The Book Boy

A very short novella; only 94 pages, and the font isn't small. Still, Joanna Trollope creates believable characters, and a story of hope. Alice is the main protagonist; she's rather a down-trodden housewife with a somewhat controlling husband and two somewhat supercilious teenage children. She works as a cleaner, and has been saving a pound or two every week over several years...

Alice feels inferior because she never learned to read. She knows that people look down on her, including her family, and tries to keep this secret from as many people as possible. However, an unlikely, tattooed friend of her son guesses her secret... and is the catalyst for change.

The story was over almost before it had begun; the plot felt more like that of show more a short story, inevitable perhaps with a 'quick read'. But I found it interesting and am glad I read it. Three and a half stars would be a better rating. show less

This is an extremely eloquently written book about how it feels to one woman who is unable to read. Trollope has created a wonderful character in Alice, and got right inside her head to make the reader understand what it must be like to be unable to enjoy any form of reading. Alice overcomes not only her illiteracy, but also stands up against her bullying family in a manner that shocks them all, but gives her back her pride. It’s a beautifully written book and I highly recommend it.

This is a nice easy read. Literally, it isn't even 100 pages long!!
Alice is almost forty. She has a husband, a house, two children & a part time job. She ought to be happy... But she isn't. She feels she has vanished, like something down the back of the lounge. Alice has a secret that is never spoken of; she can't read. Now she is determined & she's found the strangest companion to help her.
And that's pretty much it! It's a very uplifting story (once you get past her hubby's mean dick-headish tendencies & her kid's lack of respect). It's the perfect book for those lazy arvos when you really can't be bothered doing anything except reading!

What if you couldn't read?
I have never read a 'Quick Read' novella before. They are published in large print, as part of a literacy programme that encourages non readers to discover the magic of reading. Apparently they are aimed at the one in six adults in the UK with reading difficulties, a frighteningly high number.
Dating back to 2006, there is now quite a number of titles available, penned by many well known authors.

Joanna Trollope's contribution centres around a mother/wife, who has never learned to read, it is her dirty secret and she is hugely embarrassed about it. The distressing aspect of this is that her husband chose her because he would therefore have power over her and her kids have adopted their father's lack of show more respect.

This is a book of empowerment and hopefully will help many non-readers to see a light at the end of the tunnel. show less

I liked this book. It was a quick read. At times funny, at times very sad.
What struck me most, was that it was a book of hope. A woman with two teenage children can't read meets a teenage boy, of whom everyone says he's good for nothing. Both of them want something and in the end they help each other achieve it.
Against the current that took them in the opposite direction for so long, they get together and surprise everyone around them.
Loved it!

I think I'll put this one in the book box that'll come my way shortly.

This is a book in the "quick read" series, written, apparently, for beginning adult readers.

The story is good, the writing is very simple - simple enough that to me it got in the way of the story. The book wasn't written for me, though, so that's okay.

Alice is a woman in an unhappy marriage, bullied by her husband and by herself because she can not read. When her son's "wrong-side-of-the-tracks" friend guesses her secret, she learns the truth about him as well, and finds a way to make him help her learn. In doing so she learns to respect him and herself.

Well, it absolutely was a quick read. I didn't really know what this was when I picked it up, but now I know that it's not for me! It was a nice enough little story about a working mother being taught to read by a friend of her son's, but these are designed for adults struggling with their reading, or looking to further develop their reading skills. Not so much for someone like me who is an obsessive reader. This took about 45 minutes to finish. Ah well, lesson learned.