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Ethel & Ernest [Paperback]

Raymond Briggs
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.89 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Book Description

3 Sep 1998

Utterly original, deeply moving and very funny, Ethel & Ernest is the story of Raymond Brigg`s parents' marriage, from their first chance encounter to their deaths told in Brigg`s unique strip-cartoon format. Nothing is invented, nothing embroidered - this is the reality of two decent, ordinary lives of two people who, as Briggs tells the story, become representative of us all. The book is also social history; we see the dark days of the Second World War, the birth of the Welfare State, the advent of television and all the changes which were so exhilarating and bewildering for Ethel and Ernest.

A marvellous, life-enhancing book for all ages.

(19980609)

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Ethel & Ernest + When the Wind Blows + Fungus the Bogeyman
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Product details

  • Paperback: 104 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape; First Edition edition (3 Sep 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0224046624
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224046626
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 0.8 x 22.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 8,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Raymond Briggs has used his parents in his work before. They were the archetypes for the bemused elderly couple in his fable of nuclear war, When The Wind Blows, and in lighter vein his father has been the model for Father Christmas. But in this latest work Briggs takes it a step further in writing (and, of course, drawing) a cartoon strip biography of his parents marriage from courtship in the twenties to death in the seventies. This tribute to ordinary lives--no affairs, no illness before the end, no regrets--is inevitably a very personal work, but also serves as a fascinating social history. From when they meet as milkman and parlour maid, through the Depression, second world war, childbirth (Briggs himself gets a particularly good cameo role in the sixties, replete with magnificent sideburns), old age and death, we see a world in rapid flux while Ethel and Earnest's loving relationship remains resolutely stable. The drawings are characteristically tender--the scene when his dead mother lies on a hospital trolley is particularly moving--and the simple text gives more than a taste of these people and the times they lived through. Sentimental as well as engaging? Absolutely. But work like this gives sentimentality a good name. --Nick Wroe

Review

"A best seller in Britain, this winsome little book is one family's twentieth century, told as a comic strip that fast-forwards through the decades. Briggs's artful rendering of his parents' striving captures the English working class, and as the tale progresses, you find yourself slowly sucked into their daily patter, amused by their cooing voices, impressed by their bravery. At the end, you're hardly prepared for the emotional wallop." --"Time
"In the details of Briggs's sparkling cartoons, the characters become richly specific and endearing . . . both pathetic and heroic in the face of overwhelmingevents. [They are] what make you read through Ethel & Ernest over again." --Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, "New York Times
"Ethel & Ernest works brilliantly and artfully as an archetype. It is the author's willingness to frame his love and anguish so piercingly that makes it such a singular piece of work. We should be grateful that Briggs is so brilliantly equipped to remind us of what we u sed to be, and why." --Nick Hornby, "New York Times Book Review

"From the Trade Paperback edition.


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Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
A beautiful moving story written by the well known author Raymond Briggs, author of the Snowman. The true story begins as Ethel and Ernest meet. Their love and life together unfolds through a series of beautifully illustrated cartoons. The reader is taken on a journey of life's pleasures and pains, through the war years and beyond.

As a nurse and a lecturer in hospice care I was drawn to the end of the book which portrays first Ethel's dying and death followed by the death of Ernest. The images are so powerful that few words are needed. The inevitability and the pain of death and loss are clearly and sensitively portrayed.

Ethel and Ernest should be available in every school, every church, and every library throughout the world. It must be on the reading list of all health care professionals.

Read this book. You will laugh and you will cry but most of all you will understand a little more of life.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully crafted, simple love story 7 Jan 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This slim volume contains the love story of Ethel and Ernest, two simple folk. Raymond, their son, is the affectionate storyteller, painting in words and pictures the story of his parents' marriage, 'til death they do part. I was in tears at the end; read it and experience times long past.

Celia Crossley

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 4 Dec 1998
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is touching, beautifully drawn and also a surprisingly informative summary of the last 50 years. As a Briggs fan, I would rate this as his best yet.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Memories
An excellent book full of nostalgic moments - the cartoons are excellent and the humour unabounded. Really good read and fun to refer to
Published 2 days ago by Paul R. Cook
5.0 out of 5 stars Snowman Fans Stop Reading Now
Like "Where The Wind Blows", this book almost made me cry over the transitory nature even of the most longstanding relationships. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Squiz
5.0 out of 5 stars love raymond Briggs
i am starting to collect Raymond Briggs and this is a lovely illustrated book it is easy to read and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you reald it well done... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Vikki Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars top book
best book i ever read, the drawings are magical, the story so true life happy and sad.
will read it again.
Published 1 month ago by sam anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book
It's a lovely heartwarming representation of family life with its natural ups and downs. As per to Raymond Briggs' style it doesn't exactly have a happy ending but it is still a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jack Anthony Chapman
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
This is a wonderful book with a lot of social history, comedy and pathos. I enjoyed it immensely. Strongly recommended.
Published 1 month ago by jonny19
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Biography!
Really excellent drawings and colour, and a very gentle tale of the time that my father and mother lived through.
Published 2 months ago by Lewcee42
5.0 out of 5 stars Touching
It's a lovely story, moving and touching. The illustrations are remarkable. I had read it within 3 hours but will read again and look at for inspiration on drawing techniques
Published 2 months ago by Artychik
5.0 out of 5 stars True Life
Brought us back to the real values

Lovely, thoughtful, everything wonderful. Why did I not know about it before? Read more
Published 2 months ago by David James Jolley
5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome
This is a fantastic book with such an endering story it makes you laugh and cry and is totally awsome
Published 2 months ago by Emlin
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