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Review
'A chilling tale reminiscent of both The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and Arthur & George.' Financial Times
'Nothing is as it seems in this book ... it hooks the reader in with great, demented power.' Evening Standard
'Harris plays with the reader's expectations and perspectives brilliantly.' Independent
'Compelling, suspenseful and highly enjoyable.' The Times
'A story that holds you in its grip and makes you skip ahead but circle back again for more of the same - literary crack cocaine.' Scotland on Sunday
'Harris has pulled off that only too rare double whammy - a Booker-worthy novel that I want to read again.' Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times
'An absolute belter.' Bidisha
'A fine storyteller.' Guardian
'Gripping ... the pace of the narrative is tantalisingly controlled.' --Times Literary Supplement
Evocative ... will you plunge you straight back into 19th-century Glasgow ... it s perfect for a long winter evening. -- Erica Wagner, Books of the Year, The Times >> The novel I enjoyed the most this year ... combines an involving first-person narrative voice, a crime mystery and an alert evocation of the late Victorian Glasgow of those celebrated painters, the Glasgow Boys. It s a sustained and subtle page-turner. -- --Robert Crawford, Books of the Year, The Herald
'Harris plays with the reader's expectations brilliantly.' --Independent
'Nothing is as it seems in this book ... it hooks the reader in with great, demented power.' Evening Standard
'Harris plays with the reader's expectations and perspectives brilliantly.' Independent
'Compelling, suspenseful and highly enjoyable.' The Times
'A story that holds you in its grip and makes you skip ahead but circle back again for more of the same - literary crack cocaine.' Scotland on Sunday
'Harris has pulled off that only too rare double whammy - a Booker-worthy novel that I want to read again.' Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times
'An absolute belter.' Bidisha
'A fine storyteller.' Guardian
'Gripping ... the pace of the narrative is tantalisingly controlled.' --Times Literary Supplement
Evocative ... will you plunge you straight back into 19th-century Glasgow ... it s perfect for a long winter evening. -- Erica Wagner, Books of the Year, The Times >> The novel I enjoyed the most this year ... combines an involving first-person narrative voice, a crime mystery and an alert evocation of the late Victorian Glasgow of those celebrated painters, the Glasgow Boys. It s a sustained and subtle page-turner. -- --Robert Crawford, Books of the Year, The Herald
'Harris plays with the reader's expectations brilliantly.' --Independent
Review
"To say anything more would be to give away the plot, which is too delectable to spoil."--Washington Post
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've never been the quickest of readers but this vibrantly written novel, weighing in at 500 plus pages, so engrossed me I devoured it in just 4 days. It seemed so innocent at first, beguiling me with its engagingly described cast of characters.
In 1933 Miss Harriet Baxter sits in her Bloomsbury apartment, tending to her caged finches and writing her memoir of the times she spent with Ned Gillespie over 4 decades earlier, an up and coming young artist, her dear friend, she dubs him, her soul mate even.
At once we are informed that her friend Gillespie and his young family are ill-fated, that the tale will end in tragedy, a tragedy so deep that the young man will destroy his life's work and take his own life. The first half of the book follows Harriet, then a thirty something spinster, as she relocates from London to Glasgow after the death of her Aunt, a woman who had brought her up after the death of her mother. In 1888 Glasgow hosts the first International Exhibition and Harriet decides to rent rooms nearby to take in the spectacle. A chance encounter, amusingly recounted through Harriet's memoir, brings her into the orbit of the Gillespie family, her timely extraction of half a set of dentures from the back of an old lady's throat, who turns out to be Ned's mother, is the first step on the road to what lies ahead. Over several months Harriet becomes almost part of the household, finding opportunity after opportunity to ingratiate herself among them.
Just as we start to get comfortable with the happy set up, Harriet reminds us that there are dark times ahead - a trial even, though what crime is looming and who is to stand accused is left unsaid. Although leisurely, the narrative at no stage bored me. Despite its length I was always either entertained or intrigued. I was fascinated by the complicated family dynamic, the Victorian detail, the depiction of Glasgow and its characters both fictional and historical, and of course, Harriet's colourful and often acerbic observations. It's fairly apparent that Harriet at times does resort to being manipulative, she's prone to bias and there's something quite off-kilter in some of her references to her stepfather and Ned, her so-called soul mate, but I still found myself liking her. The second half of the novel deals with the break down of the Gillespie family and the trial. I hold my hands up and admit I was completely wrong footed by how things progressed. I'll not say any more as I'd be risking straying into spoiler space. Suffice it to say that the conclusion doesn't disappoint.
I would heartily recommend this book as a great summer read, perfect for that sunny afternoon in the garden, though I must warn you that you may not notice the sun on your face, or the pleasant bird song in the trees, or the bees in the Buddleia - not if you sink as deep into Harriet Baxter's world as I did.
This review was from an Advance Reading Copy.
In 1933 Miss Harriet Baxter sits in her Bloomsbury apartment, tending to her caged finches and writing her memoir of the times she spent with Ned Gillespie over 4 decades earlier, an up and coming young artist, her dear friend, she dubs him, her soul mate even.
