as Santa Claus, this is perfect for snuggling up with over the Christmas holidays (Cosmopolitan )

I loved Comfort and Joy, a hilarious, bawdy yet touching portrait of Christmas over three years (Jilly Cooper Guardian Books of the Year )

So kindly and funny and affectionate that you could probably warm your hands on it. Miraculously, this is a feel-good story that manages not to be saccharine. There are a great many good jokes here ... but concealed amid the fun, like silver coins in a Christmas pudding, is a serious theme. This is a book you could safely give to practically anyone. Snap up plenty of copies to hand around under the tree (Spectator )

Touching...it will make you laugh, maybe make you cry and keep you reading past bedtime (Lauren Laverne Grazia )

A wickedly funny, painfully honest look at families, festivities and romantic love (Marie Claire )

Witty enough to make you laugh out loud, but there are moments of real emotion that keep the book from being too light (Psychologies )

Tender, tough, schmaltzy, witty and heart-warming all at once. Knight has a great comic touch - there are some wonderfully rude bits and a fantastic rant about the ridiculous expectations piled on 21st-century women to be perfect - and writes with a deceptive lightness. At the heart of this funny, affectionate novel is an acknowledgement that families, like love, come in odd shapes and sizes, and that both matter more than anything (Metro )

A superb ear for dialogue...wonderfully comic (Evening Standard )

Riotously high in laughs and glamour. I defy a festive grump not to be cheered by it (Independent Books of the Year )

Fast-paced and funny (Women & Home )

Review

Fabulous. Laugh-out-loud funny, moving and as cuddly as Santa Claus, this is perfect for snuggling up with over the Christmas holidays Cosmopolitan I loved Comfort and Joy, a hilarious, bawdy yet touching portrait of Christmas over three years -- Jilly Cooper Guardian Books of the Year So kindly and funny and affectionate that you could probably warm your hands on it. Miraculously, this is a feel-good story that manages not to be saccharine. There are a great many good jokes here ... but concealed amid the fun, like silver coins in a Christmas pudding, is a serious theme. This is a book you could safely give to practically anyone. Snap up plenty of copies to hand around under the tree Spectator Touching...it will make you laugh, maybe make you cry and keep you reading past bedtime -- Lauren Laverne Grazia A wickedly funny, painfully honest look at families, festivities and romantic love Marie Claire Witty enough to make you laugh out loud, but there are moments of real emotion that keep the book from being too light Psychologies Tender, tough, schmaltzy, witty and heart-warming all at once. Knight has a great comic touch - there are some wonderfully rude bits and a fantastic rant about the ridiculous expectations piled on 21st-century women to be perfect - and writes with a deceptive lightness. At the heart of this funny, affectionate novel is an acknowledgement that families, like love, come in odd shapes and sizes, and that both matter more than anything Metro A superb ear for dialogue...wonderfully comic Evening Standard Riotously high in laughs and glamour. I defy a festive grump not to be cheered by it Independent Books of the Year Fast-paced and funny Women & Home

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 1904 KB
  • Print Length: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (25 Nov 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004CRSINS
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #46,898 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  •  Would you like to give feedback on images?


More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Lazy and self-congratulatory 28 Mar 2011
By Alex
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book for two people for Christmas on the back of gushing press reviews and now I've read it I actually feel embarrassed to have inflicted this novel on them. It reads as though it was written over a weekend, and the snobbishness running throughout is quite breathtakingly ugly. Not to mention the tone of self-congratulation - look at me, I have a squillion children (none of whom ever seem to misbehave or do anything child-like) and several ex husbands, all of whom love me, aren't I fabulous? I felt as though I was reading a bad episode of Ab Fab but didn't laugh once.
Was this review helpful to you?
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars What a pity 6 Dec 2010
By CC
Format:Hardcover
I've always loved India Knight's non-fiction writings - The Thrift Book (you end up spending more but never mind), The Shops, even the diet book where she never mentioned that she smoked, but never mind that either, her Sunday Times columns. But this book, which began well and promised much, quickly degenerated into a string of opinion-columns strung together. Thing is, I like reading her opinions so this was fine for me, for a while. Then I realized what different worlds we inhabit. I'm not talking about the amicable ex-husbands all coming for Christmas (don't they have commitments too? once again never mind) - that's all lovely - but the presentation of the creepily cold mother Kate as the norm and the warm and lovable mother-in-law Pat as the deviation was not so much offensive as baffling. And as for the two sisters, who seemed to be modelled on Jassy and Victoria in Love in a Cold Climate, I wouldn't give their silliness house room.

