Crazy as chocolate - Libroj.org

240 paĝoj

Lingvo: English

Eldonita je 6-a de novembro 2007 de Charnwood.

ISBN:: 978-1-84617-959-4
Numero OCLC:: 155687691

(1 recenzo)

'When I went off to college, I started telling people that my mother died in a car crash.' Ellie and Izzy have lived a crazy life, with a mother whom they adored, but who wasn't without problems. From long midnight baths, to dancing in the dark in the rain, to driving the family car straight into the lake, she's been a magic but maniacal figure, someone whose colourful stunts and bold lies have been the source of both pride and shame for the girls. Then, in March 1971, Izzy's mother locked herself in the garage and sat in a Dodge Dart with the engine running. Now, on the eve of her own 41st birthday, Izzy realises that she's about to reach an age her mother never got beyond and she's entering virgin time, the second half of a life her mother never knew. All she wants is a phone call …

'When I went off to college, I started telling people that my mother died in a car crash.' Ellie and Izzy have lived a crazy life, with a mother whom they adored, but who wasn't without problems. From long midnight baths, to dancing in the dark in the rain, to driving the family car straight into the lake, she's been a magic but maniacal figure, someone whose colourful stunts and bold lies have been the source of both pride and shame for the girls. Then, in March 1971, Izzy's mother locked herself in the garage and sat in a Dodge Dart with the engine running. Now, on the eve of her own 41st birthday, Izzy realises that she's about to reach an age her mother never got beyond and she's entering virgin time, the second half of a life her mother never knew. All she wants is a phone call from her father, and a simple 'Happy Birthday' from her sister, Ellie - a call from one sane sister to another. But she knows that isn't going to happen, for they're both flying out for an emotionally charged weekend visit and Izzy can't help feeling that she's still responsible, that there are apologies to be made. Surely now, she's at an age where a grown-up daughter can put things behind her? Spare and sweet, "Crazy As Chocolate" is an enchanting, involving novel of the acceptance and remembrance of familial madness set against an idyllic and wild childhood.

8 eldonoj

Stephanie Jane recenzis Crazy as Chocolate de Elisabeth Hyde

Surprisingly light read considering the topic

3 steloj

I was lucky to spot a '3 for 99p' book box outside AgeUK in Stokesley last week. I picked up two Anne Tyler paperbacks and this novel, Crazy As Chocolate by Elisabeth Hyde. Her previous bestseller, The Abortionist's Daughter, is one I'm sure I have read and enjoyed, but can't remember anything about it. Oops! Better check if I reviewed it on Goodreads!

In Crazy As Chocolate we meet Izzy who is about to celebrate her 41st birthday. She's only a year older than I am so I could identify with her. What we do not have in common though is a bipolar mother who committed suicide on her 41st birthday. Izzy is dreading the day, even more so when her plans for a quiet break with husband Gabe are disrupted by the last-minute arrival of her father, sister and niece. With this hothouse situation set up, Hyde explores both …

I was lucky to spot a '3 for 99p' book box outside AgeUK in Stokesley last week. I picked up two Anne Tyler paperbacks and this novel, Crazy As Chocolate by Elisabeth Hyde. Her previous bestseller, The Abortionist's Daughter, is one I'm sure I have read and enjoyed, but can't remember anything about it. Oops! Better check if I reviewed it on Goodreads!

In Crazy As Chocolate we meet Izzy who is about to celebrate her 41st birthday. She's only a year older than I am so I could identify with her. What we do not have in common though is a bipolar mother who committed suicide on her 41st birthday. Izzy is dreading the day, even more so when her plans for a quiet break with husband Gabe are disrupted by the last-minute arrival of her father, sister and niece. With this hothouse situation set up, Hyde explores both the adult recriminations over what happened 28 years ago and takes her readers back to when the sisters were children, viewing events through their eyes.

For such a potentially heavy subject, I felt this was a surprisingly light read. Izzy's sister, Ellie, is probably the most defined character and the absent mother, Mimi, is an ethereal presence. Father, Hugh, is a good creation as an elderly man but, again, came across hazily in the historical sections. Issues such as whether bipolar disorders are hereditary are touched upon and much is made of Izzy's childlessness although I didn't actually get a sense of longing from her which seemed to contradict the text. I did like Crazy As Chocolate as a diversion on a rainy day. It doesn't make heavy demands on its reader and is fairly short at 243 pages. I would be interested in deeper fiction on the same topic, but for 33p this book was fine.

Temoj

Suicide victims
Fiction
Family relationships
Mothers and daughters
Mothers
Death