One need not be an Anglophile to enjoy the heroine’s London adventures, but it definitely adds to the overall experience.
An aspiring playwright, fresh out of college, moves to the city of her dreams in this debut novel.
After an inauspicious arrival, including delayed baggage, a sudden downpour, and cramped living quarters, Alexandra “Alex” Sinclair settles into a routine of sorts in London. Still, the Emory University graduate battles with occasional panic attacks as she navigates the ups and downs of living abroad, including an economical housing arrangement that sparks many complications. She hopes to deepen her relationship with her father, who returned to his native England after divorcing her mother many years ago. But Alex also desperately wants to make it on her own, without financial assistance from him, so she seeks employment opportunities that will allow her the flexibility to work on her writing projects. Eventually, she will face a blatant case of plagiarism and other acts of sabotage, so she is fortunate to rely on the support of relatives and friends, principally Lucy, a former online acquaintance, and Lucy’s sidekick, Freddie. They both share Alex’s obsessions with Doctor Who, Sherlock, and the like. Will Alex ultimately make some real progress with a love interest? Will her chief antagonist finally receive a richly deserved comeuppance? Undoubtedly, Middleton’s novel is a love letter to London. As such, it goes a bit overboard in its effusive style and passionate outbursts, but the underlying sentiment remains sweet and contagious. At times, the author is overly fond of clunky similes and unlikely coincidences. For instance, Alex’s accidental reunion with Lucy (with whom she had lost contact) is one of the plot mechanisms that strains credibility, though most of them involve her encounters with a potential suitor. Middleton sometimes risks venturing into the realm of torrid, bodice-ripping romance novels, as in this overwrought passage: “Friday’s kiss and the possibility of seeing him today kept her awake last night, teasing and tormenting her; the ache for him still constant, it warmed her like a fever that wouldn’t break.” Still, despite these minor drawbacks, chances are that even the most skeptical or cynical readers will surrender to the many delights of this compelling narrative. Prepare to be seduced by engaging characters, irresistible in their own quirky way, and transported by keen descriptions of the sights, sounds, and tastes of London (plus two side trips to Manchester).
One need not be an Anglophile to enjoy the heroine’s London adventures, but it definitely adds to the overall experience.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9952117-1-1
Page Count: 398
Publisher: Kirkwall Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