There are some lovely descriptions in the book. India Knight can certainly write. What a pity she can't find any interesting people to write about.
Was this review helpful to you?
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing 23 Dec 2010
By coco
Format:Hardcover
I usually like India Knight's books and columns but this book was so disappointing, lazy writing with unbelievable characters and situations, the character of Pat was particularly unconvincing - along with the two step-sisters. So sorry I spent the money on this, I normally pass books on to friends and relatives but this one will be going straight to the charity shop - I wouldn't want to inflict it on them!
Was this review helpful to you?
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing - and nasty 27 Dec 2010
By Lovborg
Format:Hardcover
Like so many other reviewers, I have enjoyed many of India Knight's other novels and collections of writing, and so I was excited about this one, with the return of Clara (from "My Life on A Plate" - which is great fun) as the heroine. I am afraid that I was very disappointed: not only with the structure (which betrays Knight's journalist's origins too clearly, with a distinct sense of "copy" rather than "narrative"), but with the fact that the tone of the whole book is nasty and snobbish.
I've never had much sympathy for the idea that one must have likeable heroes in order to engage - where does that leave you with King Lear, Othello, Heathcliff or Emma? - but the Clara of this novel is so self-centred, so self-righteous, so dismissive of other people's feelings as she goes steam-rollering over them in the interest of instant gratification that she becomes a huge alienating force within the book, and the other elements just aren't strong enough to compensate.
I can't recommend it in any way: but do try "My Life on a Plate" for a bit of charming (and eventually, very moving) fun.
Was this review helpful to you?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't finish it ... 3 Dec 2011
By Debs
Format:Paperback
I managed to read this about a quarter of the way through and had to give up. The book had a horrible, nasty "tone" to it and I just couldn't bring myself to carry on with it. Storyline shallow, difficult to engage with the characters. Would not recommend this one at all.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Not great 3 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover
Sorry India, love everything else you've written but not keen on this. The sisters and Pat were totally unbelievable characters, and I did feel that the characterisation of Pat was almost offensively cliched. Seemed like it may have been rushed out for Christmas and really wasn't much there at all - certainly not much comfort or joy.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars disappointing! 23 Dec 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book as a pre Christmas read and wish I hadn't bothered. It is full of the most hideously boring, shallow, characters which India Knight tries to make trendy by adding the odd four letter swear words here and there. I never warmed to any of them and couldn't care less what happed to them. I only managed to read three quarters of this before giving up on it and I don't give up easily. I certainly shall not be looking for any more of her books. Still on a positive note I can donate this one to the book stall at the village's summer bring and buy sale and hope that someone I am not fond of buys it.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars A struggle to read! 1 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback
I like to read a light novel with a Christmas theme to get me in the mood for the festive season but this book totally failed to deliver. I have never read any other books by India Knight but am aware of her reputation and the cover of Comfort and Joy caught my eye so I bought it (having worked in PR and marketing I should have been a bit more astute)!

The book got off to a good start but then it was down hill all the way. I was baffled by the characters and by Clara in particular. Readers are obviously supposed to warm to her but it's pretty hard to like someone who ditches her husband for no clear reason - well, she has panic attacks in bed at night but what had husband number 2 done to cause that? What's the message here anyway? Is it that you don't need to work very hard at marriage because it's perfectly easy to leave your husband, find another willing man and carry on bringing up three children in the lap of luxury with barely a pause for breath?

So why did I carry on reading it? Well, I hate to waste good money and I kept hoping it would improve at the end.I suppose some people might enjoy the description of pure gluttony in the final Christmas in Morocco scene but I didn't; I found it obscene as well as unbelievable. While a bit of escapism could be a good thing in this time of economic gloom, this end section seemed more designed to rub people's noses in it.

I am actually sitting here feeling guilty at having hastily given this book to a charity shop just before Christmas because some other poor person is probably now saddled with it!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Graet festive read
Ordered as I like a Xmas book to make me feel festive. It did the trick, easy enough to read when tired and busy at this time of year but also ha d a feel good factor when you had... Read more
Published 16 days ago by busy mum
3.0 out of 5 stars Odd to say the least
This book started of okay but then seemed to go off on a tangent, I got confused as to which Christmas it was and who was with who, wouldn't recommend it.
Published 2 months ago by Elbrobeach
2.0 out of 5 stars Smug and unbelievable
What a disappointment for a Christmas read! No real plot, toilet humour, silly characters (though I didn't mind Kate or Sophie) and I felt the whole thing a bit pointless. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Skaty Katie
2.0 out of 5 stars Comfort and Joy ,by India Knight
Really disappointed with Comfort and Joy , not to be recommended. Was glad when I finished it and could move onto something a lot more interesting.
Published 4 months ago by J
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Christmas read
Excellent book.
I love India Knight's style of writing and her turn of phrase.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a Christmas book that isn't the usual sickly... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Trixie
1.0 out of 5 stars Nasty, gluttonous, snobbish and empty-headed
Started well, apart from being rather 'entitled' and Londony, but I know folks from this kind of lifestyle so I was more relaxed at that point. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Honestyisthebestpolicy
4.0 out of 5 stars Well named
Reintroduces Clara from "My Life On A Plate" several years later, and is just as much of a comfort read as the earlier book. Read more
Published 5 months ago by N. Mcclure
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as her others
Less good than some of India Knight's other books. I was reading it over Christmas, so that added a star. I'd take this way at other times of the year.
Published 5 months ago by P. Mayhew
2.0 out of 5 stars Sooo middle class
The views expressed in this book are so prejudice, ageist and middle class. it drove me mad but I had to plough on because we had chosen it as our Christmas Book Club choice. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mary Pearce
5.0 out of 5 stars A really enjoyable seasonal read
I'd never read India Knight before, but last year before Christmas, I fancied something seasonal and picked up Comfort and Joy.

And what a joy the book was! Read more
Published 6 months ago by Helena Halme
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Popular Highlights

 (What's this?)
&quote;
Most of us have been broken at some point, and we’re walking around with a few bits superglued back in place, &quote;
Highlighted by 4 Kindle users

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Novels set in or about pubs? 11 4 minutes ago
Spend an erotic night of BDSM, Domination/submission, and exhibition with Jim and Kay this weekend.. 41 40 minutes ago
Nobody reads on the loo do they ? not really - and yet so many people have books in the loo ! 13 1 hour ago
Self-published books: pain or gain? 6122 1 hour ago
Fed up with all the books not having an Ending? 34 7 hours ago
Ideas for gentle reads for more mature people 66 9 hours ago
Come on - why don't we write our own book right here in the fiction forum ? I'll do the first sentence, and then jump in....hold on, here we go... 7206 15 hours ago
Can anyone recommend a good book 94 16 hours ago
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Customers Who Highlighted This Item Also Highlighted


Look for similar items by category


Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. Privacy Statement Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. Delivery Information Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. Returns & Exchanges