The Boy Who Fell To Earth
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Review
`Kathy Lette can make even the toughest subjects funny. Romance and the more difficult shores of parenthood meld easily in this tender portrait of a deeply connected mother and son. Don't miss out on Lette's best book to date.' --The Lady
`A voice of truth behind the gags...This is writing that excels.' --The Independent
`A funny and moving tale.' --Daily Express
`A rather searing read...While this is a departure for Lette, best known for pun-tastic romantic comedies, she's managed to weld all this darkness to her usual glittering style with surprising success.' --Wendy Holden, Daily Mail
`Moving, funny and different.' --Woman & Home
`A voice of truth behind the gags...This is writing that excels.' --The Independent
`A funny and moving tale.' --Daily Express
`A rather searing read...While this is a departure for Lette, best known for pun-tastic romantic comedies, she's managed to weld all this darkness to her usual glittering style with surprising success.' --Wendy Holden, Daily Mail
`Moving, funny and different.' --Woman & Home
Book Description
Funny yet heartbreaking, witty and wise - this unputdownable, bittersweet novel about keeping your family together when your world is falling apart, is the wonderful Kathy Lette at her very, very best.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I haven't read a Kathy Lette book in years - maybe it's because her style grated on me during the 90s and early 00s, throughout my 'chick lit' phase if you like. Anyway, the opportunity arose for me to review her new book which concerned Lucy, a London-based secondary school teacher whose marriage to upper class/inherited wealth Tory MP collapsed when their strangely named son, Merlin, is diagnosed with autism at a very young age. Being a parent of an autistic son myself whose condition was picked up when he was two-and-a-half and formally diagnosed when he was four, Merlin's initial diagnosis seemed to occur when he was far too young - a baby - which I'm sure is pretty unusual. However Lette bases much of her findings on her personal experience of having a son with Asperger's, so I won't quibble too much.
As for the plot, well it's the classic 'single mother against the authorities' struggle which is sensitively told and heartfelt in many places. Frequent references to the adolescent and teenage Merlin being beaten up in urban London was upsetting for me to read and I kept finding that I had tears in my eyes - is this the life I envisage for my own son I wondered?
The classic chick lit love triangle as described in the blurb on the back of the book was, well, a bit boring. The character of Archie, Lucy's antipodean initial lodger and later lover was well rounded, as were her intrepid traveller mother and flight attendant sister, Phoebe. Lucy's ex-husband Jeremy seems to be portrayed as 'cad#2' and extracted directly from central casting as was the snooty Mother-in-Law.
Being bombarded by constant caustic one liners is wearing in a novel - I mean it's brilliant in a short story or article but I don't think it really suits a full length fiction format. Lette is undoubtedly a talented writer and celebrated wit - her appearances on chat shows have certainly proved this, however this book just falls a little flat for my tastes.
As for the plot, well it's the classic 'single mother against the authorities' struggle which is sensitively told and heartfelt in many places. Frequent references to the adolescent and teenage Merlin being beaten up in urban London was upsetting for me to read and I kept finding that I had tears in my eyes - is this the life I envisage for my own son I wondered?
The classic chick lit love triangle as described in the blurb on the back of the book was, well, a bit boring. The character of Archie, Lucy's antipodean initial lodger and later lover was well rounded, as were her intrepid traveller mother and flight attendant sister, Phoebe. Lucy's ex-husband Jeremy seems to be portrayed as 'cad#2' and extracted directly from central casting as was the snooty Mother-in-Law.
Being bombarded by constant caustic one liners is wearing in a novel - I mean it's brilliant in a short story or article but I don't think it really suits a full length fiction format. Lette is undoubtedly a talented writer and celebrated wit - her appearances on chat shows have certainly proved this, however this book just falls a little flat for my tastes.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Previously I have only read articles by Kathy Lette. Her writing style is electrically individual and unusual; the only other writer who comes close is Jilly Cooper with her multitude of loaded clichés and double entendres. Kathy enthusiastically makes them up; almost every paragraph has a freshly minted simile, everything is `like' some other mad/ funny idea. So for me, short articles and interviews are an easier way of enjoying her zany outlook and wise cracking way. A whole book full can be a little much, overly rich; the material comes over as more suited to a fast-talking stand up comedienne. I began to rather yearn for a simple, clear, ordinary sentence.
Merlin is a masterpiece. His unique utterings work perfectly. Kathy knows her subject, I have seen and heard her being interviewed about this her latest book, and bravely for the first time she openly explains that her own son Julius, 21, has Asperger's. Her `research material was in the bedroom next door'. `People with Asperger's have no filter - they say exactly what they're thinking' she tells us. From time to time I would say she does the same...
Life with him has been the ultimate parenting challenge so her writing has an impeccable source. He has read this book and champions it as a great way for others to learn to understand kids like him. So really ringing true, the golden thread of Merlin's story takes off, lifting the reader away from the cruder, obsessive behaviour displayed by his mother Lucy. Lucy, a teacher, has no chance of a boyfriend although she does try, sometimes hilariously. Lucy/Kathy's completely understandable anxiety and fraught overwrought love for a fine, `differently able' son offers an important insight into the way things are for such families. Kathy has used humour in the past to deflect the personal. Now she is opening up. And good for her.
For most of the book, Lucy is brittle, damaged and difficult. Her shallow husband Jeremy abandoned her within months of Merlin's diagnosis. He squeezes her alimony to the least possible contribution and flits off to the USA with his new girlfriend. Lucy relentlessly battles with educational and social services - authority - and makes your heart bleed for her. Her family support is intermittent; her mother gives all her time and love to lost causes all over the world, only helicoptering in occasionally to issue edicts about Lucy's love life. Her sister Polly is more reliable but her career as cabin crew takes her away. Polly is very sweet and kind, I liked her most of all. Jeremy's parents are just dreadful.
