Scissors, Paper, Stone
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Scissors, Paper, Stone for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'The old game of chance and double bluff provides the title and theme of this scrupulously written, impeccably structured debut about an emotionally arid couple, their only child, and the secrets hidden under a veneer of middle-class rectitude.' --Catherine Taylor, Guardian
`The relationship between the two women is very well done - tense, hinting all the time at some fatal incident ...truly disturbing, utterly believable ... sensitive, never prurient' --Margaret Forster
`Elizabeth Day has written an absorbing and moving novel in which she has managed to convey the chronic damage that a father, wife and daughter may do to one another. Her writing is both delicate and direct, not an easy combination to effect, but she has pulled it off' --Elizabeth Jane Howard
'Deftly unpicks a daughter's troubled relationship with her mother after her father has lapsed into a coma.'
--William Skidelsky, Observer
`The relationship between the two women is very well done - tense, hinting all the time at some fatal incident ...truly disturbing, utterly believable ... sensitive, never prurient' --Margaret Forster
`Elizabeth Day has written an absorbing and moving novel in which she has managed to convey the chronic damage that a father, wife and daughter may do to one another. Her writing is both delicate and direct, not an easy combination to effect, but she has pulled it off' --Elizabeth Jane Howard
'Deftly unpicks a daughter's troubled relationship with her mother after her father has lapsed into a coma.'
--William Skidelsky, Observer
Review
'The relationship between the two women is very well done - tense, hinting all the time at some fatal incident ...truly disturbing, utterly believable ... sensitive, never prurient' Margaret Forster 'Elizabeth Day has written an absorbing and moving novel in which she has managed to convey the chronic damage that a father, wife and daughter may do to one another. Her writing is both delicate and direct, not an easy combination to effect, but she has pulled it off' Elizabeth Jane Howard 'A daring, absorbing and beautifully-written story of damage and betrayal, this is an exhilarating and deeply affecting first novel' Jennie Rooney, author of Inside the Whale 'Written with an imagination and emotional sensitivity that elevate it far beyond the cliches of middle-class melodrama, Scissors, Paper, Stone is a moving, terrifyingly real account of how love can be bent out of all recognisable shape.' Observer
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this with my book club and we all enjoyed reading it and agreed it was a beautifully written book covering a disturbing family story in a subtle, soft and emotional way. I found it almost frightening how real the character of Charlotte was, dealing with her father and mother, the past and how it all influences her present. Charlotte's relationship with her mother is truely heartbreaking and the whole family makes you realise that (hopefully) your own family life is pretty good. I also loved Anne's character - as you learn the mistakes she has made in her life and how she is trapped by them and yet I felt complete sympathy for her. This was one of those books I finished and wished there was a 'hollywood style sequel' - in order to keep in touch with the characters!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When a car accident places Charles in a coma, his wife Anne and daughter Charlotte are left to examine their relationships and the events that have led them to that point.
Initially, though the prose was elegant, this did strike me as a kitchen sink drama. There is an awful lot of analogy used in consecutive sentences but as they are all very original, useful analogies it is not too distracting. The tense conversations could be a little wearing but could be excused due to the unraveling back-story. Many of the situations seemed so familiar that it was almost clichéd but that is always a risk when you are reading something that is an realistic portrayal of a normal life. Anne was a very difficult character to sympathise with and I was a little disappointed with one moment right at the end of the novel, which seemed to throw a token explanation out as to why Charles behaved the way he did. These points aside, it is Charlotte's emotional turmoil that made this novel something else, the description of her conflicted feelings and how she tries to cope felt painfully accurate. Overall, it was sometimes a difficult novel to read but there was a lot to admire in it's execution, language and delicacy.
