Drowning Rose
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.80
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Drowning Rose for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.80, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'This wonderful Swedish novelist weaves tales of intellectual and emotional subtlety with her uniquely mischievous wit...Characteristically, Cobbold handles profound and delicate themes with a ceramicist's lightness of touch.' --Helen Brown, Daily Mail
'It's smart, sharp and well worth a read' --Image
'Beautifully written' --Red
'It's smart, sharp and well worth a read' --Image
'Beautifully written' --Red
Review
'Her touch is light but acute, her tone easy but flecked with real, black sharpness' Observer 'Accurate and telling. Her avoidance of sentiment makes this reader feel that she really cares for her subject' Elizabeth Jane Howard Praise for Aphrodite's Workshop for Reluctant Lovers: 'A sharp, funny and dazzlingly clever novel ... but, don't be misled by its exuberance, there is a serious purpose at its heart - and courage in tackling one of society's most enduring myths...' Elizabeth Buchan 'Pure romantic comedy, but underlying it is same acerbity that made Shooting Butterflies and Guppies for Tea such an unexpected joy ... Mordantly witty, touching and perceptive, one of those rare books that consoles even as it tells us the truth about love' Independent
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read all of Marika Cobbold's books and think this has to be one of my favourites. Unlike one of the other reviewers I really loved Aphrodite's Workshop (MC is a really funny writer and in Aphrodite she lets her sense of humour run riot!) however Drowning Rose, whilst still full of very witty, funny thoughts and scenes (Archie the doom filled neighbour is just brilliant!), is a rather melancholy and dark book (rather like Shooting Butterflies). It was gripping and page turning. Her books are always beautifully easy to read (I mean that as a compliment, she writes without pretension) and yet complex, cleverly constructed and full of hilarious and sometimes very sad insights. I was really interested by the descriptions of Eliza's work and behind the scenes at the V&A (one of my favourite museums) and loved the scenes from Eliza and the fabulously awful and tragic Cassandra's youth at boarding school. She was spot on about boarding school life but also the hell (and bliss!) that is being a teenager. Her ability to completely inhabit her characters, however different, is something that Marika Cobbold is excellent at. As always she excels at children and the elderly, as an author she really seems to understand the outsider (a bit like Anne Tyler, though sometimes Anne Tyler's outsiders are too outside!) which is what makes her books so special. Anyway this is a beautiful and richly written novel. Gorgeous cover by the way!
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This poignant subtle story is told chiefly from the points of view of two women recalling an incident in their girlhood from which neither of them ever recovered. The drowning of their schoolmate Rose has shaped both lives - but the cleverness of this book is that you don't know really where you are with them until quite far in, when the hint of a huge twist keeps you turning the pages at speed.
Eliza's job as a ceramic restorer serves as a beautiful metaphor for the fragility of life, and the impossibility of perfect recovery: everything, once broken, remains damaged within, no matter how carefully the flaw is hidden. The story is deftly told, with convincing dialogue, and Eliza's relationship with the dead girl's father is drawn with great subtlety and compassion. This is a great read - especially for someone who has felt regret about the past, and opportunities missed. Rose's father says at one point to the guilt-racked Eliza, "be a candle, not a black hole."
This book is a candle, and I feel the better for having read it.
Eliza's job as a ceramic restorer serves as a beautiful metaphor for the fragility of life, and the impossibility of perfect recovery: everything, once broken, remains damaged within, no matter how carefully the flaw is hidden. The story is deftly told, with convincing dialogue, and Eliza's relationship with the dead girl's father is drawn with great subtlety and compassion. This is a great read - especially for someone who has felt regret about the past, and opportunities missed. Rose's father says at one point to the guilt-racked Eliza, "be a candle, not a black hole."
This book is a candle, and I feel the better for having read it.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the most exquisitely written story about fate, friendship and restoration. The balance between humour and poignancy is just perfect and I was pulled into each chapter by such well drawn characters, I could see and hear them from the very beginning. Ms Cobbold's description of an adolescent longing to fit in is painfully beautiful. A truly wonderful read.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Shattered Vase
'Drowning Rose' is a quiet understated novel. The story, though not without conflict, is rarely dramatic. The characters are unremarkable, but well-drawn. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Quicksilver
Full of interest and humanity
This is one of those books that pulled me in from the very start, because I felt immediately attuned to the voice of the writer, or rather, in the case of this first person... Read more
Published 28 days ago by AliB
My first Marika Cobbold, but not the last!
I very much enjoyed Drowning Rose. It is a novel written with wit and sensitivity and great characterisation. An all round good read with a satisfying 'did-she-didn't-she? Read more
Published 1 month ago by A Norfolk Broad
BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT
Oh I loved this book. I bought it early in January during the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' sale primarily for three reasons. I loved the cover! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Carol 'avid little bookworm'
A story told from two viewpoints
I wasn't sure about this book when I started it as I found Eliza's voice overly chatty, jumping from subject to subject but all this changed fairly quickly and I got drawn into the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Bannister
Was expecting more
I bought this item as part of 12 days of christmas deals & just so glad I did not pay the full price for it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by rach
Cinematic, vivid storytelling: I loved this book
It's been quite a while since I took a novel everywhere with me, and let the bath water go cold because I was so absorbed in it. I loved this novel. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Alba
So good I read it twice
Drowning Rose is one of the most beautifully written books I have read for a very long time. The story is centred on Eliza, a ceramics restorer, who tries to restore everything... Read more
Published 3 months ago by sue
Beautiful
I loved this book. It is written from the point of view of two women; Eliza, a ceramics restorer in present day London, and Sandra, a teenage girl trying to fit in at boarding... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tracytid
Great writing
I took a gamble on buying this book as part of the 12 days of Christmas kindle offer. It was a gamble that paid off because this is one of the best books I've read in some time. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S. J. Clark
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
