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Review
"Extraordinary.... Enemies might be real or they might be imagined, but what's absolutely true for Lawrence is his unshakable belief in the conspiracy of his and his mother's love." --"The Washington Post Book World"
"If you enjoyed "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time," definitely pick up "When We Were Romans,"" --"The St. Petersburg Times"
"How much Lawrence understands of his family's tribulations is the book's central, poignant mystery; the consummate artistry with which Kneale captures this child's voice, its chief pleasure." --"Entertainment Weekly"
"Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel." --"The Guardian"
"[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke . . . The heartbreak and triumph of "When We Were Romans "is that little Lawrence is the real thing." --"Literary Review"
"Matthew Kneale's lovely novel . . . is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humor and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums . . . the author has got inside a young, overburdened mind with convincing accuracy." --"Financial Times"
"The strength of Kneale's novel is not suspense but Lawrence's delicate sensibility . . . Lawrence's touchingly ingenuous language, his tetchy irritation with his baby sister, and his beleaguered optimism make him a genuinely affecting protagonist." --"Independent"
"Substantial and engaging . . .With consummate subtlety and sympathy, Kneale finds metaphorical hinges between the family's unfolding story and Lawrence's two intellectual interests-Roman emperors and astronomy." --"The Times"
"Lawrence's skillfulmaneuvering in a tricksy adult world is artfully depicted. His guileless voice only exacerbates the sense of dread, while its deceptive simplicity hides a chilling exploration of mental illness and maternal neglect." --"New Statesman"
"If you enjoyed "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time," definitely pick up "When We Were Romans,"" --"The St. Petersburg Times"
"How much Lawrence understands of his family's tribulations is the book's central, poignant mystery; the consummate artistry with which Kneale captures this child's voice, its chief pleasure." --"Entertainment Weekly"
"Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel." --"The Guardian"
"[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke . . . The heartbreak and triumph of "When We Were Romans "is that little Lawrence is the real thing." --"Literary Review"
"Matthew Kneale's lovely novel . . . is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humor and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums . . . the author has got inside a young, overburdened mind with convincing accuracy." --"Financial Times"
"The strength of Kneale's novel is not suspense but Lawrence's delicate sensibility . . . Lawrence's touchingly ingenuous language, his tetchy irritation with his baby sister, and his beleaguered optimism make him a genuinely affecting protagonist." --"Independent"
"Substantial and engaging . . .With consummate subtlety and sympathy, Kneale finds metaphorical hinges between the family's unfolding story and Lawrence's two intellectual interests-Roman emperors and astronomy." --"The Times"
"Lawrence's skillfulmaneuvering in a tricksy adult world is artfully depicted. His guileless voice only exacerbates the sense of dread, while its deceptive simplicity hides a chilling exploration of mental illness and maternal neglect." --"New Statesman"
Sunday Times Culture
'He communicates his young narrator's predicament with urgency, intimacy and unexpected poignancy.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The other reviewers have outlined the plot of this book so I won't, but I will say it was one of the most enjoyable - and at the same time sad - books I've read in a long time. Lawrence is the most delightful, credible narrator, and my heart was breaking for him as he tried to blot out his more serious concerns by resorting to childish tactics (like nagging his mother into buying him a remote control car that he didn't really want). His loyalty to his family, and his relationship with his charming little sister, and his hamster (for whose safety I feared throughout the book) are incredibly touching without ever being over-sentimental or mawkish. Like the previous reviewer, I didn't much like the end which is the only reason this hasn't got five stars. I thoroughly recommend it as an excellent, and not too demanding read.
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In Matthew Kneale's new novel, we are in the hands of Lawrence, a nine-year-old boy who at the beginning of the novel is living with his mother Hannah and younger sister Jemima. Father is in the background, muttered about darkly, feared and avoided and - so far as we can tell - the perpetrator of some unspeakable outrage. So much are the family in terror of him that they leave Britain and decamp for a time to Rome, where Hannah lived for a time in happier days. When not recounting their adventures in Rome with old friends, Lawrence occupies himself with stories about Roman emperors from his Horrible Histories book, or imparting information about every boy's favourite topic (after dinosaurs): outer space.
