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Glasshopper (Myriad Editions) (Paperback)

by Isabel Ashdown (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this book with Legend of a Suicide by David Vann

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  • This item: Glasshopper (Myriad Editions) by Isabel Ashdown

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Legend of a Suicide by David Vann

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

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Product details

  • Paperback: 344 pages
  • Publisher: Myriad Editions (17 Sep 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0954930975
  • ISBN-13: 978-0954930974
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,903 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

From the suburban disorder of 1980s southern England, 13-year-old Jake watches his world unravel as his father and older brother leave the family home and his mother increasingly finds solace in drink. Even as Jake outwardly shrugs off doubts about his paternity, the question hangs over him like an invisible spectre. A brilliantly structured novel, Glasshopper recreates the time and place of two childhoods and two marriages, evoking a poignant sense of home and family. A masterful debut, it celebrates the enduring optimism of youth, even in the face of tragedy.


About the Author

Isabel Ashdown left her senior management job in the cosmetics industry in order to write. In 2007 she graduated from Chichester University with a first class honours degree in Creative Writing, and received the Hugo Donnelly Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She went on to win the 2008 Mail on Sunday Novel Prize with an extract from Glasshopper. She is currently completing an MA in Creative Writing and working on her second novel.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Glasshopper (Myriad Editions)
89% buy the item featured on this page:
Glasshopper (Myriad Editions) 5.0 out of 5 stars (7)
£5.97
Legend of a Suicide
9% buy
Legend of a Suicide 4.4 out of 5 stars (7)
£4.79
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2% buy
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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully evocative tale, 5 Sep 2009
By Andy Dobson (Worthing, UK) - See all my reviews
Tell friends and family you have gone away, take the phone off the hook and be prepared to be completely immersed in the lives of Jake and Mary. I've just lost the last two days to this wonderful novel and I've loved every second of it.
Growing up on the south coast in the 1980s myself, this is one of the few books I've read that really captures the little details that make the area and the era so magical. This novel creates a real sense of place and time with settings almost as characterful as the two narrators themselves.
Writing with two voices is difficult to pull off, but the two lives are beautifully balanced. Mary, a life detached through alcohol, and her son Jake, struggling with the preoccupations of adolescence and a family that is frayed around the edges. Jake, in particular, really hit the spot with me, from his love of cold November days and Greek mythology, his thoughts on Joey Deacon and Thundercats, through to some moments of real heartbreak. All of this is beautifully conveyed by the author.
As you can probably tell, I adored this first novel and wait with eager anticipation for Ashdown's next.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow....what an amazing journey!, 17 Sep 2009
By Michelle Spirit "Michelle Spirit" (Sussex, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I heard the author of this book on our BBC radio station being interviewed on a show on which they were reviewing her book. It received their highest recommendation - higher than any other book on their show, so I recommended it for our book club as we're always looking for inspiration! Well what can I say that hasn't already been said. This is truely a stunning book. I read it in just three days. The story is so tragically normal it sometimes hurts to read it. The tiny details, metaphors and descriptions created an incredibly vivid picture of the characters and their entrapment in what many of us would consider a relatively normal life. I can't wait to talk to about it at our next book club meeting! More please!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars stunning debut, 15 Sep 2009
By J. Wilson (Horsham, West Sussex) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book is ALIVE. I read it in two days. When I finished Glasshopper, I wanted to climb into Jake's world, put an arm around his shoulders and make sure he was going to be alright. Jake is such an endearing character. His mother, Mary, is an alcoholic, and it would be easy to hate her for the way she neglects Jake and his brothers. But the sections written from Mary's point of view give an insight into her mood swings and her descent into alcoholism. Really, this book has everything: teenage angst, sex, sibling rivalry, the intricacies of the English class system. And humour, too. I would definitely recommend...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A page turning book
For me, a mother of teenagers in the eighties, this book captured so brilliantly the flavour of those times. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Mrs. Jane Helen German

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding new writer, get this book
From line one you are drawn into the world that Isabel Ashdown creates. The characters are so real and the dialogue is so convincing and she manages to weave a story with great... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Food Fanatic

5.0 out of 5 stars a brilliant book
A book that will take over your thoughts and become part of your life. not one wasted word, totally absorbing. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Ofarrell

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Novel!
This is a great novel. I should stress at the outset that I have no personal connection with the author whatsoever, so what I say is an objective assessment of the virtues of her... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bren Verrill

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