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Precious Lives
 
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Precious Lives (Paperback)

by Margaret Forster (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Precious Lives + Good Wives?: Mary, Fanny, Jennie and Me, 1845-2001 + Private Papers
Price For All Three: £17.62

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Product details

  • Paperback: 232 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (1 Jul 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099275740
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099275749
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 12.9 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 213,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #22 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Forster, Margaret

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

In this sequel to her recent bestselling memoir, Hidden Lives, in which she told the story of the women in her family, the novelist and biographer Margaret Foster describes her father Arthur's life and death, structuring the narrative around the last six years of his life until his lingering death at the age of 96. As he begins to fail, Forster's beloved sister-in-law Marion is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Forster compares the fierce struggles both Arthur and Marion put up against the inevitable, marvelling at their tenacity in the face of extreme humiliation and suffering. As she puts it, "These have been two stories not of life but of dying", so this is anything but a sentimental account of death, about which Forster ponders bleakly and with a bracing philosophical clarity. She sifts through her memories of growing up in Carlisle and builds up an often comical portrait of an irascible, routine-obsessed working-class man, who works hard for his family, hates hospitals and is scornful of self-pity. Arthur is as vivid as any of her fictional characters and Forster's calm account of his last few months in a nursing home, unable to hold on to his fiercely-guarded independence, unable to enjoy the landscapes of his beloved Lake District, is both moving and--in terms of his courage--inspiring. --Emily Ormond --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Description

A follow-up to Margaret Forster's "Hidden Lives" (a family memoir of three generations of women), this account takes up the story of her gritty northern father. She looks back at his life and character, evoking incidents from her Cumbrian childhood, his working life and his stubborn old age.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Precious Lives
47% buy the item featured on this page:
Precious Lives 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read, 9 Oct 2000
By K. Williams "CrazyKat" (Bristol, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as I had not read anything by Margaret Forster before.

It is a wonderful, insightful book about the author's relationship with her Father and her sister-in-law Marion. It explores her Father's preoccupation with death and shares the harrowing death of Marion with immense compassion. Having been at my Father's side when he died, I sympathised with many of the emotions that Margaret felt as she shared Marion's final weeks and I was impressed at her honesty.

My Mother read this book before me, and it was she who tempted me to read this book. We shared the same thought that Margaret Forster is able to bring the mundaneness of her Father's day to life so that we were intrigued and fascinated by it.

I shall now read Hidden Lives and have a list of other titles by Margaret Forster all lined up to read, I hope they live up to expectations!

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Precious Lives - a captivating read., 26 April 2004
This book focuses on Margaret Foster's father and sister-in-law, and howboth they and their familes had to cope with their deaths.
It is aninteresting and funny read, (not at all morbid or depressing) and alsovery touching.
I would recomend this book to anyone, and if you havenever read Margaret Foster before, she is a great author. I love herstyle, it's so easy to read, and her subject matter is always reallyinteresting, with a mix of novels and non-fiction.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, 8 Nov 2009
By Gypsy (Yorkshire) - See all my reviews
Very interesting book. Takes me back to my younger days and the hard, difficult times for my parents, relations and friends. Nostalgic, very well written.
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