- Hardcover: 270 pages
- Publisher: ROMAN Books (22 July 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 938090505X
- ISBN-13: 978-9380905051
- Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.8 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 577,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Compelling . . . fulfilling read' --'The Bookseller'
'More than a journey, it is an experience' --Mary Wood, Author of 'An Unbreakable Bond'
'More than a journey, it is an experience' --Mary Wood, Author of 'An Unbreakable Bond'
Product Description
Alice loves to paint pictures of fish. Her only problem is her addiction to cakes and pastries. To feed this obsession, she steals . . . and to rid herself of her spoils, she makes herself sick. Stick thin, Alice puts her fragile mind into the care of a psychiatrist, Professor Lucas, and tries to learn the rules people should live by. But her recovery soon brings a new and dangerous addiction -- Brendan. As Alice struggles to cope with Brendan's violent outbursts, her dying father and poverty, she takes solace in her job at a massage parlour where she finds comfort with motherly Helen. But these are just temporary respites as her life with Brendan spirals downwards becoming a nightmarish maze.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From under the bed,
This review is from: From Under the Bed (Hardcover)
McClean has a fresh and individual voice and this is what makes this such a compelling read. She also has wit and is able to present the emotions and experiences of Alice in such a way that one is drawn into her world. Alice suffers from an eating disorder and has a dislocated sense of the world, her place in it, and how people interact. Despite this she has amazing strength in her ability to cope with daily life , less so in her relationship with the damaged Brendan. The writing is very expressive and McClean's poetic use of language is evident in the chapter headings, as is her painterly sensibility in descriptions of people,places and things. Her touch is light but the seriousness of the subject matter isn't disguised . A very good debut novel, I look forward to the next.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A-un-put-down-able-read,
By
This review is from: From Under the Bed (Hardcover)
This book is enthralling and different to anything I have ever read. It shows the reader the world through the eyes of a young artist who describes ordinary things as though they are part of a rich tapestry. For example: French Fondues become: `Rich sponge cubes with hats of sweet smelling fondant cream and coats of lemon.'Welcome to the world of Alice. Taking this journey with her I came to understand the crumbling, beautiful, vulnerable, talented Alice and experience what it is like to suffer anorexia. But the journey wasn't a harrowing one, rather an enlightening one, often a funny one, and yes, at times, a sad one. I experienced all of these emotions as the author pulled me in to Alice's life. Fiona McClean is an author who truly paints with words. Alice is different to others in how she reacts to situations, and how she interprets everything around her. Some people don't like different, they like `normal'. So, some of what happens to Alice did give me prickles of guilt as I woke up to how I may, unintentionally, have stepped on a butterfly, a fragile wisp of a person not as strong as me, not as practical, not seeing everything in the way everyone else does. When reading, 'From Under the Bed', be prepared, because you will love Alice and her hurts will become yours, but in the end you will have the satisfaction of knowing she won through and you will rejoice with her as she comes to know she is not a dustbin for everyone to fill with bits of themselves they don't like, but a unique and talented individual. I highly recommend this book to everyone, whatever genre they favour, because it is that rare find- a un-put-down-able-read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pictures from an exhibition,
By
This review is from: From Under the Bed (Hardcover)
Although I was avidly turning the pages of a book where words tumbled out on to paper, it seems to me that the story unfolds visually, rather like a whole exhibition of paintings, each scene having its colours, flavours and beauty. I liked the titles of the chapters, always well chosen. Sometimes I was thrown by the juxtaposition of strings of adjectives divided by commas; however each word is carefully selected from the palette of Alice's imagination then laid, as it were, on the canvas of the story. I couldn't put the book down and admit to shedding relieved tears at the end because of the way painting helps Alice more effectively than drugs or lovers! For a first novel I think it is a marvellous achievement and hope just the forerunner of other works. But please don't stop your painting!
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