Eventually a surprising new helper, Archibald, an Aussie written again with authority, arrives to help and with Merlin reaching his teens things change. The book quickly moves on into quite amusing chick lit territory, still with the same sometimes overwhelming array of occasionally painful, mostly overwritten puns. Looking at Kathy's other 10 books I see that this is probably her most significant in that she has a personal account to offer. No bad thing to be able to laugh/cry along with her over the crazy things that happen - I realised that was a great coping strategy - reacting in apparently an over the top way somehow turned the whole experience into an entertaining enlightenment. There is a strong drama theme too. Overall I liked it a lot.
n.b. Kathy Lette has written reams of references to rude bits and graphic descriptions of love making often without the love part so this book could be described as x rated - unlike The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time which could be read by younger children.
p.s. another excellent read about this subject is House Rules by Jodi Picoult.
Merlin is a masterpiece. His unique utterings work perfectly. Kathy knows her subject, I have seen and heard her being interviewed about this her latest book, and bravely for the first time she openly explains that her own son Julius, 21, has Asperger's. Her `research material was in the bedroom next door'. `People with Asperger's have no filter - they say exactly what they're thinking' she tells us. From time to time I would say she does the same...
Life with him has been the ultimate parenting challenge so her writing has an impeccable source. He has read this book and champions it as a great way for others to learn to understand kids like him. So really ringing true, the golden thread of Merlin's story takes off, lifting the reader away from the cruder, obsessive behaviour displayed by his mother Lucy. Lucy, a teacher, has no chance of a boyfriend although she does try, sometimes hilariously. Lucy/Kathy's completely understandable anxiety and fraught overwrought love for a fine, `differently able' son offers an important insight into the way things are for such families. Kathy has used humour in the past to deflect the personal. Now she is opening up. And good for her.
For most of the book, Lucy is brittle, damaged and difficult. Her shallow husband Jeremy abandoned her within months of Merlin's diagnosis. He squeezes her alimony to the least possible contribution and flits off to the USA with his new girlfriend. Lucy relentlessly battles with educational and social services - authority - and makes your heart bleed for her. Her family support is intermittent; her mother gives all her time and love to lost causes all over the world, only helicoptering in occasionally to issue edicts about Lucy's love life. Her sister Polly is more reliable but her career as cabin crew takes her away. Polly is very sweet and kind, I liked her most of all. Jeremy's parents are just dreadful.
Eventually a surprising new helper, Archibald, an Aussie written again with authority, arrives to help and with Merlin reaching his teens things change. The book quickly moves on into quite amusing chick lit territory, still with the same sometimes overwhelming array of occasionally painful, mostly overwritten puns. Looking at Kathy's other 10 books I see that this is probably her most significant in that she has a personal account to offer. No bad thing to be able to laugh/cry along with her over the crazy things that happen - I realised that was a great coping strategy - reacting in apparently an over the top way somehow turned the whole experience into an entertaining enlightenment. There is a strong drama theme too. Overall I liked it a lot.
n.b. Kathy Lette has written reams of references to rude bits and graphic descriptions of love making often without the love part so this book could be described as x rated - unlike The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time which could be read by younger children.
p.s. another excellent read about this subject is House Rules by Jodi Picoult.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book shamelessly pretends to be about an autistic child, but in reality this is just a ploy to sell a novel about a single woman in her mid thirties shagging around to find "Mr Right". The middle section was so mind-numbing that I flicked through most of it. The writing style insults the reader's intelligence.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Shallow waste of paper
Not since The Bride Stripped Bare have I read a book that irritated me so much. All of the characters (with the possible exception of Merlin)are thoroughly unlikeable and have... Read more
Published 1 day ago by zannie
The complexities of Aspergers
I loved this book. It brought humour to my chaotic days and gave me another view about things to come, whilst raising my 2 ASD/Asperger boys. Read more
Published 2 days ago by A Williams
Merlin's marvelous mum
This book reads as little more than a very very extended "stand up" comedy routine from Australia's version of the Comedy Store. Read more
Published 6 days ago by David Spanswick
merlin
I've read all the books that Kathy wrote.I adore her style,her humor.This book is soo nice,beautifully written,on a very though theme,but very interesting,touching,real enjoy to... Read more
Published 9 days ago by vlatka
Erratic, humourous and a little mad!
Whenever Kathy Lette is on television I turn over or turn the volume down! I find her high energy and her voice grating but she can often be funny - It was for this reason that I... Read more
Published 12 days ago by S. A. Broadhurst
Annoying main character
I really wanted to like this book, I read an interiew with Kathy Lette just before it was released and I htought it sounded brilliant. Read more
Published 12 days ago by BookBliss
GOOD SUBJECT MATTER - DIFFICULT READ
This is the first book by Kathy Lette l have read - not knowing anything about autism l
was keen to find out about this condition. Read more
was keen to find out about this condition. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mrs. C. Swarfield
The Boy who Fell to earth
Just finished reading T.B.W.F.T.E. Found it tedious, self-indulgent, an exercise in clever-clever prose and an excuse for the author to titillate (perhaps) the reader. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Ilys
Great fun
This is basically your typical chick lit book, with a twist - that twist being Merlin. Merlin is autistic and quite the character. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Laura Smith
Enjoyable
This was an easy read that does convey something of the dramas of living with an autistic child. Despite the fact that I guessed where it was all going, I enjoyed the book and... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Cath B
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