Q: When is a novel not a novel? A: When it doesn't contain any characters
|
This fairly enjoyable comic novel may well contain nuts, but it doesn't contain any characters. I rattled through it in two days and even laughed OUT LOUD occasionally (the holy grail of comedy) but personally I prefer my novels with actual three-dimensional characters as opposed to paper-thin stereotypes. `May Contain Nuts' is basically one long, extended comedy sketch. If you want to know what it's about, think Catherine Tate as that uptight middle class mum who goes into meltdown when the breakfast eggs aren't organic.
True comedy has an undercurrent of intelligence sorely lacking here. If you actually need someone to point out to you that not all comprehensive schools are drug-fuelled dens of iniquity and not every black teenager is looking to mug you, then here's the book you've been waiting for. Well-paced and amusing but deeply, horribly patronizing.
|
|
Funny, but...
|
I'm a fan of John O'Farrell's incisive wit and social observation and very excited that this is being adapted for TV with Shirley Henderson in the signature role.
The book appears to be a satire of the "miracle cure/self-help" industry that exploits anxious parenting, and for that, I applaud it. But I do feel the need to point out that Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia (the third of which O'Farrell labels in inverted commas to imply it is a joke) are legitimate and have very real effects which need to be addressed...not by quackery but by recongition and sensible, practical support.
Like some other reviewers I also feel that some of his political arguments are a little too cut-and-dry. Whether or not a school is right for a child comes down to whether that child's particular strengths and weaknesses are recognised: On that measure, state and private schools that can fail equally.
|
|
|
Funny and optimistic, but ultimately far-fetched?
|
I have read a few of John O'Farrell's other works and had a rough idea what to expect, some social comment mixed with a good deal of clever humour and satire. And I did get this. The novel made me have a really good laugh from time to time, at the main character and first person narrator's (Alice Chaplin's) thoughts and behaviours in her attempts to give her children everything in life, and more. O'Farrell cleverly pokes fun at over-protective parents doing everything for their children and wrapping them in cotton wool, until these children aren't really experiencing the 'real world' as such. A humorous situation plays out, involving entrance exams for private secondary schools. The ultimate message is that a secondary school can be just as worthwhile if not more so than a private fee-paying school in producing a well-rounded, happy child, with other underlying messages to go with it.
A good quick entertaining and humorous read, with well-intentioned messages, even if they are really just a little bit on the idealistic side.
|
|
|
Beware of over anxious Parenting!
|
The time when our children are totally dependent on us is actually such a short phase of our lives.
At the time you think they will need you for ever, requiring us to make every decision in their young lives. Beware of overanxious parenting as it hinders your enjoyment, as seen in this satirical novel, which works so well because it is based on home truths!
Every second of the children's lives is run to a strict timetable with constant activities. Sadly this reflects today's society with many parents over obsessive behaviour with regards to their children's future. Unfortunately this method of parenting leads to stressed children.
Hilarious look at middle class pretension, however will reading this make those pushy parents think again? Sadly I doubt they will even read it!
May Contain Nuts is a very readable novel that will amuse all those interested in middle class snobbery and paranoid parents.
|
|
So True To Modern Life
|
|
I have just finished reading this book and I couldn't put it down. Although the characters were a little stereotypical, especially the frightful Ffion, I still laughed continually throughout the whole book. I thought the references to Ffion being like a fat walrus were hilarious. I can also relate to the food issues, ie: My little darling can't have that because it might contain nuts! Also the fact that their are some pushy middle class parents out there who do put the endearment "darling" into every sentence although it is clear that their children are definitely not little darlings! Readers can identify with a Ffion in their lives, we all know someone like her! Although the ending did seem a little rushed, I am glad that Alice finally saw sense and decided to send Molly to the local comprehensive. As Alice had cheated to get her daughter through the entrance exam it only seems fit that guilt got the better of her. I actually liked Alice as a character, I warmed to her as the book progressed as I realised the reasoning behind her determination to do what she thought was best for her child. I would have liked Ffion and her family to have had their comeuppance, though, to show her for what she is!
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada