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The Killing Jar [Paperback]

Nicola Monaghan
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

1 Mar 2007

Five-year-old Kerrie-Ann Hill has an unusual neighbour. Mrs Ivanovich collects butterflies and she shows Kerrie-Ann how to catch them, take care of them, and evenhow to kill them using a jar and some funny-smelling liquid. Kerrie-Ann loves looking at these beautiful, delicate creatures, and imagines them flying free...

This is Kerrie-Ann's story. She doesn't know who her father is, and her mother is a junkie. By the age of ten, she's selling drugs at school. By twelve, she's been beaten up by a customer, hidden stolen guns, done time in a girls' home, and already has a taste for whizz.

And then there's Mark - her only true friend and the one person she can trust. Their friendship turns into a powerful love and together they are invincible. But in their world it's easy to lose control. On the drug-riddled estate with an atmosphere as lethal as a killing jar, it seems that Kerrie-Ann doesn't stand a chance. Unless she can make use of what Mrs Ivanovich taught her all those years ago.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (1 Mar 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099496879
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099496878
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.9 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 174,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"Kerrie Ann's strident voice sounds authentic; her plight compelling and affecting" (Independent on Sunday )

"Monaghan's novel is direct and deceptively simple. In spite of the suffering there are surprising touches of humour and tenderness that bloom like flowers on asphalt" (Frank Egerton The Times )

"A shocking glimpse of Nottingham gangland" (Christina Patterson Independent )

"A powerful, loving and honest new voice" (A.L. Kennedy )

"A wonderful novel... I am full of admiration" (Alan Sillitoe )

Book Description

A shocking, vibrant, addictive story of a girl growing up on a drug-fuelled estate in Nottingham, from an exciting and explosvie new talent.

Winner of the Betty Trask Award and Author's Club First Novel Award.


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant! 8 Jun 2010
By Minx
Format:Paperback
This book leaves you thinking for a long time afterwards - always the sign of a good read. I think people who expect their reading material to deliver a large dose of syrup should try something a little less challenging to the emotions.
A gritty, sweaty-palmed, contemporary read that I have just completed for the second time.
Great writing Nicola, and now would you please give me something else to get my pointy teeth into!!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars erm... 28 Sep 2009
By kiwi
Format:Paperback
This Book really surprised me. To be honest I read it more out of necessity than genuine interest, and struggled initially because of the language used. If you are not from Nottingham or the surrounding area (which is most people) you may struggle to understand some of the terms used, and even then may struggle to get used to nicolas' writing style.

In case you want to know 'owt' about the story...
Basically it's about a girl on an estate growing up to become a drug dealer, before trying to run away from her life with all the money she's earned dealing (or 'summat'). Of course there's much more to it than that, but you get the general idea. The storyline itself is fairly compelling, and Kerrie-Ann herself seems to have a quite reflective (if not intelligent) stance on her situation.
A challenging but enjoyable read 7/10
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An unputdownable novel! 14 Oct 2011
By Vicky M
Format:Paperback
A shockingly vibrant and close-up look into Nottingham's drugs and crime scene, from the perspective of a young child. Growing up in Nottingham, Nicola is able to give detailed accounts of events you ouldn't make up. This one novel encaptures the life of Kerrie-Ann from the age of 5, out catching butterflies, to her late teens trying to escape from a violent drug fueled house. 'The killing Jar' allows the reader to get trapped in the mind of Kez and makes us see from her perspective. It shines a whole new lght on council estates and the people that live in them by almost justifying their actions and revealing that they too have moral standards. They may just be those of a girl who has been robbed of her innocence by age 10.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Killing Jar', with its colloquial language and indepth analysis of Nottingham, It was one book I never wanted to stop reading. The reader empathises with Kerrie-Ann, as although she has options, she doesn't know them and so is stuck with a violent addict, so in love with her it's dangerous. Will Kez ever escape this Killing Jar her life has become?
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Took me back to the rave scene! 28 May 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this and finished it in 2 sittings. I have ordered several books by the same author - which look equally as promising. I loved the references to the music and rave scene in the 90's - although my memories aren't quite as scary!! Great characters, great story and would recommend as a jolly good read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars great book 5 Jan 2010
Format:Paperback
This book was recommended to me by my son and I loved it so much we had it as my choice for the book club I belong to, which comprises of a mixed age group of females and all but one gave very positive feedback-we all come from Nottingham which probably influences us a little as it is written with a definite Nottingham dialect the story is gritty but very realistic and has very well observed characters-I just could not put it down, definitely my top book from last year
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Thums Up 4 Jan 2010
Format:Paperback
Althouh I live outside the UK, I could establish a relationship with the book. The story was naive and warm. Soon we can see the movie of that story. Preferably a film by Shane Meadows... p.s. : it's also one of the songs of Siouxsie & the Banshees :]
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent first novel 3 Feb 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. I work on the Nottingham estate where the story is set and I was fascinated to read about the area I cover in my working life. I was immediately gripped by the story, and was unable to stop reading until I finished it. It's very real and quite gruesome in parts. Not a book to read if you are looking for a roses round the door romantic read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Believe the hype, yo. 15 Oct 2011
By Cat
Format:Paperback
I live in Nottingham, and am familiar with many of the settings throughout the novel - so I started reading the Killing Jar with great interest. Admittedly, I read it out of necessity, but I'm so glad this book is part of my course, because otherwise I may never have come across it.

