Customer Reviews

Wicked!

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

I have just finished Wicked and feel like I have lost a close relative! The past few years books have been a bit average-Appassionata and Score e.t.c but Polo, Riders and Rivals are the best. For me this book was in the same league as them unputdownable, funny and well written-of course starring all the old favourites such as Rupert CB, and we get to see how Rannaldini's son has turned out, which is what made me pick it up to start with. I would reccommend it to any Jilly Cooper fan. Very exciting hope she does another like this.

Now, I'll make no bones about it: I'll read any Jilly Cooper that comes my way. I'm like a junkie needing a fix. However, despite enjoying 'Score' and 'Pandora', they didn't have quite the effect that their predecessors did, particularly my all-time fave 'Polo'.

Good god, I wondered - am I now that junkie for whom no high is great enough?? But then I got a hit of 'Wicked', which I so enjoyed from start to finish that I actually felt bereft when I had finished racing through it. Welcome back Rupert - plus a great new heroine, a hunk in shorts, some seriously stroppy teens, some very very daft puns, and a whole raft of loveable supporting characters who feel like pals by the end of the book!

It's not as perfect as 'Polo', and Rupert's getting on a bit now (though still the most ravishing man in literature), and I'd still like to see her go back to the equine world, but 'Wicked' is definitely the best thing I've read for a long long time.

So I say - "Go Coop!" and bring on the next one!!!

JC manages to hit the high notes once again with 'Wicked'; packed with controversy and witty one liners, I enjoyed every twist and turn. It did feel ever so slightly wrong reading about pupils sleeping with teachers but it's written in such a funny, lighthearted way that I managed to forget it was bordering on tasteless. Also, I was more than a little peeved that as far as I can recall there wasn't one remotely attractive teacher when I was at school, never mind a handful! I can see how the content may offend the faint hearted but surely this is JC's trademark style and I, for one, would expect nothing less - Frankly, you just dont sail through 1000 pages of a story unless the writing is brilliant. And it is. A fantastic romp of a read that will keep you thoroughly entertained on the beach or in the garden with a glass of Pimms...It certainly lives up to it's title!

I too, along with many others have been waiting many moons for the fab Jilly to lighten my life once again with her wonderous wit and words, so was delighted when entering an airport bookshop to discover that my holiday would be blessed with "Cooperisms" once again. To be honest, yes the thought of 12 - 14 year olds living the lives that were portrayed is generally disturbing, but at the end of the day, Jilly's books are for those of us who enjoy having our noses firmly pressed to the pages continuously for hours on end so that we can escape from our daily duties for a few minutes at least. I can say that I really enjoyed reading it, and all our teas' for a week were cooked one handed and one eyed so that I didn't have to put it down! It was great to have dear Taggie & Rupert, shame they weren't a little more heavily involved in the story line, but then they have had huge chunks of other books. Janna was great as was Emlyn, Hengist and all the kids. I look forward to Jilly's next volume and hopefully it won't be another 4 years to wait, but in the current climate of parental anxiety & protectiveness about paediphillia, especially within schools and institutions, a much more escapist plot would be a good idea.

I am a massive Jilly Cooper fan and in my eyes she can do no wrong, But.... Wicked just didn't hit the spot for me.

I agree with the other reviewers that it is difficult to enjoy the story when its largely about 12 - 13 year olds having sex, its just not fun to read even if it is true of today.

From another side I lent it to my 15 year old cousin who is not into reading and she loved it. She is now making her way through the Rutshire Chronicles, while Wicked is now working its was through her friends.

Perhaps to really love this book you need to still be at School!

I have just finished reading Wicked, which is classic Jilly Cooper! Great characters, and as always, amusingly written and absorbing. Feel bereft now that I've finished it. Am looking forward to the next book!

Just finished reading this book and I really enjoyed it. I have a been a long time fan of Jilly Cooper's books (I started with Rivals when I was fifteen - a book I highly recommend). The main characters are very human - sometimes entirely likeable and at other times seriously misguided. I adore the witty, sarcastic characters with seriously racy lifestyles! What I like best about this novel is Cooper's ability to build a whole society and large cast of characters and hang them all together. If you are a fan of Cooper's earlier books you will enjoy Wicked!. If you have not read this authors previous books, stick with it - the story is well worth the effort.

On a personal note as someone working in the education field, I appreciated the very true to life teaching staff (both the good and bad!) in the book and in particular a teacher who was constantly being corrected on their grammar - its the bane of my existence as you can probably see from this review....

