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Untold Stories (Hardcover)

by Alan Bennett (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; 1st edition (3 Oct 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571228305
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571228300
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.4 x 6.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 72,614 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #26 in  Books > Biography > Novelists, Poets & Playwrights > Playwrights
    #30 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Bennett, Alan

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Product Description

Sunday Telegraph, 25th September 2005
'Alan Bennett, with his combination of pitiless observation and gentle understatement, is perhaps the best-loved of English writers alive today.'

Daily Telegraph, 1st October 2005
'This thick book is so full of good things they could sell it for twice the price.'

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Laughter in the Confessional, 7 Mar 2007
By Eugene Onegin (Lincoln England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Untold Stories (Paperback)
If you know Alan Bennett's work through his plays or have enjoyed the memorable collection Writing Home in the 1990's, you might wonder what this current anthology has in store. Well the short answer is that it is the same only different. The customary Bennett humanity, acute observation, keen intelligence and wry humour are much in evidence in the diaries from 1996-2004 included here, and in several of the shorter book reviews and essays. However, it has to be said that this volume like the second set of Talking Heads takes on a much darker hue focussing on issues that the writer has only alluded to before. The first long piece is a detailed account of the mental illness suffered by his mother and aunt and pulls no punches in its depictions of the institutions they attended or the impact this had on the wider family and how their conditions indirectly led to the discovery of a family secret. Similarly, recent years have seen A.B becoming more relaxed about his sexuality and this comes over in the article Written on the Body and contented accounts of domestic bliss with partner Rupert. Then there is an increasing anger in his comments on social and political matters especially his bitter denunciation of the Iraq war. Finally there is his perceptive account of facing a life threatening battle with cancer where the title is instructive of his attitude- An Average Rock Bun. Yet even as the content becomes more hard-edged, the quality of the prose remains as pleasing as ever: Bennett remains the master of the telling phrase, his deployment of vocabulary always apposite. Consequently, we are offered a rounded portrait of this famously secretive man far more illuminating than Alexander Game's empty biography of a few years ago. Above all you will be delighted to know, Bennett is as funny as ever whether he is talking to the local coal merchant: `you're not a patch on your dad' or commenting on the men who changed a tyre in ten minutes: `I feel I want to ask them home so they can take charge of my life'. The key to the genius of Bennett is that so often you smile in recognition at the truth of his observations having seen similar yourself, only he expresses them twice as fluently and with three times the humour.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing and a joy to read, 3 April 2006
By A Customer
I'm not going to presume to comment at length on Alan Bennett's writing. "Untold Stories" is by turns extremely funny, deeply moving, courageous, uplifting, brilliantly observed, and a treasure trove of expert knowledge lightly told. It covers an astonishingly wide range of subject matter from the seemingly "trivial" (although of course in the hands of a writer like Bennett, trivial details can reveal a whole world), to the "serious" business of politics, culture, society and history. I have rated it four stars because at nearly 700 pages it is extremely long, so there were a few passages here and there that I could have done without (e.g. gardening never being a particular interest of mine). But for every entry on gardening there are a dozen pieces on films, theatre, architecture, art and so on that enthralled me, so I have no real right to complain. This is an extraordinary book and one that repays the effort of reading it a hundred times over. Finally, I'd like to say that I am astonished by the reviewer below who accuses the author of being a snob: if nothing else, Bennett's kindness and humanity shines through every page of "Untold Stories" as plain as day.
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140 of 149 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Untold Stories, 17 Oct 2005
By Book Fan (London) - See all my reviews
From the very second I began reading this book I knew I was about to embark on an incredible journey through the life of one of our greatest story-tellers. Alan Bennett certainly did not disappoint me. This is a moving, heart warming and humorous selection of his life. The fact the he believed he would not live to see the book published gives it a sense of humanity and realism that is evident throughout. A book not to be missed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly good
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of this book, where Bennett describes his upbringing and home life. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Book lover

5.0 out of 5 stars British Institution
Alan Bennett is one of Britain's most clever and witty authors and playwrites. His observations of ordinary British ways of life and the people who live these lives is amazing and... Read more
Published 28 days ago by G.E.Manton

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, shame about the typeface
It may seem a minor point but no reputable publisher should be allowed to get away with print this small - it's about half the size of 'Writing Home' and severely marred my... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. C. O. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Humour and insight
Alan Bennett is one of the great cornerstones of the arts in Britain and to read an autobiography is always going to be interesting and informative. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Redeye

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have read
I was hooked from the first page on this book which is brilliantly written, amazingly honest - almost too honest - and the sort of book that you think about on the way to work... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2007 by Waffle Merchant

4.0 out of 5 stars You won't regret it, but...
'Untold Stories' was the first book I have read by Alan Bennett, the seemingly ubiquitous Christmas billboard advertising prompting me to make the purchase that I would otherwise... Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2006 by Mr. S. Feller

3.0 out of 5 stars Untold stories, unfinished book
This book won't do anything to tarnish Alan Bennett's reputation as one of Britain's best writers, but it is only this reputation that allows him and his publisher to get away... Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2006 by Patrick Neylan

4.0 out of 5 stars Behind The Fringe
I am sure that if you crossed Larkin, Betjeman and Paddington bear (but from Leeds not Peru, naturally), you would probably end up with Alan Bennett. Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2006 by Mr. S. J. Wade

4.0 out of 5 stars Still in wonderful form
This is a splendid "annual" of occasional pieces, reviews, diaries, autobiography and musings on mortality. Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2006 by Ian Richardson

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the curate's egg
The major and best part of this book is autobiographical. There is the untold story of the Bennett family, working class West Riding with aspirations. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2006 by G. J. Weeks

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