The Killing Jar is set in the 80s, in the Broxtowe estate, where drugs and violence are the norm. In the midst of this we have Kerrie-Ann, our protagonist, who we meet at the age of 5. We see her befriend her eccentric elderly neighbor to escape her junkie mother, her unstable home life, and the many 'uncles who her mother's bed. For Kerrie-Ann, childhood innocence is lost - she deals drugs at the age of 10, and has an abortion at 13. So much of what happens shocks, but the matter of fact way in which much of it is written is more inherently shocking and challenging. Nicola Monaghan's intricate knowledge of the area and lifestyle is evident, and gives Kerrie-Ann as a character so much depth and surprisingly likability that as a reader you are rooting for her and cannot stop reading until you know her fate.

What struck me is the way the author doesn't give the reader what they want, she gives them what they need: the truth. This is found especially in her burning and turbulent relationship with Mark, where we see the best and worst of humanity from both of them - a telling premise for the presentation of love throughout the novel.

In short, you should read this book. Not because of its gruesome details or the sex or the drugs or the crime or even the beautiful imagery. But because it is a novel about people, doing the best they can.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Drags you down
I read this for my book group. I would never have picked it up otherwise. Although well written and with a clear redemptive ending, I found it so depressing and I felt dragged... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Skaty Katie
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and odd read
It's a very odd novel with the theme of the Killing Jar that poisons the butterflies and bugs running throughout. Read more
Published 11 months ago by bethanchloe
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous!
Really enjoyed this, despite having little interest in East Mids dialect! Found it quite compelling and haunting. Can't help wondering what would become of Kerrie-Ann :)
Published 16 months ago by Mrs SW
3.0 out of 5 stars The Killing Jar
'The Killing Jar' by Nicola Monaghan, should have a warning to readers on the front cover - 'not for people of a weak disposition or those who are particularly squeamish. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Roisin
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read
A fast paced novel, showing the life of a young girl as she passes through the hardships and problems that some of the Nottingham city inhabitants may experience. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Abdul
5.0 out of 5 stars a unique insight
The Killing Jar is a unique novel that won't appeal to the masses. A unique insight into life on the Broxtowe estate, many more well-off Nottingham residents may find it hard to... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Zoe Cox
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Catch Butterflies
A gripping look into Nottingham's drug-fuelled underclass, Monaghan's debut novel "The Killing Jar" explores the exhilarating story of Kerri-ann, a girl whose life seems to have... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic debut!
When you are trapped in a killing jar, how can you possibly escape? This is one of the questions presented throughout Nicola Monaghan's stunning debut novel, a story about the loss... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Jack
4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyed it
In her thrilling debut, Nicola Managhan explores the themes of drugs, sex and violence in the working - class area of Nottingham. Read more
Published 20 months ago by blabla
4.0 out of 5 stars CHILLING.AMAZING.FRIGHTENING.TENDER.
Undertaking this book was something I had to do not something I wanted to do. However I decided regardless to if wanted to or not I would have to read it, and so, I gave it a... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Kez
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