At once we are informed that her friend Gillespie and his young family are ill-fated, that the tale will end in tragedy, a tragedy so deep that the young man will destroy his life's work and take his own life. The first half of the book follows Harriet, then a thirty something spinster, as she relocates from London to Glasgow after the death of her Aunt, a woman who had brought her up after the death of her mother. In 1888 Glasgow hosts the first International Exhibition and Harriet decides to rent rooms nearby to take in the spectacle. A chance encounter, amusingly recounted through Harriet's memoir, brings her into the orbit of the Gillespie family, her timely extraction of half a set of dentures from the back of an old lady's throat, who turns out to be Ned's mother, is the first step on the road to what lies ahead. Over several months Harriet becomes almost part of the household, finding opportunity after opportunity to ingratiate herself among them.
Just as we start to get comfortable with the happy set up, Harriet reminds us that there are dark times ahead - a trial even, though what crime is looming and who is to stand accused is left unsaid. Although leisurely, the narrative at no stage bored me. Despite its length I was always either entertained or intrigued. I was fascinated by the complicated family dynamic, the Victorian detail, the depiction of Glasgow and its characters both fictional and historical, and of course, Harriet's colourful and often acerbic observations. It's fairly apparent that Harriet at times does resort to being manipulative, she's prone to bias and there's something quite off-kilter in some of her references to her stepfather and Ned, her so-called soul mate, but I still found myself liking her. The second half of the novel deals with the break down of the Gillespie family and the trial. I hold my hands up and admit I was completely wrong footed by how things progressed. I'll not say any more as I'd be risking straying into spoiler space. Suffice it to say that the conclusion doesn't disappoint.
I would heartily recommend this book as a great summer read, perfect for that sunny afternoon in the garden, though I must warn you that you may not notice the sun on your face, or the pleasant bird song in the trees, or the bees in the Buddleia - not if you sink as deep into Harriet Baxter's world as I did.
This review was from an Advance Reading Copy.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Gillespie and I is set in the nineteenth century and told through the eyes of Harriet Baxter, an English spinster, who takes a trip to Glasgow following the death of her aunt. She extends her stay when she meets and befriends the Gillespie family, quickly making herself as indispensible as possible in their often chaotic household. Ned Gillespie is an artist yet to find any significant recognition. His studio is in the attic where Harriet thinks he endures the too numerous distractions of his family. Ned's mother Eslpeth, champion of good causes, his wife Annie who is sometimes seems a little overwhelmed by motherhood, his two daughters, the delightful three year old Rose and the somewhat disturbed seven year old Sybil, his opinionated sister Mabel recently returned from America and his brother Kenneth, who holds secrets of his own. But is all as it seems? When tragedy strikes the family is ripped apart and the truth slowly unveiled in this tale of obsession and deceit. Gillespie and I is the second novel by Jane Harris; following the success of her debut novel, The Observations, expectations were high and it certainly does not disappoint. This is an atmospheric novel, full of period detail, which grips the reader from the start. It takes you on a journey, along with a cast of well-developed characters, and doesn't let you go till the end. This is a bitter sweet tale, as humorous as it is tragic and a great read!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book has the rare mix of being impossible to put down and lingering long in the memory. Most books that have such an engaging cast and magnetic plot are forgotten the morning after you've stayed up all night reading them. But this one asks some serious questions of the reader. Are you as unreliable a narrator of your own life as Harriet Baxter is of hers? How vulnerable are you to inveiglement and betrayal? With some wonderful writing, both on family dynamics and the visible presence of 19th century Glasgow, this makes for a prize-winning combination: a fine follow-up to the same author's wonderful 'The Observations'.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Where are the twists and turns?
If you have read any reviews of this book, it is impossible to approach it without the knowledge that Harriet is an `unreliable narrator'. Read more
Published 12 hours ago by neverendings
Gently engrossing story with a kick like a mule - very long though
This is the apparently genteel tale of Miss Baxter, a Victorian spinster who made friends with an impoverished Scottish painter (Gillespie) and his family, which took place in the... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Meerkat
Clever and Cold
This novel could have got me quite angry cos I felt I'd been almost hoodwinked into empathising with someone very nasty. As if there aren't enough scams in the world already. Read more
Published 3 days ago by kkkaren
Mesmerising.
This book is one of the best I've ever read. Whilst it seems to start off as gentle and slow, the story soon drags you into a gripping and fascinating tale that will have you... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Christian
Gillespie and I
Well worth peresevering with past page 200 when the plot begins to take on an unsettling, even creepy, theme. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Mrs. R. A. Sayer
The dog is glad I've finished it
Jane Harris takes her time to build up her characters and her plot. The result, like the work of any great artist is a complete picture of Harriet Baxter and her friends and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. Wagg
Gripping - a must!
I was very eager to read this book after being told how fantastic it was (my mum-in-law read it in two days)! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Laura and Little O
Addictive
Fresh coriander lies rotting in the bottom of my fridge. Salad has turned slimy in the bag. Ready meals rule. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tamara L
A narrator who will play with your perceptions until the end
The "I" in the title of Jane Harris's "Gillespie and I" is Harriet Baxter. Now elderly and residing in London in 1933, she is finally telling her events of what happened in the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ripple
Fantastic writing
I loved The Observations and had high hopes for Jane Harris's next book. Although Gillespie and I is a very different novel, it didn't disappoint. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Snowy_Owlet
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