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'One of the funniest books I've read in a long time' Time Out 'Temples of Delight is so readable, so full of incidental pleasures and curiosities, that one could easily overlook its terrifying honesty' Philip Hensher, Guardian 'Her characters are larger than life ... Temples of Delight shows how grief is implicit in joy. It makes you laugh and it moves you' Sunday Times 'Steel yourself for a baroque romance of untimely deaths, orphan babes, stolen novels, canny nuns and dark, forceful lovers' Company
Product Description
Jem is a joyful mystery to Alice. She is something to give thanks for. And when she disappears from Alice's life, as suddenly as she entered it, a whirl of glamour, subversion and literary references, Alice is left bereft. But then she meets Giovanni, presumptuous and hectoring, passionate and beautiful, who leads her back to her childhood friend and the mystery and chaos still surrounding her. Alice finds herself being seduced all over again
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First Sentence
JEM WAS a joyful mystery to Alice. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
JEM WAS a joyful mystery to Alice. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Why couldn't I have gone to school with Jem McCrail? She breezes in and out of Alice's life like an intelligent and stimulating whirlwind, and Alice, the ordinary, is never the same again.
Make no mistake, this IS a girls' school story - but in the modern idiom. The girls grow up and have families, feelings and characters. Alice's is very shallow, but Jem's is a vibrant foil. The pathetic Flora and her sad little family will make you sad, or angry - so will Alice's patronising teacher boyfriend! Then there is Alice's father, the north eastern building manager, who is lovely and a joy to encounter; he is refreshingly down-to-earth in Alice's world, which has been mixed into a frothy consistency by the arrival of Jem.
This is a lovely, lovely book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this quite a few years ago but it still stands out in my memory as one of the best novels I have ever read. It was warm, quirky and in parts hyserically funny. I recommended it to a few people, who also loved it. I had to 'rush out' and buy a more of Barbara Trapido after that, which I also enjoyed. But this, for me, is definitely her best.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This starts of a bit schoolgirlish but wow after a couple of chapters I was hooked. This is the second Trapido I have read now and will read more. Both have musical themes to them - The Travelling Hornplay quotes Schuberts Die schone Mullerin, words by William Muller as its chapter subtitles, and Temples of Delight uses Mozart's The Magic Flute. Not being a Classical fan didn't stop me enjoyed these immensely although I am sure someone who loved opera would get more out of the references than I did. The book was so good however that it made me go and borrow a copy of the Magic Flute!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
an enjoyable read, but not as good as The Travelling Hornplayer
This was a good read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as The Travelling Hornplayer which I really got engrossed in. Read more
Published 18 months ago by amapola
we--eird, but enjoyable
My first Trapido: a strange experience. Initially I was annoyed, found Jem insufferably precocious, Alice insipid. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2007 by Pentimenta
Incredible
Without doubt this is the best book I have ever read! I first read it a number of years ago and loved it, and it has remained at the top of my list ever since. Read more
Published on 22 May 2007 by Belle
Roland's no rat.
I felt that this book was rather weak. I first read Trapido's Frankie and Stankie a month ago, and found it fascinating,and also refreshing that a modern female author could write... Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2004 by "pinkywafer"
Glued to this book
This is the second time I have read this book and I am still enchanted by the freshness of the characters - the eccentric Jem, with her tall stories and her subsequent humility,... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2001
A well written book, with many twists.
I thought that this book was extremely well written. It captures the imagination, and keeps you in suspense, with a great many twists and turns in the plot throughout.
Published on 17 Aug 2001
A poetic, absorbing and immensely clever novel
This is a true masterpiece: a novel tracing the lives of two girls from school days to adulthood. The characterisation is flawless - the characters are vibrantly described,... Read more
Published on 25 Nov 1999
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