I eagerly read this novel as an avid Jilly Cooper fan, but I have to admit this novel really disappointed me. What drew me to her earlier and best novels, notably Riders, Rivals, and Polo was her ability to create an entire world to absorb yourself in - incredibly wild but at the same time believable - and characters you'd love and hate in equal measures at the same time, along with plentiful helpings of raunchy sex scenes and agonising love stories.

Wicked just doesn't live up to these books. I found the story relatively tedious, and most of the characters, particularly the protagonist Janna, quite irritatings, without being loveable at the same time. It felt at times that it was verging on paedophilic, with the sex scenes described about children as young as 12. Additionally to that, it was just simply unrealistic. I couldn't believe in half the characters, which greatly reduced my enjoyment of it.

In summary, it is perfectly readable as any JC is, but I personally think it tries too hard to live up to its predecessors, and in doing so, crosses the line into the ridiculous.

I was so excited about receiving this novel! I love the continuity with the same old characters popping out. This novel is no exception, with Rupert and Taggie making appearences, and I loved Rupert's bet in this one to pass English Literature GCSE. (He then quite liked Jane Austen, and there is one part where he just wants to go and finish Emma, as he thinks Mrs Elton is as bad as Anthea Belvedon!)

Her heroine, Janna is a likable headmistress who really cares about her students at Larks Comp/High, and although some of the content is gritty, for example students who are beaten by their parents, forced to deal drugs and cut themselves, she has created the characters who you learn to love and you want them to do well. There is quite a lot of underage sex going on too, but which goes on at both schools, and thus reflects that it doesn't matter on your background!

There is also a lot of politics involved, as Janna is a staunch labour supporter, who then feels let down by the education system, and has a lot to do with the Conservative crowd who are involved with the Bagley Hall private school. It follows current affairs from the early 2000's with the Athen's Olympics and the ban on hunts.

I also liked meeting Xavier and Bianca Campbell-Black for the first time, and Dora Belvedon is a wonderful character. Her new kids from Larks High are fabulous too, and Paris, Graffi and Feral touch your heart when reading about their backgrounds and what they want to achieve.

All in all, it's a riotus novel, with realism of the education system, but with so many excellent chracters it will be the best summer novel and I recommend you take it on holiday with you! I shall certainly be re-reading it soon!

This is a jolly good read as long as you are open-minded. Don't be fooled into thinking it's just a hearty romp; it is, but pretty strong in parts.

Jilly Cooper tells a modern story in a classic way, that is, with the scope of a Victorian novel.

The story of two schools, state and private, struggling in the early twenty-first century could be a real bore, but the vast array of characters and fairly epic sweep of narrative prevents this.

Janna is a flawed woman: she is opinionated and has a short fuse, and she makes some really bad decisions when it comes to men. Affairs with two married man and an encounter with a deeply dodgy property developer make the reader long for her to get it right. She loves her failing school and is brilliant with her students and this aspect of her character is heartwarming - always good for a leading character.

The male characters, especially Hengist and Rupert, are not nearly as sympathetic. Likeable, yes, but majorly flawed: old hewn Tory males with glaring faults and a saving grace of humour. This is where Jilly Cooper is so good: she can make us accept with verve characters who behave in some very unacceptable ways.

The children are fabulous creations, especially Feral, Paris and Pearl. Pearl is an absolute gem (pun intended) with her talent for hair and makeup and her terribly damaged personality; she is a joy to read about.

There are some really "icky" aspects to this novel: underage sex and paedophilia to name but two. I have a very ambivalent attitude to Jilly Cooper when she strays into this kind of territory and she frequently infuriates me by the cavalier attitude she seems to put across. I can be very dubious about her apparent flippancy. Then, of course, she brings off a brilliant coup and I realise the shock of her tongue-in-cheek style describing disturbing things is exactly the way to make a reader pay attention rather than withdrawing to a safe mental distance. I grudgingly admire that because she often annoys me while she is writing in that way then finally redeems herself (I suppose I am just a reactionary!)

In some ways she reminds me of Dickens. The story rambles a bit, as if new adventures are tagged on as she thinks of them. the characters are myriad, some relatively "normal" and many grotesques to a greater or lesser degree, some are downright spine-tinglingly creepy and evil. The settings, too - the Shakespeare Estate is essentially the equivalent of "Oliver Twist's" East End of London. Many comparisons in setting and character can be made.

The book if probably 250 pages too long, or should have been written as two or three books chronicling the developing events and characters. It does actually feel finished about half way through, and then it goes on...

It reads as if developed through inspiration rather than planning, but it's commercial and fun, just the way Jilly Cooper fans like it.