The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett

...is a little jewel. In the two years since it was first published it has attracted almost universal critical acclaim and, for this reason I have been reluctant to review it because I seem to be rather out of step with the literati! For me this work may be a jewel but it’s one which fails to sparkle as brightly as I had hoped. It’s undoubtedly a great premise for a story. The Queen is walking her corgis in the Palace grounds when they scamper off ...
...the kitchen doors. Embarrassed by their bad behaviour Her Majesty goes in to apologise to the librarian. She considers it might appear rude to depart without borrowing a book but she is on unknown territory as “liking books was something she left to other people ... reading wasn’t doing and she was a doer” Therefore she seeks the advice of the librarian and the van’s only other occupant Seakins, a palace kitchen hand. Eventually she departs clutching ...

suesie 01.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett

As the Grand Old Man of British letters and unofficial Writer Laureate, it is fitting that Alan Bennett should have chosen the Queen as the subject of this story. Not that this is his first foray into royal subject-matter: the Madness of King George was a successful play and film. But George III is a dead and gone figure of history. The Queen is very much alive, and writing a fictional piece about a well known public figure is quite a different proposition. ...
...no more than appears on the dust jacket and summaries - is that the corgis wander off and the Queen, in hot pursuit, follows them into a mobile library parked at the back of the palace. Persuaded to borrow a book, one thing leads to another and she becomes an avid reader. It is the consequences of this new-found interest that form the focus of the story. The first scene of one and a half pages is worth quoting from as it sets the tone and lays the ...

Chouchinciao 04.08.2008 · Read full review
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Review of The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett

...his work until I read The Uncommon Reader, which is one of the latest books set for the reading group I go to monthly. Bennett has had a very distinguished career, as both a novelist and a playwright, but somehow I've never actually read anything by him. The Uncommon Reader is a novella of only 120 pages. It is a simple "what if" story - what would happen if the Queen, having come across a travelling library at the palace doors, became engrossed ...
...but that is the main premise of the story which is written in the blurb on the back of the book. She discovers the joys of reading, and how it can transport the reader elsewhere. Bennett has written a charming story which is easy to read and to engage with. His writing style is impeccable, and perfectly suited to his subject matter in the language he uses. The Queen is portrayed as an extremely intelligent woman who has had life dedicated to public ...

eilidhcatriona 12.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett

...imagines what would happen if the Queen became addicted to reading. One day the Queen follows her naughty corgis into one of the palace courtyards, where she stumbles upon the local mobile library. Popping in to apologise for all the noise, she meets Norman, a young red-haired kitchen boy with a passion for reading and a penchant for gay authors. She feels obliged to borrow a book from the van out of politeness, and quickly becomes hooked on reading. ...
...over England. But as the Queen becomes more and more devoted to her books, her devotion to her duties and to her country starts to suffer and the people around her begin to plot against her new hobby in an attempt to put her back in her rightful place as the monarch of the people... This is a charming look at the power of books and an interesting take on our enigmatic monarch. It is dry and witty, and bites all the right people in all the right ...

elliepotten 18.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett