Just the right blend of sentiment and wit...
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I absolutely loved this book - the setting, the humour, the insights into growing up in the late 1970's (which were absolutely spot-on). By turns, I found myself cringeing, laughing out loud and then moved to tears - it's quite something to achieve just the right blend of sentimentality without being schmaltzy, humour without being farcical and nostalgia without reading like just another "I Heart the 1970's" TV show. Brilliant.
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A great year relived
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Being about the same age as Rhona, I enjoyed reliving the feel of being a teenager in the late 70s. The level of detail is great, but although I'd recommend this book, I wouldn't say it's a gripping read: it took me several sessions to get through.
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"Let me play the fool....."
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This book tells the story of Rhona's life, aged 13-14, in a sleepy Scottish fishing town. Almost immediately it becomes impossible not to like Rhona; all her tales of the boys she kissed and the girls she wished she kissed are funny and entertaining, and she comes across as a harmless teenager who is trying her best to come to terms with her sexuality in a small town. However I felt that the real power of this book lay in Rhona's talent in capturing the warm, comfortable atmosphere of her family life. Adopted at two months by William and Jean Campbell, it's evident that Rhona's childhood was filled with love and security. I've just recently read Janet Street-Porter's childhood memoir and it was interesting to compare the two. Janet's resentment towards her family was so obvious that it overwhelmed the book a bit whereas in contrast the warmth and love Rhona experienced with her family gently seeped from her story, enabling the reader to create an image of a kid with the usual teenage issues (perhaps more than others as she was also struggling with her sexuality) who, always quietly in the background, had this solid, comfortable family unit nurturing and encouraging her. And this of course, makes what happens next even more tragic. I hope I'm not spoiling the tale for anyone (and it says this on the back of the book anyway) by saying that 1979 was an unforgettable year for Rhona for all the wrong reasons, as she lost her beloved dad during this year. Rhona's evocative and emotional memories of this incredibly difficult time are written with such pathos that I couldn't put the book down. She relates the tragedy from a teenager's perspective which enhances the sadness of this event and she describes her so loss so effectively and with such rawness that I found myself wincing with pain and sadness as I read it. Having lost my own father several years ago I empathised hugely with Rhona's loss and felt she articulated her feelings and emotions perfectly. My final comment about the book was that I felt the epilogue was perfect. I was hoping like mad that the story wouldn't end abruptly without finding out what happened to some of the characters, and all I'll say is that the final paragraph in her book was so moving and poignant that I was once again gulping away tears. I finished this book thinking how much I liked Rhona Cameron. Read this book and see what I mean - it's an absolutely wonderful offering from a warm and talented woman.
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A must for all early fortysomethings .......
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I've always liked Rhona Cameron, and we're the same age, so not getting this book wasn't an option. I was not disappointed and, although this is an awful cliche, I have never laughed so loudly nor cried so hard. The book focuses on one pivotal year in Ms Cameron's life. It is a moving, hilarious and gut wrenching account of how it was to be her. You don't have to be scottish, lesbian or even female to enjoy this book. Anyone who was in their early teens in the late seventies will find references which amuse and satisfy. The honesty with with the author describes her feelings toward her friends, enemies, teachers is glorious, awe inspiring, funny and yet heartbreaking. You know without a doubt that Rhona had no option but to be herself but it couldn't be without consequence. It's wonderful stuff from start to finish, but for me it was the way that Rhona had to deal with family tragedy at the age of 13 that I found so agonisingly moving. For me this part of the book was so raw,it allowed me to reach my own personal catharsis as I came to terms with a similar experience as an adult at the end of last year. To be allowed in to Ms Cameron's pain as she went through this as a child was a privelege and I thank her. Somewhere is this book is something for all of us in those things that affect and shape us in our teens which often stay with us throughout our adult lives and who need to laugh at life and at ourselves just because life is too short.
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