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Little Gods
 
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Little Gods (Hardcover)

by Anna Richards (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £10.89 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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  • This item: Little Gods by Anna Richards

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

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Product details

  • Hardcover
  • Publisher: Picador; First Edition; 1st printing. edition (3 April 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 033046440X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330464406
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 319,975 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'The prose is lyrical and powerful in its simplicity...a startlingly original first novel by a remarkable new talent.'
--Independent

'Little Gods is a startlingly original first novel by a remarkable new talent.'
--Belfast Telegraph


Product Description

An adventure, a fairy tale of sorts, a black comedy and a love story, Little Gods is the story of Eugenia (Jean) Clocker, whose birth challenges the balance of nature and her mother's capacity for punitive cruelty. Though her name is swiftly shortened, Jean's body resists all attempts to curb it and she grows into a girl of unusual size and strength. With the unwitting power to upset the order of things, as well as most people, it takes the chaos of war to bring the rest of the world up to Jean's level of disorientation. When the accidental bombing of her house leaves her orphaned, extravagantly scarred, but brilliantly alive, she finds herself ready to relish life, and all the strangeness and opportunity her unique appearance brings . . . Reminiscent of the work of John Irving and Michael Chabon, yet also entirely original, this is one of the most moving and inventive novels of recent years.

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Customer Reviews

36 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply stunning, 28 May 2009
By J. Dawson (Edinburgh, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
It's difficult to review this book without descending into florid, overenthusiastic pomposity. I could say, for example, that this is prose that begs to be savoured like a fine wine, held in one's mind, lingered over, and digested fully, line by line. Which would be absolutely true... although that reader would have to be more controlled than this one. I was hooked from the first chapter and rushed through to the ending, so taken was I with the tale of Jean Clocker's astounding life. I am, however, looking forward to re-reading it at a more leisurely pace.

Not only is the quality of the writing sublime, the story told is both intimate and epic. Jean Clocker is a literary creation on a par with two of my all-time favourite fictional characters, Hedwig Robinson (of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") and Rose Loveall (of Wesley Stace's "Misfortune"). She is as tragic, as flawed, as strong and brave and beautiful, and her story is equally as uplifting. And that is some of the highest praise I can give.

This is simply the best book I have read in a very long time.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Journey of Jean Clocker, 24 Jul 2009
By tallpete33 (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This is a very original book which shines in places, but is hard going in others. It centres on the very statuesque Eugenia "Jean" Clocker, an oversize baby born between the wars at great pain to the miserable and vindictive Wisteria Clocker. Never forgiving her for the pain, Wisteria proceeded to make the unfortunate Jean's life as wretched as she possibly could, never missing an opportunity to abuse her daughter both physically and mentally. The only respite from her punishment was time spent with Gloria, her pretty friend; the incurable romantic who dreamt of finding Mr Right whilst weighing out sherbet lemons in the family sweet shop.

Ever the unfortunate however, Jean was almost killed by a lone bomb, "one of ours", which also ended Wisteria's less than flowery existence. Nursed back to health by Gloria and her family, Jean finally found a job and a purpose, working in a women-only gang that made safe and cleared bomb damaged houses. Gloria gained fresh impetus in her search also as the GI's rolled into town and the war improved both their prospects.

Post war, things take a different turn as the GI brides sail to the states, accompanied by their unsuitable husbands, both of whom considered themselves unlucky to survive the war with Jean and Gloria as their rewards. Jean struggles to fit in, not that she ever really had, and endures a love hate relationship with herself and her scarred body. She is both exploited, mistreated and occasionally worshipped as she tries to find herself and her purpose in life. Things happen to her as she travels down some strange roads before finding her niche in Hollywood of all places and has the last laugh on her mother and husband.

The author has a fantastic turn of phrase, on most pages there are pearls of wisdom and humour though the middle part does drift somewhat. Jean is a type of female Forrest Gump but the book itself has a slight feel of a Prayer of Owen Meany to it, which is no bad thing. I'd be lying if I said this was my most favourite book and I loved every bit of it, but I admire the author's wordcraft and story telling to produce an off-the-wall, quite unique and moving first novel. Well worth a look.


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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Small Pieces of England Clung to Her Still, 28 Jun 2009
By Ryan Williams (Lichfield, Staffordshire.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
It's been said that in any year, only five of its 'promising debuts' live up to their billing. Little Gods gets my vote as one of them. It's been a while since a British author last pulled off a really good picaresque: Richards does so, and with a blackly comic verbal energy worthy of Angela Carter. I hope the typo ('refenced') on the acknowledgements page is corrected in time for the paperback.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Read
Wow, this is a fabulous book. It had me laughing and crying. The prose is eloquent and intelligent and fun all at the same time. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D Brown

2.0 out of 5 stars A tall tale that fizzled out
First of all I would comment that this is the work of a clearly very talented new author. The beautiful imagery and original descriptions immediately won me over and the first... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. BUNCALL

4.0 out of 5 stars The World According to Jean ?
For a first novel - or any novel for that matter - Little Gods is ambitious in its scope. The story unfolds over three decades, a world war, and spans the Atlantic. Read more
Published 1 month ago by bomble

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely inspirational
What an amazing first novel! Anna Richards has created unforgettable characters in a tale of suffering, hope and triumph in her tale of Jean - an unfortunate girl whose size and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. J. Jones

3.0 out of 5 stars Power ful use of language
I have not read many books where the author employs such a wide range of vocabulary so effectively. The start of Jean's life is told in an almost frightening powerful way. Read more
Published 2 months ago by totnes_nigel

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply God-like!
It was literally by chance that I acquired this book, having never read heard anything about Anna Richards (although this being her debut novel that is hardly unsurprising), but... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sam

2.0 out of 5 stars Promising but ultimately failed to deliver
Having just read the other reviews for this book, I admit I wonder if I have read the same novel. The blurb promises a colourful and eccentric story, and whilst in places this is... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ms. Aa Robson

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written with lovely language - really dull though....
I haven't reviewed a book in well over two years and my reasoning for this hasn't been that I have stopped reading, it was simply that I just couldn't find the time (or couldn't... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chris Chalk

5.0 out of 5 stars Good structuring makes this a varied and interesting book
I loved this book and will be reading it again at some point which I almost never do.

It is long but it never feels like it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A Friendly Face

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty of the Beast
The strength of Anna Richards' writing in this her amazing debut novel, is in how she is able to transform the ugliness of a brutal childhood, an abusive upbringing and war-time... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Keris Nine

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