Initially, though the prose was elegant, this did strike me as a kitchen sink drama. There is an awful lot of analogy used in consecutive sentences but as they are all very original, useful analogies it is not too distracting. The tense conversations could be a little wearing but could be excused due to the unraveling back-story. Many of the situations seemed so familiar that it was almost clichéd but that is always a risk when you are reading something that is an realistic portrayal of a normal life. Anne was a very difficult character to sympathise with and I was a little disappointed with one moment right at the end of the novel, which seemed to throw a token explanation out as to why Charles behaved the way he did. These points aside, it is Charlotte's emotional turmoil that made this novel something else, the description of her conflicted feelings and how she tries to cope felt painfully accurate. Overall, it was sometimes a difficult novel to read but there was a lot to admire in it's execution, language and delicacy.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When Charles Redfern is knocked off his bicycle and lapses into a coma, his wife Anne calmly carries on preparing the casserole for the family's dinner, barley missing a beat as she adds her vegetables to the pot and leaves to simmer. The barely-concealed hostility of this simple action quietly ignites the rest of Elizabeth Day's absorbing first novel.
Day, best known for her work as an award-winning features writer for The Observer, has taken as her first subject the damage and betrayal of a family in crisis. As Charles lies prone and fallible in hospital, the relationship between his wife and their daughter Charlotte is thrust under an uncomfortable spotlight. The chip of ice in the heart of Graham Greene's best authors is likewise at the centre of this family triangle. Charles, for years the brute heart of the family, never veers into comic villainy, but is beautifully drawn, hovering precariously between a recognisable form of middle-class passive cruelty and sheer indifference. His behaviour, which has over time subtly and insidiously hardened and splintered Anne's youthful effervescence, is deftly and elegantly handled by Day. As the strained relationships are stripped away, the gradual and unsettling sense of unease builds to the novel's shocking climax which threatens to engulf and overwhelm the fragility of the characters, each craving a resolution that is seemingly always just out of reach.
.
Day's first novel is a triumph; a rich and rewarding novel from an author who has created realistic and moving characters, and who never overplays the difficult balance between tenderness and trauma. The novel dips effortlessly between the dramatic and the poetic, and lingers on long in the reader's memory.
Day, best known for her work as an award-winning features writer for The Observer, has taken as her first subject the damage and betrayal of a family in crisis. As Charles lies prone and fallible in hospital, the relationship between his wife and their daughter Charlotte is thrust under an uncomfortable spotlight. The chip of ice in the heart of Graham Greene's best authors is likewise at the centre of this family triangle. Charles, for years the brute heart of the family, never veers into comic villainy, but is beautifully drawn, hovering precariously between a recognisable form of middle-class passive cruelty and sheer indifference. His behaviour, which has over time subtly and insidiously hardened and splintered Anne's youthful effervescence, is deftly and elegantly handled by Day. As the strained relationships are stripped away, the gradual and unsettling sense of unease builds to the novel's shocking climax which threatens to engulf and overwhelm the fragility of the characters, each craving a resolution that is seemingly always just out of reach.
.
Day's first novel is a triumph; a rich and rewarding novel from an author who has created realistic and moving characters, and who never overplays the difficult balance between tenderness and trauma. The novel dips effortlessly between the dramatic and the poetic, and lingers on long in the reader's memory.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Totally readable
Both me and my sister thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I've read it in three days and I teach full time but couldn't wait to get back into it. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Softtouch
Excellent
I can't believe that this is Elizabeth Day's first novel as it is just brilliant. She explores the damage caused to individuals when they are hurt and betrayed by their own family... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dot
hard to put down
what a brilliant book, I found I could not put it down, and shed a few tears, not something I am prone to, but this book was written in such a way that the characters are so real... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. C. Hollinshead
EXCELLENT READ DEALING WITH A REAL SOCIAL ISSUE
This was an excellent read.It deals with parental abuse,and the ignoring of the issue by someone very close to the victim. Read more
Published 13 months ago by bibliophile
A truly moving Novel
I enjoyed this novel enormously. I found it profoundly moving and beautifully written.It made for very unconfortable reading at times but I believed in all the characters and would... Read more
Published 14 months ago by carolinewaldegrave@hotmail.com
Beautiful Writing about a Imperfect Childhood
This is a really well written and soothing book although be warned the content is anything but.
The story starts with Charles lying in a hospital bed, his wife Anne and... Read more
The story starts with Charles lying in a hospital bed, his wife Anne and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Bannister
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