Lawrence's story is told with childlike energy and simplicity, not to mention an authentically lax grammar and spelling ("I had seen mum when she got worreid but I never saw her like this, this was worse. She just lay in bed looking up at the cieling with her eyes"). The book is even set in a slightly blocky, crude typeface. These are tools to be used sparingly, and fortunately Kneale never lets his creative use of language get in the way of the story. Even so, at first I thought we had another identikit child narrator, an affectless voice like Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke.
"We were coming back from the supermarket, we went to a further away one where we never went before so it would be all right, and it was an adventure mum said, we must be really quick, we must be like birds diving down and getting some food and flying away with it in their mouths."
And then I began to find myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading the book, and I realised that in its candid way, Lawrence's narrative had wormed its way rather deeper than I thought. And as I read on, and began to work out the truth of the story, his asides began to take on a deeper resonance. The Roman emperors, like the celestial bodies in the Milky Way and beyond, depicted how so much of our lives - and children's lives in particular - are dictated by forces outside our control.
"Sientists have known for ages that something terrible will happen to the sun. This is sad but there is nothing scientists can do, they can't stop it with any invention, even something really clever from the future, because the sun is too big you see, it will just happen anyway. ... But then scientists discovered a really good thing which is called gravitational lensing. ... Perhaps the scientists will see another planet with their gravitational lensing, it will be lovely and green, it will be beautiful. Then everybody will be all right after all. They will build a huge space craft and escape there before the sun goes out."
The story also reminds us that there was one thing even the richest and most powerful Roman emperor could not protect himself against. And the central revelation, while not entirely surprising, is plausible and gives the book a greater richness and depth. It makes you root for Lawrence and his family in a quite emotional way, and want everything to be OK for them, which is a simple achievement that many longer and denser books would struggle to manage.
Lawrence's story is told with childlike energy and simplicity, not to mention an authentically lax grammar and spelling ("I had seen mum when she got worreid but I never saw her like this, this was worse. She just lay in bed looking up at the cieling with her eyes"). The book is even set in a slightly blocky, crude typeface. These are tools to be used sparingly, and fortunately Kneale never lets his creative use of language get in the way of the story. Even so, at first I thought we had another identikit child narrator, an affectless voice like Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke.
"We were coming back from the supermarket, we went to a further away one where we never went before so it would be all right, and it was an adventure mum said, we must be really quick, we must be like birds diving down and getting some food and flying away with it in their mouths."
And then I began to find myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading the book, and I realised that in its candid way, Lawrence's narrative had wormed its way rather deeper than I thought. And as I read on, and began to work out the truth of the story, his asides began to take on a deeper resonance. The Roman emperors, like the celestial bodies in the Milky Way and beyond, depicted how so much of our lives - and children's lives in particular - are dictated by forces outside our control.
"Sientists have known for ages that something terrible will happen to the sun. This is sad but there is nothing scientists can do, they can't stop it with any invention, even something really clever from the future, because the sun is too big you see, it will just happen anyway. ... But then scientists discovered a really good thing which is called gravitational lensing. ... Perhaps the scientists will see another planet with their gravitational lensing, it will be lovely and green, it will be beautiful. Then everybody will be all right after all. They will build a huge space craft and escape there before the sun goes out."
