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kingarooski's review against another edition
3.0
I like Jon McGregor's writing with its gentle pace and very human characters. This book was no different, taking me along for the ride. The pace was slow, but enjoyable and I really liked the exhibits at the start of each chapter. I really liked it all...except for the ending. I know I shouldn't expect that of Jon McGregor, but I was hoping for a resolution, something more solid and, dare I say it, happy. I felt that David Carter deserved more, something tangible after searching so long to find his birth mother.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
Last year I read Fingersmith and was astonished by the way the plot twisted upon itself with ever increasing complexity, with fantastically interesting characters and settings, until the giant twist near the end that turned the book on it's head. So I picked up Waters' newest, The Little Stranger, with certain expectations, which the book both met and ignored.
The Little Stranger is set in post-WWII Warwickshire, in one of those stately homes that are now all owned by the National Trust. The Hundreds has fallen on hard times, with not enough money or servants to keep the decaying house up. Dr. Faraday, a struggling GP, is called out there one day and meets the last of Ayres family and gets drawn into their struggles to keep their legacy. He becomes a family friend and a witness to their downfall, as each family member becomes sure there is something malevolent working through the house...
Waters is an amazing writer, able to do pretty much anything. Here, she develops a world in which the old hierarchies are crumbling, but the old class resentments remain. She writes in the voice of a doctor whose parents had to struggle to get him his education, who is all too aware that he lacks the connections of the other doctors and has been set apart from his working class roots. The menace rises slowly, and Waters takes her time to allow it to bubble to the surface naturally. This is a quieter book than Fingersmith, but no less rewarding.
The Little Stranger is set in post-WWII Warwickshire, in one of those stately homes that are now all owned by the National Trust. The Hundreds has fallen on hard times, with not enough money or servants to keep the decaying house up. Dr. Faraday, a struggling GP, is called out there one day and meets the last of Ayres family and gets drawn into their struggles to keep their legacy. He becomes a family friend and a witness to their downfall, as each family member becomes sure there is something malevolent working through the house...
Waters is an amazing writer, able to do pretty much anything. Here, she develops a world in which the old hierarchies are crumbling, but the old class resentments remain. She writes in the voice of a doctor whose parents had to struggle to get him his education, who is all too aware that he lacks the connections of the other doctors and has been set apart from his working class roots. The menace rises slowly, and Waters takes her time to allow it to bubble to the surface naturally. This is a quieter book than Fingersmith, but no less rewarding.
beth_pattison's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rosiefrog's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
spiderfelt's review against another edition
3.0
This was another difficult book to rate because the storytelling was very fine, but the story itself was not especially engaging. On a ten point scale, I would rate this a 7.It may be because I'm in the middle of listening to several books full of drama and action that I become spoiled to the subtle story. Jon McGregor crafts this tale with finesse and grace using several interesting devices to frame the narrative.
sarahmorecoffee's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't enjoy it as much as "If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things", but it is still a wonderful read. The pace and tone of the novel are understated and simple. It's a novel about the ordinary.
mazza57's review against another edition
5.0
I so loved this book which took a unique view through the narrative of one man's life. The use of memory and memento to colour in the important parts was innovative and really moving. The reader was taken from the 1940's to the present day through a complex interwoven storyline the features both truth and lies, the known and the unknown The writing was excellent a real triumph of a book.
frostblade's review against another edition
3.0
Prezentarile acestui roman se refera invariabil la faptul ca protagonistul, David Carter, afla printr-o intamplare despre faptul ca fusese adoptat, motiv pentru care porneste in cautarea mamei adevarate. Din fericire romanul nu este chiar atat de bidimensional. Autorul creeaza mai degraba o cronica a protagonistului sau si nu se plafoneaza pe o singura idee.
Ba mai mult, David Carter este un personaj minutios prezentat; pasiunea sa pentru istorie va avea de multe ori repercursiuni in viata sa de zi cu zi. Problemele si trairile sale par autentice, iar David devine si ramane un personaj interesant, cu toate ca are o serie de reactii ciudate in legatura cu aflarea adoptiei mentionate anterior.
Nu m-au impresionat insa atat de mult personajele feminine; am ramas cu senzatia ca Jon McGregor are tendinta de a crea personaje feminine vulnerabile, din varii motive.
Ceea ce mi-a placut insa la Atatea inceputuri este stilul. Scriitura lui McGregor este placuta, desi poate ca nu este tocmai spectaculoasa. Mi-au placut titlurile de capitole, care mentioneaza cate un obiect, precum si localizarea acestora in timp, trecerile de la o perioada la alta sau perspectiva cat se poate de vizuala a istoriei pe care o traieste David.
