Tales of the Unexpected ...
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Gale carves up the Family Tree & puts it back together in ways that surprise to the last page. Much of this is achieved by exploiting the reader's prejudice about birth order & family relationships. Like mental judo, he probes for a weakness - and will throw you before you know it. If it seems improbable - it is!! If you're able to laugh at your own prejudice, you'll like this ... and it's great for existing fans of teasy, clever Gale. * OnlyMe reviews books from an Only-Child perspective.
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Tales of the unexpected ...
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Gale carves up the Family Tree & puts it back together in ways that surprise to the last page. Much of this is achieved by exploiting the reader's prejudice about birth order & family relationships. Like mental judo, he probes for a weakness - and will throw you before you know it. If it seems improbable - it is!! If you're able to laugh at your own prejudice, you'll like this ... and it's great for existing fans of teasy, clever Gale.
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Touching comedy - a family-centred Tales of the City
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I read this book recently on the strength of reading Gale's collection of short stories (a gift). The unlikely title and some of the plot-details on the cover may be off-putting to some. This would be a pity because Gale tells a story of many layers which succeeds because you actually care about nearly every character, and the intrigue of the plot as each character develops. (Yes the plot does depend on some unlikely coincidences, but by the time these are recognised, you don't really care, because of the way it works for the characters). At the end you understand the seemingly bizarre title, in fact the bittersweet conclusion left me a little moist-eyed. (Only Mark Helprin's books have done that to me before.)
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Disappointing compared with reviews in the press
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This was read by our book circle. We felt that the plot was too contrived and predictable and that the characters were more like caricatures than real people. If you suspend your sense of disbelief, you can enjoy the humour. From the opening, it could have made a good thriller, but the early promise wasn't fulfilled. Our overall judgement was that we wouldn't recommend this novel to those who are short of time to read.
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