Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another absolute gem from the wonderful Tindal Street Press, 12 Dec 2001
Another gem from Tindal Street Press? Are Tindal Street the most underated book publishers on the planet? Wonderfully diverse, fascinating, hilarious and candid stories from the crème of the Midlands. Essential reading.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some Strong Voices But Overall A Disappointing Read, 18 Jan 2002
By A Customer
Sorry, but did those other reviewers read the same book as me? I found this collection of short stories bleak and depressing and, with the odd exception ('Letters A Yard', the first story, for example, which was very good), poorly written. Most of the writers were amateurs and it shows. They over-write, they state the obvious, they try oh-so-hard to be 'literary' and instead of showing us a 'snapshot' or a single poignant incident in a character's life, they pack their stories with enough people and events for an entire novel! Short stories are not supposed to be like this! Neither was there much wit or humour in these stories - with the exception of 'Three Days' by Pavan Deep Singh, which is set in the 70s and tells the story of 3 days one summer when a young boy's older cousin comes to stay with his family. That was simply told, with humour and warmth - it reminded me of Meera Syal's 'Anita And Me', which is one of my favourite books. But as for the rest... if you want to read about rape, murder, manslaughter, unhappy relationships and disfunctional families, then this is the book for you. But you have been warned....!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To all the big kids: take a break from little kid's stuff., 22 Mar 2002
By A Customer
If you feel like you want a respite from this Yuletide's sugary, over generous helpings of Harry Potter then read Whispers in the Walls. Whispers is a collection of short stories (perfect for bus or bath time reading) written by black and Asian authors. If you are looking for strong and moving yarns about family, love and life then Whispers is great. But you can also hear stories about the unqiue experiences of black and Asian people. Reading these tales for the first time I heard the whispers of ignorance and misinformation; whispers responding to this; or simply the private whispers of the stories protagonists.One such protagonist features in A Solitary Dance by Naylah Ahmed. A woman stands on the stairs of her empty family home, remembering her unhappy youth. Ahmed is spot on in her description of those acutely felt moments in a child's life when they become conscious of themselves and how they fit into the adult world. However, if you are reading this and asking yourself whether a) was I a hyper-sensitive child or what? or is that b) you led a blinkered youth, turn to Three Days written by Pavan Deep Singh. This humerous story fondly recalls those summer holidays when you thought that six weeks and the run of your street would go on forever. In it Jasvir comes to visit and upsets some of his younger cousin's street wisdom, whilst introducing a few home truths of his own. Finally, if you really have had enough of anyone approaching junior school age, then read Secrete Life written by Kwa'mboka. Definitely not a PG. Kwa'mboka's story about the first encounter and subsequent marraige of a young African girl called Venus to a white Daktari, deftly tackles some pretty sombre issues. These include rape, the motherhood resulting from that rape, ignorance informing innocence, and the effect of Venus' hate of the Daktari which is duped by her emotional reliance upon him. To finish, as someone who can dig, but now feels enougth already of big kids reading small kids' stuff: please read Whispers in the Walls instead.
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