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A Tiny Bit Marvellous (2011)

by Dawn French

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
7235231,022 (3.06)27
This first novel by Dawn French is told through the eyes of a mother and her two teenage children. There's seventeen-year-old Dora, a stroppy teenager who's just come out of her first relationship (it lasted a whole six weeks) and who's longing to escape to university; her long-suffering mother, Mo, a child psychiatrist who's baffled by the antagonist behaviour of her children; and sixteen-year-old Peter, who prefers to be known as Oscar due to his obsession with Oscar Wilde. Written in diary format, with each chapter narrated by a different voice, this is a hilarious, sharp and utterly compelling novel about the ups and down of family, sibling rivalry and growing up. With each chapter told from the point of view of one character, Dawn French's witty and engaging novel offers us an honest and insightful account into the relationships between children and parents.… (more)
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» See also 27 mentions

English (48)  Dutch (4)  All languages (52)
Showing 1-5 of 48 (next | show all)
I really enjoyed this novel although it took me a little while to get into it. ( )
  Susan-Pearson | Feb 23, 2023 |
A bit of a romp with a family that was an entertaining read. There is plenty to enjoy, things to get annoyed about and some chuckles. Mum and the two teenagers have different chapters. Dad is only heard in one chapter, although often referred to. ( )
  CarolKub | Oct 1, 2022 |
As sweet and full of love as one of grandma's bannoffee pies. Same format as Oh Dear Silvia with multiple POVs. ( )
  Stephen.Lawton | Aug 7, 2021 |
I was rather surprised by this book. Initially I felt Dora was a touch too immature for an (almost) 18 yr old but I soon warmed to the charms of each character. I loved the irony of the parallels between the characters who each claimed to be misunderstood, and I loved Nanna Pamela for counselling them each with their own cake. ( )
  Vividrogers | Dec 20, 2020 |
Just awful ( )
  karenshann | Dec 31, 2019 |
Showing 1-5 of 48 (next | show all)
It’s all a bit unconvincing: Richard Curtis minus verve. Sprinkling Dora’s chapters with the phrase ‘so, like’ is so, like hardly Salinger, and a couple of references to Melanie Klein do not Mo a child-psychologist make. But French has such a tender and tolerant attitude towards the problems of growing up and growing old that this book just about deserves a pat and a biscuit.
added by ddematthews | editThe Spectator (Oct 23, 2010)
 
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Epigraph
Between yesterday and tomorrow
There is more, there is more than a day.
Between day and night, between black and white
There is more, there is more than grey.
Dedication
For the best mum. My mum. Roma.
First words
My mother is, like, a totally confirmed A-list bloody cocking minging arsehole cretin, cockhead of the highest order.
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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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This first novel by Dawn French is told through the eyes of a mother and her two teenage children. There's seventeen-year-old Dora, a stroppy teenager who's just come out of her first relationship (it lasted a whole six weeks) and who's longing to escape to university; her long-suffering mother, Mo, a child psychiatrist who's baffled by the antagonist behaviour of her children; and sixteen-year-old Peter, who prefers to be known as Oscar due to his obsession with Oscar Wilde. Written in diary format, with each chapter narrated by a different voice, this is a hilarious, sharp and utterly compelling novel about the ups and down of family, sibling rivalry and growing up. With each chapter told from the point of view of one character, Dawn French's witty and engaging novel offers us an honest and insightful account into the relationships between children and parents.

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Average: (3.06)
0.5 4
1 11
1.5 4
2 24
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Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141964448, 0141046341

 

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