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Liked It “Compelling metafiction that sandwiches a full 70 yo novel in the middle of a modern story which bookends the book. Meditates on modern and past concepts of illegitimacy and homosexuality. But the most interesting thing is how the modern protagonist references the one in the novel that she had...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Maybe it's my American need for a purpose, but I didn't get this novel. What was the point? It felt like it was leading up to something, but it never really did.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Maybe it's my American need for a purpose, but I didn't get this novel. What was the point? It felt like it was leading up to something, but it never really did. ”
Bob30 wrote this review Friday, April 19, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Compelling metafiction that sandwiches a full 70 yo novel in the middle of a modern story which bookends the book. Meditates on modern and past concepts of illegitimacy and homosexuality. But the most interesting thing is how the modern protagonist references the one in the novel that she had just been reading, into situations in her own life. Just like many of us (real readers) do. (B+)”
sunni1 wrote this review Monday, February 4, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The book's description doesn't really line up with what the book is about. It's just an ok plot to begin with & then after a few chapters in, they switch to an entirely new story. I stopped reading around page 80 when I realized that I really didn't care about any of the characters in either of the 2 plots. Not sure why this book was getting hyped up. ”
Liz Hoffman wrote this review Wednesday, January 16, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“a book framed with a book - the two stories paralleling each other. the framing story is about grace who inherits a victorian home along with her brother andrew and they both decide to move in together and then an author named james comes along and affects both lives. grace is also working on her thesis about unwed mothers and the persecution they faced in the past which comes into direct opposition with the beliefs and values of james who believes that nothing can come close to the persecution of gay men in the past. to avoid all this, grace dives into a manuscript - "the child's child" - about maud and jonathan an unwed sister and a gay brother around the time of world war 2 and the secrets they both keep and the violence that results. i must say that the framing story was boring and i was glad it was less than 1/4 of the book; whereas the inner novel was amazing, moving and really gets one to think about what tolerance is or rather isn't!”
Randy S wrote this review Monday, January 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very quick, but very absorbing and entertaining. The novel within the novel was actually better than the framing!”
Marie wrote this review Monday, January 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“got to page 77. will finish later”
Courtney F wrote this review Tuesday, January 8, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Synopsis from Amazon: From “unequivocally the most brilliant mystery writer of our time” (Patricia Cornwell), a new novel from Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine, about a brother and sister involved with the same man in contemporary London. When their grandmother dies, Grace and Andrew Easton inherit her sprawling, book-filled London home, Dinmont House. Rather than sell it, the adult siblings move in together, splitting the numerous bedrooms and studies. The arrangement is unusual, but ideal for the affectionate pair—until the day Andrew brings home a new boyfriend. A devilishly handsome novelist, James Derain resembles Cary Grant, but his strident comments about Grace’s doctoral thesis soon puncture the house’s idyllic atmosphere. When he and Andrew witness their friend’s murder outside a London nightclub, James begins to unravel, and what happens next will change the lives of everyone in the house. Just as turmoil sets in at Dinmont House, Grace escapes into reading a manuscript—a long-lost novel from 1951 called The Child’s Child —never published, due to its frank depictions of an unwed mother and a homosexual relationship. The book is the story of two siblings born a few years after World War One. This brother and sister, John and Maud, mirror the present-day Andrew and Grace: a homosexual brother and a sister carrying an illegitimate child. Acts of violence and sex will reverberate through their stories. The Child’s Child is an ingenious novel-within-a-novel about family, betrayal, and disgrace. A master of psychological suspense, Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, takes us where violence and social taboos collide. She shows how society’s treatment of those it once considered undesirable has changed—and how sometimes it hasn’t.”
Cynthia C wrote this review Monday, January 7, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book contains 2 stories with similar themes: the first one takes place in 2011 and the other one takes place starting in 1929 to the early 50s, I think. I liked reading the older story because it was an interesting study in how British society treated unwed mothers and gays but also I liked the character study of Maud. The newer story wasn't interesting to me and very far-fetched. Also, the ending of the book (which is the denouement of the more recent story) felt rushed and left me unsatisfied.”
N C wrote this review Saturday, January 5, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A great mystery writer whose books I have enjoyed in the past”
Suneeta Misra wrote this review Friday, January 4, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I am partial to all RR or BV books!”
Carole L H wrote this review Friday, January 4, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
