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Product Description
Review
Vivid, bawdy and bitter (The Times 'Barker's talent for gently sifting through the hidden depths of the human psyche is awesome’ )
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Book Description
* an early work by the winner of the 1995 Booker Prize
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It took me two brave tries to finish this book, and I'm not normally someone who does that. So here is a caveat for anyone who may react the same way I did: this novel shows Barker's power to shock has been, if anything, almost toned down with age. It begins with the rape of a 12 year old, and Barker doesn't let you off the hook later on (a backstreet abortion, childbirth and not the easy way either, a grisly yet touching death). If, like me, you're a rape victim, or plain squeamish, this disturbing book may not be for you. If you can cope, it is a powerful and disturbing portrayal of several women's lives in a vicious, poverty-stricken world: the despair, the ugliness, the violence. And yet astonishing strength and courage still come through; love and loyalty still exist, as far as they can in such a life.
For those of us with a far more privileged lifestyle, it too could have been named "Another World". Strangely beautiful through the harshness.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have to admit when I opened this book and read the first couple of pages, I was slightly taken aback by the crude tone and language used, and wondered if this novel was for me. However I perservered and within minutes I was completely absorbed. The book is incredibly easy to read, the characters are very well developed and you are quickly drawn into their world and made to sympathise with them.
The book contains the stories of 7 women all living on the same street in Northern England. It begins with the story of 11 year old Kelly, raped and traumatised, who struggles to deal with such an experience without much support. Then, chapter by chapter, it deals with the stories of 5 older women in the street, from about the ages of 20 up to 60, all dealing with various problems such as pregnancy, post natal depression, prostitution, the death of a husband, etc. Finally the book ends with the story of Alice, a stroke victim determined to end her life on her own terms without the interference of her uncaring son or a nursing home.
Whilst this might seem depressing, it actually manages to be quite uplifting. The harsh realistic imagery of the poverty and hardship present in the lives of these women is contrasted with the beauty of nature, the power of bonds between women, and the cyclical ongoing nature of life and love. The connection made between Kelly and Alice is particularly beautiful and heartrending.
It's also important to note that this isn't just a book for women - we read it on our university course and for a lot of the men, this was their favourite book of the module.
I had best say, though, that if you dislike hearing about the less glossy side of life, and are particularly sensitive, this may not be for you. Otherwise, definitely worth buying. Unreservedly 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having first discovered the brilliance of Barker through her Regeneration trilogy, I expect to find her earlier works (particularly Union Street - her first published work) to be less polished and her writing style to be less authoritative and confident. I couldn't have been more wrong. You would not know this was Barker's first book and her writing style is instantly as gripping, evocative and powerful as any of her other works. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in engaging and realistic writing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Union Street - Jan Bird
I'd read it before! Had forgotten but didn't forget the story of the young woman having the baby as it was particularly harrowing and I can really empathise... Read more
Published 1 month ago by JanBird&DebMeades
Wow - buy it!!
This one left me speechless! Raw, hard, but real. Pat Barker etches out the most beautiful, but not always attractive characters, you love them, pity them, cry with them and for... Read more
Published 10 months ago by RM
To good and too true
When you start reading, the prose is perfect, the dialogue so real you can see the people and their lives as if you are watching a play. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sean Higgins
excellent
Excellent, excellent book. According to the copy I have this book was made into a film starring Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro 'Stanley and Iris'. Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2009 by trianon
Grim and gritty
This book is gripping! Excellent first novel by Pat Barker, it is split into chapters about one particular charcter (going from youngest to oldest), each charcter is mentioned in... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by joro25
Union Street
Shocking in its detail of what working class life was like for women in the 1970s - not so long ago and yet a world away. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2008 by Debralondon
Wonderfully readable
I took this on holiday and read it in a day. I thought all the characters were wonderfully constructed. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2006 by Enn Dee
Rarely have characters endured such hopeless lives.
Pat Barker describes three generations of Union Street dwellers, a bleak street of small, workers cottages, somewhere in the North East of England. Read more
Published on 9 May 2001
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