- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (4 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099469642
- ISBN-13: 978-0099469643
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.3 x 19.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 966,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
First Aid
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More About the Author
Product Description
Anita Sethi, Telegraph
'a disarmingly powerful, salutary second novel examining the sore spots that sunder a family'
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Book Description
'A brilliantly observed study of fragile family relationships and the minutiae of everyday life. A masterpiece' Daily Mail
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The blurb on this sounded like all sorts could happen - apparently a "disarmingly powerful, salutary second novel examining the sore spots that sunder a family"
Maybe glowing reviews from the newspapers of middle england (hello the daily mail!) on the jacket should have rung alarm bells, but this is a bleak tale that is the literery equivalent of magnolia paint. No one says anything of consequence, not much happens, and there are no conclusions.
Snore.
Maybe glowing reviews from the newspapers of middle england (hello the daily mail!) on the jacket should have rung alarm bells, but this is a bleak tale that is the literery equivalent of magnolia paint. No one says anything of consequence, not much happens, and there are no conclusions.
Snore.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Didn't Live Up to Its Potential
8 Aug 2006
Format:Paperback
Jo has lost her husband to another woman. Left with their three children, she does her best to make a decent life for them. When her live-in lover hurts her, Jo packs up the kids and takes off for London. Between stations, her teen daughter, Ella, jumps from the train and runs. Exhausted by life, Jo lets her.
Over the next few days, Jo and her other two children stay with her grandparents, and Ella makes her way back to familiar surroundings. Jo never reports Ella missing, never tries to find her. Instead, she focuses on finding her equilibrium. Ella will find her way, Jo decides.
From seaside Kent to metropolitan London, a broken family must reach out to bridge the gap created by betrayal, inattention, and pain.
While Davey's style is engaging and, at times, entertaining, the overall plot leaves a fair bit to be desired. Each character takes a journey with the potential to learn and grow beyond their current circumstances. Unfortunately, it seems that the potential is barely reached, if at all. At the end of the story, the reader is hard pressed to say what they have taken from this novel. She remains the same part-loving, part-indifferent mother that she was at the beginning, mired in her own problems while her children struggle to find meaning in life at home. A stunning lack of consequences for not taking action to find her runaway daughter makes it had to cheer for Jo.
It was hard to like Jo. The book was written as Jo's story, but it really should have been Ella's. This is where the heart of the book resides. If Davey had made this Ella's story and combined it with her fine writing style and a more meaningful conclusion, this could have been a hit. As it is now, First Aid limps to a finish that leaves a lot to be desired.
Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
8/8/2006
Over the next few days, Jo and her other two children stay with her grandparents, and Ella makes her way back to familiar surroundings. Jo never reports Ella missing, never tries to find her. Instead, she focuses on finding her equilibrium. Ella will find her way, Jo decides.
From seaside Kent to metropolitan London, a broken family must reach out to bridge the gap created by betrayal, inattention, and pain.
While Davey's style is engaging and, at times, entertaining, the overall plot leaves a fair bit to be desired. Each character takes a journey with the potential to learn and grow beyond their current circumstances. Unfortunately, it seems that the potential is barely reached, if at all. At the end of the story, the reader is hard pressed to say what they have taken from this novel. She remains the same part-loving, part-indifferent mother that she was at the beginning, mired in her own problems while her children struggle to find meaning in life at home. A stunning lack of consequences for not taking action to find her runaway daughter makes it had to cheer for Jo.
It was hard to like Jo. The book was written as Jo's story, but it really should have been Ella's. This is where the heart of the book resides. If Davey had made this Ella's story and combined it with her fine writing style and a more meaningful conclusion, this could have been a hit. As it is now, First Aid limps to a finish that leaves a lot to be desired.
Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
8/8/2006
People and their motives
1 Sep 2006
Format:Paperback
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (8/06)
Imagine yourself on a train from Kent to London and a loud, chaotic family enters your car. Out of nowhere, the teenage daughter jumps off the moving train. Her younger brother is distraught, yet the mother just sits with her eyes closed and reacts calmly, while her third child, a toddler, rests on her lap. This is the way "first aid" begins. You are a character witnessing these acts. Janet Davey uses second person point of view in the first chapter drawing the reader into the book. You have no choice but to be involved. As quickly as you have been thrust into the action, you are then released to being only a reader when the family (minus one) gets off at their stop.
Jo, a divorced mother, is the central character. She and her family are fleeing from an act of domestic violence. Jo's boyfriend Felpo has cut her face with a bottle. The kids fix her up and they leave for Jo's grandparent's house in the city where they try to patch up their life. The teenage daughter Ella knows more about the reason for the sudden violence than she is letting on. After she jumps from the train, we follow her story as well.
The entire book takes place over four days, a Friday through a Monday. This is a short glimpse into the lives of the characters. Yet, getting to know Jo, the mother, we realize this is the way she wants it. She is a very private person. She prefers to go through life without being seen or getting to know others. Jo has a quiet, detached way about her. Her lack of reaction to her daughter jumping from a moving train sets the mood for the entire book. The pace is slow and peaceful, while the subject matter is active and painful.
"first aid" is the American literary debut of London author Janet Davey. I recommend "first aid" to anyone who wants a good quick read that really makes you think about the strangeness of life. One minute all is going fine. The next thing you know life is in an upheaval. This does not happen by chance. People and their motives, cause and effect, actions and reactions, truth and lies are all a part of the intricate web we call life.
Received book free of charge.
Imagine yourself on a train from Kent to London and a loud, chaotic family enters your car. Out of nowhere, the teenage daughter jumps off the moving train. Her younger brother is distraught, yet the mother just sits with her eyes closed and reacts calmly, while her third child, a toddler, rests on her lap. This is the way "first aid" begins. You are a character witnessing these acts. Janet Davey uses second person point of view in the first chapter drawing the reader into the book. You have no choice but to be involved. As quickly as you have been thrust into the action, you are then released to being only a reader when the family (minus one) gets off at their stop.
Jo, a divorced mother, is the central character. She and her family are fleeing from an act of domestic violence. Jo's boyfriend Felpo has cut her face with a bottle. The kids fix her up and they leave for Jo's grandparent's house in the city where they try to patch up their life. The teenage daughter Ella knows more about the reason for the sudden violence than she is letting on. After she jumps from the train, we follow her story as well.
The entire book takes place over four days, a Friday through a Monday. This is a short glimpse into the lives of the characters. Yet, getting to know Jo, the mother, we realize this is the way she wants it. She is a very private person. She prefers to go through life without being seen or getting to know others. Jo has a quiet, detached way about her. Her lack of reaction to her daughter jumping from a moving train sets the mood for the entire book. The pace is slow and peaceful, while the subject matter is active and painful.
"first aid" is the American literary debut of London author Janet Davey. I recommend "first aid" to anyone who wants a good quick read that really makes you think about the strangeness of life. One minute all is going fine. The next thing you know life is in an upheaval. This does not happen by chance. People and their motives, cause and effect, actions and reactions, truth and lies are all a part of the intricate web we call life.
Received book free of charge.
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