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The People on Privilege Hill and Other Stories
 
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The People on Privilege Hill and Other Stories (Paperback)

by Jane Gardam (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Hardcover £12.99 £9.07 34 used & new from £0.26
Paperback £7.99 £5.01 33 used & new from £0.42

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Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Europa Editions (29 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1933372567
  • ISBN-13: 978-1933372563
  • Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13 x 1.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,978,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #79 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > G > Gardam, Jane

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Product Description

Literary Review

`her new collection exemplifies Gardam's zest for human oddity, which she explores with characteristic empathy and humour.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


The Spectator

`Gardam's touch is deft and light...she's such a good writer...This is Jane Gardam's 16th book of fiction: may it not be her last' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The People on Privilege Hill and Other Stories
61% buy the item featured on this page:
The People on Privilege Hill and Other Stories 4.2 out of 5 stars (4)
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19% buy
Old Filth 4.7 out of 5 stars (19)
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The Man in the Wooden Hat
10% buy
The Man in the Wooden Hat 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
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God on the Rocks
5% buy
God on the Rocks 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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Customer Reviews

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

 
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, elegant, sad, funny and brilliant!, 1 Dec 2007
By Goth lady (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The People on Privilege Hill (Hardcover)
This is a lovely collection of short stories---they will stay in your mind long after you've read them. Such elegant, finely honed prose, so much humanity and wit, is rare in a world where cynical, sharp-edged fiction dominates---to the detriment of literature. (Who wants to read Will Self---well, certainly not me!) Admirers of Jane Gardam's masterpiece , 'Old Filth', will be delighted by the return of Sir Edward Feathers (and his old adversaries!) in the first story in this collection, (the wonderful image of the three old judges under three contrasting umbrellas is a delight) but there are so many more brilliant short stories to enjoy here:--'Babette', with its chief protagonist, the bath, 'The Latter Days of Mr Jones' (a powerful indictment of the witch hunts and 'procedures' sadly prevalent in present day Britain,) 'Pangbourne' and 'Flight Path' amongst others. Jane Gardam is a genius---don't miss this!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Memory is a miracle. My memory is the best thing I have.", 27 Jul 2008
By Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The People on Privilege Hill (Paperback)
Memories, and in many cases, the memories of the aged, infuse this collection of fourteen stories, filled with surprises. Author Jane Gardam, two-time winner of the Whitbread Prize, creates ironies and absurdities for her readers, at the same time that she creates poignant and often moving scenes. Filled with wry humor and clever turns of phrase, this collection, like Gardam's novels, asks questions about whether we are the people we think we are, whether we are the people other people think we are, and whether we are the people we want to be. The secret lives and not so secret lives, the realities and the fantasies, and the faces we keep firmly fixed for the outside world--all become fertile soil for Gardam's exploration of her characters.

In many cases, Gardam's characters are lonely souls, coping the best way they can. The unnamed narrator of "Pangbourne" married a bounder but then dedicates her life to visiting a gorilla in the local zoo. Mr. Jones, in "The Latter Day of Mr. Jones," is "the last of his tribe, last of his kind," an old man whose dogs have died and whose life revolves around sitting on a bench in the park and watching the local children play--until his motives raise suspicions. And in the title story, former judges Feathers and Veneering, whose story forms the basis of Gardam's novel, Old Filth, attend a party where the guest of honor never arrives, leaving the hostess distraught about her loss of face.

Other characters illustrate the accidents of survival and the inability of each of us to control our lives. In "Babette," the story of a writer, a bathtub stored in the attic runs amok and creates disaster. In "The Flight Path," which takes place in 1941, a young man makes a life or death choice, barely thinking about it at the time. "The Virgin of Bruges" is a nun who goes to church one night, only to discover that it is being used for a wild, drug-filled orgy. In "The Last Reunion" four elderly women, one of whom is senile, gather at the school they attended to talk, argue, and complain.

Gardam is a master at observing human nature, and as she incorporates her thoughtful observations into these clever and compulsively readable stories, the irreverent attitudes toward life, which many of her characters take too seriously, and the awareness of life's absurdities, which most of her characters do not notice at all, create a collection which is great fun to read. Her humor, dark as it is, keeps even the most poignant scenes from devolving into bathos, and her sense of play allows the reader to laugh along with her, even while identifying with many of her sad characters. A wonderful introduction to the wry delights of Gardam for anyone who has not already discovered her fascinating novels. Mary Whipple

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars nearly brilliant...., 15 Aug 2009
By Eleanor Hulme (Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The People on Privilege Hill (Paperback)
This is a collection of short stories - soem of which are very good, but others are near misses.
I particularly enjoyed the stories of poignant human interactions ie in the stories Milly Ming and Granny and Jake,but found others a little contrived ie Pangbourne and The Latter Days of Mr Jones.
However the mixture of subjects and characters is interesting, and overall it is a good read.
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