Cider with Rosie (Essential Penguin): Amazon.co.uk: Laurie Lee: Books

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`Lee describes the rhythms of village life...so every smell and sensation of his Gloucestershire childhood comes alive'
--Daily Express --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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one of Susan Hampshire's `Six Best Books': `utterly charming'
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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32 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic memoir, 30 Mar 2006

By	Star_Sea "Xing" (Salisbury, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Although Laurie Lee preferred to write poetry, he is best known for his prose: the trilogy of memoirs he wrote late in his life. "Cider with Rosie" is the first, detailing his childhood from the time he moves into his Gloucestershire home to just before he leaves to seek his fortune. His prose is extremely lyrical, especially when describing nature, his beloved mother and his three older half-sisters. Apart from the quality of the writing, "Cider with Rosie" should be read for the poetic descriptions of an England with few motorcars "where the horse was still king", agricultural communities that were able to function independently and hardly any interference from "the outside world".

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long ago and far away, 23 Aug 2007

By	Bob Sherunkle (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cider with Rosie (Vintage classics) (Paperback)

"They said: `You're Laurie Lee, aren't you? Well just you sit there for the present.' I sat there all day but I never got it. I ain't going back there again." This is Laurie Lee's unforgettable description of his first day at school.

I have a special affection for this book, as my mother grew up in the Stroud area and was only two years younger than Laurie. Even if they didn't actually know each other, it is very likely that they met.

The story manages to be both lyrical and realistic. One minute it presents a childhood idyll, next you are faced with death - sometimes sad, sometimes brutal.

The core of the story is the life of Laurie's large and boisterous family, living in cheerful poverty in their Cotswold cottage, and above all his mercurial, warm-hearted mother (his father plays only a bit-part in events). "She was an artist, a light-giver, and an original, and she never for a moment knew it."

It is a common tendency to look back on the period of one's youth as a turning point in history, but when you read the last chapter you will understand Laurie's claim "The village had a few years left, the last of its thousand, and they passed almost without our knowing".

Rosie really did exist. Indeed, she outlived Laurie, and only three years ago she was interviewed by BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

There have been two excellent TV adaptations of the story. Unfortunately neither is currently available on DVD. (Correction August 2008 - the more recent version starring Juliet Stevenson is now available.)

The book is as golden as the cider of the title - read it and delight.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent, 20 April 2008

By	kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Cider with Rosie (Vintage classics) (Paperback)

This is a wonderfully told memoir of Lee's childhood in the remote Cotswold village of Stroud. He tells of how he grew up being raised in a one-parent family, his father having left them when he was just 3 years old. His mother believed for all of her life that one day her husband would return home to them, but sadly he never did. He used to send them a few pounds to support the home each week but Lee's life was one of poverty and hardship, yet he still took delight in many of the simple things in life. Lee's style of writing is beautifully descriptive and depicts a world before technology such as mobile phones and computers were even imagined. Sometimes funny, often sad, but extremely eloquently told, in this book Laurie Lee brings the distant past back to life and I highly recommend it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cider with Rosie

This book bubbles with life and interest. Wonderful writing depicting a family overflowing with love and vivacity.

Published 27 days ago by Mrs. Margaret Blackman

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical writing of the highest order
What can one say? If this isn't the best book about childhood ever written, I'd like to know what is. Five stars are not sufficient.

Published 4 months ago by Derek Massey

1.0 out of 5 stars Cider with Rosie
Beautiful story, wonderfully written. The condition of the book was disappointing. It was for a gift and I felt unable to give this book in the condition it was in.

Published 4 months ago by D. Evans

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent purchase.
I bought this old favourite to give a little later to my Grandaughter. The book was in very good condition ( considering the purchase price! Read more

Published 4 months ago by Toni Veronica Howells

5.0 out of 5 stars cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie is a very special book. I read it when I was seventeen, and reread it last month, when I'm 57! Read more

Published 6 months ago by Mr. A. Northcote-smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Cider With Rosie
Laurie Lee classic recounting tales of his childhood, youth etc in an illuminating manner. He writes very descriptively and the reader will be captivated.

Published 7 months ago by Mr. D. L. Reid

4.0 out of 5 stars Cider with Rosie - Play version
This is a drama version of the well loved story based on the life of Laurie Lee. A wonderful glimpse into the past when children played outside in fields all summer long :0)

Published 8 months ago by J. A. Johnston

5.0 out of 5 stars Startling imagery, beautiful prose.

A classic that really needs to be read by all who value quality writing.

Published 9 months ago by Mr. H. P. Durnall

5.0 out of 5 stars Cider with Rosie
No wonder Laurie Lee's autobiography received such acclaim. The story Begin's at the end of the 1st world war and is beautifully written. Read more

Published 9 months ago by D. Sivyer

5.0 out of 5 stars carved in stone
Somewhere in the Universe the words of this book are carved in stone, alongside Shakespeare's sonnets. It is shamelessly nostalgic and even heart-breaking. Read more

Published 12 months ago by J. F. POTTER

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	90% buy the item featured on this page: Cider with Rosie (Essential Penguin) 4.5 out of 5 stars (32)
	4% buy As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning 4.5 out of 5 stars (28) �5.48
	3% buy Red Sky at Sunrise: Cider with Rosie; as I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning; A Moment of War 4.9 out of 5 stars (7) �8.09
	1% buy Cider with Rosie �8.36

Cider with Rosie (Essential Penguin) (Hardcover)

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