The story also reminds us that there was one thing even the richest and most powerful Roman emperor could not protect himself against. And the central revelation, while not entirely surprising, is plausible and gives the book a greater richness and depth. It makes you root for Lawrence and his family in a quite emotional way, and want everything to be OK for them, which is a simple achievement that many longer and denser books would struggle to manage.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Very early in this novel the reader understands that something is not quite right. From the opening section the narrative is disturbing - it is told entirely by Lawrence, a boy somewhere between 8 or 9 (we are not given his age). He describes a shopping trip taken with his mother and younger sister as they rush out of the house and race pel-mel round a supermarket, cutting the time they have to be out of doors to a minimum. They are in hiding from their Dad, and one begins to dread the all-too common story of a family terrorised by a parent who is an abuser. This story is different from the usual, however, though the dread and worry about the children increases as events gather momentum.
They flee - to Rome. Mum has friends in Rome and some of them are helpful, if not always for the right reasons. Lawrence is an engaging narrator - an intelligent boy, worried that he will miss the tests coming up at school, but he cares meticulously for his hamster, Herman, and is variously impatient and solicitous with his sister, Jemima. The narrative is punctuated by Lawrence's thoughts on the nature of the universe, his readings from the Horrible Histories series of books and an obsession with Roman soldiers. The reader sees everything from his point of view and the novel sustains both the reader's alarm and worry for the children, whose parent is the only point of authority and love. That the parent in question is certainly not fully in charge of her own faculties soon becomes clear.
Building in suspense and culminating in a moment of high danger for Lawrence, this is an excellent read with an endearingly sympathetic main character.
They flee - to Rome. Mum has friends in Rome and some of them are helpful, if not always for the right reasons. Lawrence is an engaging narrator - an intelligent boy, worried that he will miss the tests coming up at school, but he cares meticulously for his hamster, Herman, and is variously impatient and solicitous with his sister, Jemima. The narrative is punctuated by Lawrence's thoughts on the nature of the universe, his readings from the Horrible Histories series of books and an obsession with Roman soldiers. The reader sees everything from his point of view and the novel sustains both the reader's alarm and worry for the children, whose parent is the only point of authority and love. That the parent in question is certainly not fully in charge of her own faculties soon becomes clear.
Building in suspense and culminating in a moment of high danger for Lawrence, this is an excellent read with an endearingly sympathetic main character.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dark, humorous, and perceptive.
Lawrence, who is about 7 years old, his younger sister, and his hamster are driven to Rome by his mother. Read more
Published 7 months ago by ADAM
Coping with Mum
The story is told by nine-year old Lawrence, in a delightfully convincing style (including spelling mistakes from time to time, especially when he hears French or Italian words). Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ralph Blumenau
Really enjoyable
This is a difficult feat to pull off - narration from a 7 to 9 year old but it is amazing how quickly one becomes used to the grammatical and spelling mistakes. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2010 by Sanderae
reluctant 5 stars
Just read this book and none of the reviews first, is what I would advocate.
Kneale is clearly a powerful craftsman (having read all that is available). Read more
Kneale is clearly a powerful craftsman (having read all that is available). Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2010 by Lancly
Stunning
This novel contains the best child narrative voice I think I've ever read. It's utterly true to life - unlike some of the contrived, twee or over-writerly attempts we see, even by... Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2009 by Mrs Gene Hunt
Well conjured family drama
Kneale paints a wonderfully real image of a very dysfunctional family, with the young son trying his best to hold it all together despite his tender age. Read more
Published on 11 July 2009 by Literature Lady
Disappointing
A rather dull book from a brilliant author. Nothing Matthew Kneale could write would be bad and this novel has some strong points, especially the children's voices. Read more
Published on 5 April 2009 by expatina
A Great Little Read
This book is not on the same magnificant scale as English Passengers, but still demonstrates Kneale's amazing ability to find different voices. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2008 by R. G. Mabbitt
Predictable & Underwhelming Book from a Great Author
Kneale's 2001 book, English Passengers, is one of the best books I've read in the last ten years, so when I saw he had a new novel out, I snapped it up immediately. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2008 by A. Ross
'Actually' - this was fab!
I loved this book. The voice of Lawrence is written very well... I loved the spelling mistakes, the way he says 'actually' in almost every sentence and that he gives animal... Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2008 by Donna Mcmanus
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