Stephanie Jane recenzis Thalidomide Kid de Kate, Rigby
An interesting and entertaining novel
4 steloj
Thalidomide Kid is the second of Kate Rigby's novels I have enjoyed reading (the first being Far From The Turquoise Room). Thalidomide Kid is set in the 1970s so about a decade before I was in my late-primary early-secondary school years, however a lot of the school and home situations reminded me of my own childhood. I also connected to Thalidomide Kid because a 'Thalidomide Man' lived along our road when I was growing up. I remember him being quite a bit older (although he couldn't have been That much older obviously and, like Daryl, his arms were very short. I didn't notice so much that he was different because, to my child's mind, he was normal for him, but I was absolutely fascinated by his adapted car!
The novel's atmosphere reminded me of David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. There are lots of nods to toys and fashions of the …
Thalidomide Kid is the second of Kate Rigby's novels I have enjoyed reading (the first being Far From The Turquoise Room). Thalidomide Kid is set in the 1970s so about a decade before I was in my late-primary early-secondary school years, however a lot of the school and home situations reminded me of my own childhood. I also connected to Thalidomide Kid because a 'Thalidomide Man' lived along our road when I was growing up. I remember him being quite a bit older (although he couldn't have been That much older obviously and, like Daryl, his arms were very short. I didn't notice so much that he was different because, to my child's mind, he was normal for him, but I was absolutely fascinated by his adapted car!
The novel's atmosphere reminded me of David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. There are lots of nods to toys and fashions of the era and Celia Burkett's family are certainly more affluent than mine. We were the McDougall's flour and Silver Spoon sugar strata. My Mum had a similar opinion of ITV programming though! I liked the portrayals of both Celia and Daryl, both of whom came across as likeable people with the touching naivete of youth. I appreciated seeing how they mature over the course of the story. I did feel that the pace dragged at times with excessive repetition slowing the story. Also I had expected from the title that Daryl would take the leading role, but we seemed to see more from Celia's perspective and that of her family which was a shame as Daryl's clan sounded like a right shower!
I think Rigby has penned a genuine and empathetic story in Thalidomide Kid. Its 1970s-era setting means various characters make a lot of spiteful and nasty comments concerning disability, race, sexuality and gender. These are of course shocking to read, but are authentic to the time and I didn't feel that Rigby ever glamorised or promoted such behaviours in her characters. Instead, in the case of disability sterotyping at least, we see Daryl rise above both his disability and the stigma of his family background. Thalidomide Kid felt to me like a positive portrayal as well as an interesting and entertaining novel.