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A Very Private Life (Flamingo)
  
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A Very Private Life (Flamingo) (Paperback)

by Michael Frayn (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Flamingo; New Ed edition (15 Nov 1984)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006540848
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006540847
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,573,602 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #99 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Frayn, Michael

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A strange and wonderful tale of teenage rebeilion, 18 Sep 2005
By Ian D. McArdell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Very Private Life (Paperback)
The story of Uncumber is one of teenage rebellion set in the far-flung future of humanity. As an Insider, she enjoys a life of cosseted privilege with her every need at the touch of a button. Humanity as withdrawn so much from human contact that even one's close relations are kept at distance and contact is maintained by hologram. Yet this life sits uneasy with Uncumber - her brother excels in his studies, takes the pills and follows the path expected of him whilst she yearns for romance, adventure and other old-fashioned and dangerous concepts. So when a chance encounter connects her with a kind faced stranger, she leaves the safety of her home and sets out find him amongst the outside world... and the outsiders.

Frayn's short novel (a mere 132 pages) is a well-imagined and realised world. I was sucked in immediately to the absorbing story of this girl, who seems to have been born out of time as she has the desires and yearnings of the 21st century in a time when such things are not the norm. The tale takes us on a ride into the underbelly of this society, looking at how the underclass that support this privileged existence live and hints as to how the two groups share an uneasy worlds. Original and thought provoking, it suggests how a reliance on technology and the continuing destruction of the environment may dictate a future for our species where we will cast off earthly pleasures and pains for a 'safer' life behind self-imposed walls.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Food for Thought, 15 May 2009
By Barney McGrew "Charlie" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: A Very Private Life (Paperback)
Really a novella rather than a full-blown novel, Frayn's study of a dystopian state where families are completely isolated from one another, only contact others via hologram, and take pills to keep calm, has clearly been influenced by the likes of Huxley's 'Brave New World', '1984', and Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale'. The intriguingly named 'Uncumber' breaks free and finds love; however, unused to the world outside she soon becomes disturbed, and begins to wonder whether she wasn't better-off as she was...
Powerful, original (despite its aforementioned influences), and unsettling; Frayn has produced a prophetic and challenging read, that takes the reader out of their comfort zone and gives plenty of food for thought.
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