Ba mai mult, David Carter este un personaj minutios prezentat; pasiunea sa pentru istorie va avea de multe ori repercursiuni in viata sa de zi cu zi. Problemele si trairile sale par autentice, iar David devine si ramane un personaj interesant, cu toate ca are o serie de reactii ciudate in legatura cu aflarea adoptiei mentionate anterior.
Nu m-au impresionat insa atat de mult personajele feminine; am ramas cu senzatia ca Jon McGregor are tendinta de a crea personaje feminine vulnerabile, din varii motive.
Ceea ce mi-a placut insa la Atatea inceputuri este stilul. Scriitura lui McGregor este placuta, desi poate ca nu este tocmai spectaculoasa. Mi-au placut titlurile de capitole, care mentioneaza cate un obiect, precum si localizarea acestora in timp, trecerile de la o perioada la alta sau perspectiva cat se poate de vizuala a istoriei pe care o traieste David.
vgk's review against another edition
3.0
I was really blown away by McGregor's two other novels, 'Even the Dogs' and 'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things'. I thought they were both flawless books, with beautiful prose, inventive structures and styles, and sharp and compassionate observations. I would classify both books as more than just novels, I would classify them as art. After them, 'So Many Ways to Begin' was a bit disappointing. The beautiful prose is still present, as are the sharp and compassionate observations, but the story itself was lacking for me. Where his other books have you desperate to turn the page, to work out what the story is really about, this book's plot is obvious from the first pages. I also found I wasn't all that interested or involved with the characters. I could easily have put the book down and never picked it up again throughout it's entire length. In fact I would have, had I not been so impressed by his other books. It was an effort to read this, and I would be mortified if anybody read this first and consequently decided against reading his other novels. It isn't a bad book, it just doesn't live up to the quality of his other work in my opinion. Jon McGregor is a brilliant writer, this just isn't his finest work.
zoemig's review against another edition
4.0
"These things, the way they fall into place. The people we would be if these things were otherwise."
So Many Ways To Begin by Jon McGregor's second novel, the touching and complicated story of David Carter and the lives that are tangled into his. David is a collector of things, a man who dreamed of having his own museum since he was a little boy, who carried home rejected belongings from former bomb sites in England as his own pieces of history. Every object in David's collection tells a story, and So Many Ways To Begin is a collection of these stories, with each belonging being linked to a specific incident in David's life which is recalled throughout the book. After his increasingly senile Aunt Julia lets slip a family secret David is forced to reassess the history he thought he knew as he goes digging for what really happened. The story moves non-chronologically throughout time, as David marries his long-distance Scottish girlfriend Eleanor at a young age and eventually becomes a father. The novel is the result of a specific series of events which would have produced an entirely different outcome if anything had happened differently- but if it had McGregor wouldn't have had such a beautiful story to tell.
So Many Ways To Begin manages to be complex, told in little pieces which end up connecting into a beautiful and pure story. McGregor's writing is reserved and subtle, with a lyricalness and beauty infused in it. The novel flows with an elegance that is distinct and lovely. It is extremely difficult to capture what is so wonderful about So Many Ways To Begin because it is a novel which is unique, which manages to begin again and again, each time drawing the reader into a different time and giving them a taste of it before moving on and beginning again. In the end, McGregor tells a story with wisdom and grace far beyond what you would expect of such a young writer; So Many Ways To Begin is a novel with a deep soul and so many connections you can't help but become tangled in the beauty of them.****
So Many Ways To Begin by Jon McGregor's second novel, the touching and complicated story of David Carter and the lives that are tangled into his. David is a collector of things, a man who dreamed of having his own museum since he was a little boy, who carried home rejected belongings from former bomb sites in England as his own pieces of history. Every object in David's collection tells a story, and So Many Ways To Begin is a collection of these stories, with each belonging being linked to a specific incident in David's life which is recalled throughout the book. After his increasingly senile Aunt Julia lets slip a family secret David is forced to reassess the history he thought he knew as he goes digging for what really happened. The story moves non-chronologically throughout time, as David marries his long-distance Scottish girlfriend Eleanor at a young age and eventually becomes a father. The novel is the result of a specific series of events which would have produced an entirely different outcome if anything had happened differently- but if it had McGregor wouldn't have had such a beautiful story to tell.
So Many Ways To Begin manages to be complex, told in little pieces which end up connecting into a beautiful and pure story. McGregor's writing is reserved and subtle, with a lyricalness and beauty infused in it. The novel flows with an elegance that is distinct and lovely. It is extremely difficult to capture what is so wonderful about So Many Ways To Begin because it is a novel which is unique, which manages to begin again and again, each time drawing the reader into a different time and giving them a taste of it before moving on and beginning again. In the end, McGregor tells a story with wisdom and grace far beyond what you would expect of such a young writer; So Many Ways To Begin is a novel with a deep soul and so many connections you can't help but become tangled in the beauty of them.****