brilliant!
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Quite different as no french connection. Terrific read. Ddin't see the "twist" coming!! Highly recommended.
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Best read this year
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Brilliantly written, you could feel yourself in the school amongst the teachers. The ever more dramatic twists and turns keep you on edge and the final surprise is utterly brilliant in conception. Having been initially unenthused by the subject matter, and really only reading the book as I came across it in a charity shop and had enjoyed 'Blackberry Wine' so much - I cannot remember enjoying a book this much in years. The only difficulty I had was remembering who all the various characters were, although wikipaedia does a good summary if you are easily confused, like me!
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A slow starter, but well-worth persevering with!
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I am a long-time fan of Joanne Harris' work, so when I picked up Gentlemen and Players I was certain I would find a book that was exciting and completely absorbing, and luckily, I was not disappointed.
Gentlemen and Players is a book told from the first person (in two characters), about a child who lives in the shadow of an imposing private school where their father is the porter. They attend the local comprehensive, and their childhood revolves around their fascination with and abhorrence of St Oswalds and what it stands for. The story is a little slow-starting (I actually stopped reading it the first time I tried), and it does jump from past-tense to present tense, and the point of view changes from the child to one of the teachers at the school, but once you have read a few chapters it becomes easy to determine who is speaking and when they are speaking of.
While I don't believe that Gentlemen and Players is Harris's best book (I throroughly recommend Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange), it is still a thrilling tale with interesting plot twists. Definitely worth a few hours of your time.
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No twist for me thanks!
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I absolutely loved reading this book, and was completely absorbed in the atmosphere and characters, yet found the twist to be unnecessary and bitterly disappointing... I felt the book was strong enough without it, and was added merely to flag up the skills of the author. "Oh look, I'm a writer, bet you didn't see this coming!" From then on, I felt the story lacked credibility, as I found the twist to be somewhat unbelievable, and felt cheated at having invested time in falling in love with decoy characters and themes.
I hadn't seen the twist coming, and wish it never had!
A fantastic read, although for me, spoiled towards the end. Perhaps if I read it again aware of what was actually the case, I would enjoy it once more.
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A great read
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I've long been a fan of Joanne Harris - I adored Chocolat, Blackberry Wine and Five Quarters of an Orange - but found myself flagging over Coastliners and her subsequent books, finding them tedious and just "more of the same". Nonetheless I read Gentlemen and Players because I know her to be a good writer. And I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed this one and have gone running out to buy "Lollipop Shoes" on the strength of it.. It was refreshingly different and I think it's a book that both men and women will enjoy. I found the twist not to be much of a twist - I guessed right at the beginning and then thought I must have got it wrong as the plot unfolded without further reference to it - but that didn't spoil what was an engrossing and exciting read. I would highly recommend this to new readers and to those who have become a little jaded with Ms Harris over recent years. It will restore your faith!
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