A Stupid Boy - Jimmy Perry

Advantages: A stunningly good read and offers hope that life can be better
Disadvantages: Sad in places and extremely difficult to put down

...Written by William Horwood, best-selling author of the Duncton Wood Chronicles, The Boy With No Shoes is a memoir of the author’s childhood. The compelling story of five-year-old Jimmy Rova, continually rejected by his mother and bullied by his siblings, leads us through the trials and tribulations of his childhood. He has an unnatural love for his shoes, given to him by ‘The Man who was’, the loss of his shoes only deepening the yearning he has for ‘The Man who was’ to come back into his life whilst he tries to understand his mothers relationship with ‘The Man who wasn’t’. The arrival of his grandmother heralds the end of dark time for Jimmy when finally he has someone to listen to him, to be his friend and to love him. She encourages and inspires him to improve at school, without her help it is doubtful he would ever have... Read review

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Advantages: Beautifully written, moving, sharp and tormenting story.
Disadvantages: Slow in parts, not as comprehensive as an "auto-biography"

...and it is through these and the discovery of "tormentil" that he encounters the girl that will become his first love - Harriet. A loving grandmother enters into Jimmy's life and he has someone he can talk to, who listens to what he has to say and teaches him to listen to others. As he grows up his friends are adults - the bait digger and his wife "Mr & Mrs Bubbles" (who are childless) and "Freddie Hammel", the lifeboat man. Once considered somewhat "stupid" or slightly "backwards" it is Jimmy's granny, Mr Hammel and Mr Bubbles who teach him to belief in himself and get him to the stage where he makes it to grammar school. Once there, he encounters an incredibly awful teacher - Captain Flax, who makes it clear that he is expected to "fail". It is only at the start of O level years that a new English teacher starts and inspires the "Lower" boys... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Funny, romantic, easy-reading
Disadvantages: Could not find fault

..., or a high flying career woman with little time for anything else. Each in our own way, have often wondered at some stage whether we will ever truly meet Mr. Right. And whether that be due to a drought in our love life, or just because we haven't been looking in the right places, we contemplate our lack of admirers, questioning our life's direction. As with many of her books, Jenny Colgan addresses the predicament that many women have found themselves in, when looking for love, re-assessing their career path or general life-direction. But in the high-flying, unpredictable world of public relations, where time is as valuable as a pair of Jimmy Choos, and one of the largest cities in the world, how is one to go about the art of finding love? "Where Have All The Boys Gone?" follows Katie Watson's pursuit from the frenzied chaos of London... Read review

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