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Product Description
Product Description
When her mother is sent to prison for three months for assaulting a policeman with a stiletto shoe, fifteen-year-old Caris goes gently off the rails. Whilst her taxi-driver father Mac attempts to keep the family together, Caris meets George, a boy from the other side of the vale and from a very different sort of family. Their relationship leads her away from school and what she has known, into a new and unnerving world – and looks set to throw the family into terrifying chaos. Julia Darling’s acclaimed novel blends the gritty and the everyday with the evocative and the enchanting, to create an original, inventive and often moving portrayal of family ties, suburban life, love and growing up.
About the Author
The Taxi Driver's Daughter was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Julia Darling's first novel Crocodile Soup was published to great acclaim in 1998 and was on the longlist for the Orange Prize. It will be reissued by Penguin in 2004. Darling is also a poet and playwright who has written plays for the stage and for radio. She was awarded the Northern Rock Writer's Prize in 2003. She lives in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
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First Sentence
Mac drives like a man in a pot of treacle. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Mac drives like a man in a pot of treacle. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fifteen year old Caris starts to go off the rails when her mother is sent to prison for stealing a stiletto shoe. Her father Mac works as a taxi driver and seems to be oblivious to the fact that his family is falling apart until it nearly becomes too late.
I can't emphasise how much I loved this book. I live in Newcastle so it was a treat to read about all of the local landmarks (including the Shoe Tree - it really does exist in Armstrong Park in Heaton!) but my main reason for enjoying this book was the author's wonderful style of writing. Her talent at making you care about the characters (even poor old Nana)coupled with a skillful use of imagery are what makes the book such a success. And I have to disagree with another reviewer about the ending of the book as I thought it was a superb, unpredictable ending.
A truly wonderful book - one I could read again and again. The late Julia Darling was clearly an immensely talented author and I will definitely be reading her other work.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This arrived as a pass on from my parents in Greece who recommended it, particularly as we are all Geordies by birth.
I enjoyed it ; clear prose and unaffected dialogue. I thought the character of Caris was very sharply drawn, as was George. A novel well packed with contradictions; as is life - particularly in families. I was a little disappointed in the rapid and redemptive ending. The book reminded me of Kate Atkinson's 'Behind the scenes at the museum'
I enjoyed it ; clear prose and unaffected dialogue. I thought the character of Caris was very sharply drawn, as was George. A novel well packed with contradictions; as is life - particularly in families. I was a little disappointed in the rapid and redemptive ending. The book reminded me of Kate Atkinson's 'Behind the scenes at the museum'
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's rare finding these feel-good books, but here it is! Even if the subject - a family that falls apart when the mother goes to prison for a minor crime - is heavy, it's been treated in a very interesting way.
All the characters are being heard and Darling switches been the different view points very easily. She lets all the voices be heard without being judgmental. Everyone from the grandmother Nana Price to Abdul in the corner shop has something important to teach the reader. It's just a lovely read all in all, where you get an insight into a bunch of people all linked together.
What's really holding the story together is the tree of shoes, which has an impact on the whole community. It's the heart of the story. It's where the youngest daughter meets her dangerous boyfriend and where people end up when they need to reflect on something. It shows on the importance of going your own way, on acting on what you believe in.
The language just flows, the chapters are short with exactly the right descriptions that make you feel you are really there. What a shame that Julia Darling has passed away and won't be able to write any more books! I loved her first one "Crocodile soup" as well.
All the characters are being heard and Darling switches been the different view points very easily. She lets all the voices be heard without being judgmental. Everyone from the grandmother Nana Price to Abdul in the corner shop has something important to teach the reader. It's just a lovely read all in all, where you get an insight into a bunch of people all linked together.
What's really holding the story together is the tree of shoes, which has an impact on the whole community. It's the heart of the story. It's where the youngest daughter meets her dangerous boyfriend and where people end up when they need to reflect on something. It shows on the importance of going your own way, on acting on what you believe in.
The language just flows, the chapters are short with exactly the right descriptions that make you feel you are really there. What a shame that Julia Darling has passed away and won't be able to write any more books! I loved her first one "Crocodile soup" as well.
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