- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; New Ed edition (14 Mar 1985)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006540996
- ISBN-13: 978-0006540991
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 128,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Beryl Bainbridge's evocation of childhood in a rundown northern holiday resort.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Harriet Said", by Ms. Beryl Bainbridge is an amazing study of two young women and how mischief is just the beginning of a trip that ends with what we would hope was madness. Hope is wishful thinking, for there is nothing in the pasts of these young girls to justify their increasingly bizarre behavior, nor does the balance of what we are exposed to suggest justification.
I have not yet read all of this Author's work, however aberrant and shockingly cruel behavior is not unusual. This time is very different for the players involved are only 13 and 14 years of age. The title suggests that one girl leads the other blindly in a sort of singular sort of peer pressure. However this is not case, for there is very little pressure and certainly no coercion. Additionally strange is that the younger of the two is the catalyst if one is chosen.
The time period is not long after WWII, and the behavior that is at the root of events is the girls' awareness and willingness to use their very young selves to manipulate men. The youngest mentioned is 19, and the eldest the better part of 60. The other twisted aspect is that while we experience their actions while they are of the ages that I mentioned, they clearly began their adventures at an earlier age.
There is nothing in the book that is physically graphic, or gratuitous in a puerile sense. The Author communicates just how frightening these girls are by sharing only their thoughts and those they record together in a shared diary. Their actions, when they take place, have been introduced to a degree by this written document they co-author. This is a very dangerous story of two children that if handled by a lesser Author would have been just a tabloid tale. In Ms. Bainbridge's hands these girls and others like them become so frightening because they could be any child on your street, or worse a child in your house. If not for its realism this tale could be passed off as a horror story, however this is more like a lengthy article on true events.
I have not yet read all of this Author's work, however aberrant and shockingly cruel behavior is not unusual. This time is very different for the players involved are only 13 and 14 years of age. The title suggests that one girl leads the other blindly in a sort of singular sort of peer pressure. However this is not case, for there is very little pressure and certainly no coercion. Additionally strange is that the younger of the two is the catalyst if one is chosen.
The time period is not long after WWII, and the behavior that is at the root of events is the girls' awareness and willingness to use their very young selves to manipulate men. The youngest mentioned is 19, and the eldest the better part of 60. The other twisted aspect is that while we experience their actions while they are of the ages that I mentioned, they clearly began their adventures at an earlier age.
There is nothing in the book that is physically graphic, or gratuitous in a puerile sense. The Author communicates just how frightening these girls are by sharing only their thoughts and those they record together in a shared diary. Their actions, when they take place, have been introduced to a degree by this written document they co-author. This is a very dangerous story of two children that if handled by a lesser Author would have been just a tabloid tale. In Ms. Bainbridge's hands these girls and others like them become so frightening because they could be any child on your street, or worse a child in your house. If not for its realism this tale could be passed off as a horror story, however this is more like a lengthy article on true events.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Terrifying Teens
3 Aug 2001
Format:Hardcover
"Harriet Said", by Ms. Beryl Bainbridge is an amazing study of two young women and how mischief is just the beginning of a trip that ends with what we would hope was madness. Hope is wishful thinking, for there is nothing in the pasts of these young girls to justify their increasingly bizarre behavior, nor does the balance of what we are exposed to suggest justification.
I have not yet read all of this Author's work, however aberrant and shockingly cruel behavior is not unusual. This time is very different for the players involved are only 13 and 14 years of age. The title suggests that one girl leads the other blindly in a sort of singular sort of peer pressure. However this is not case, for there is very little pressure and certainly no coercion. Additionally strange is that the younger of the two is the catalyst if one is chosen.
The time period is not long after WWII, and the behavior that is at the root of events is the girl's awareness and willingness to use their very young selves to manipulate men. The youngest mentioned is 19, and the eldest the better part of 60. The other twisted aspect is that while we experience their actions while there are of the ages that I mentioned, they clearly began their adventures at an earlier age.
There is nothing in the book that is physically graphic, or gratuitous in a puerile sense. The Author communicates just how frightening these girls are by sharing only their thoughts and those they record together in a shared diary. Their actions, when they take place, have been introduced to a degree by this written document they co-author. This is a very dangerous story of two children that if handled by a lesser Author would have been just a tabloid tale. In Ms. Bainbridge's hands these girls and others like them are so frightening because they could be any child on your street, or worse a child in your house. If not for its realism this could be passed off as a horror story, however this is more like a lengthy article on true events.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A Bit Creepy
3 Jan 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A claustrophobic tale of a friendship deeply enmeshed in admiration, power, and the ability to twist things to one's liking. The details are almost excruciating for such a small novel, and the final act of violence is surprising. Fans of slow to boil, compact, vintage (late 50's-early 60's Britain) thrillers should give this one a go.
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