Reviews

Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam

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leoniee_04's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

foggy_rosamund's review against another edition

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4.0

In 1906, Polly Flint's father leaves her in the care of two elderly aunts in a large house on a windswept coast. For the rest of her life, this house is central to Polly's existence. She compares herself to Robinson Crusoe, marooned in a house instead of on an island, and not entirely sure which century she belongs to. But Polly's life isn't static: she falls in love, she meets writers and artists, she takes in refugees, and her life is full of huge tragedies and small despairs. Polly is an utterly believable heroine, often acting against her own best interest, and yet trying her hardest. The world in which she lives is full of tragedies: the death of children, the loss of companionship, the loneliness of existence, and yet richly populated by literature, reading and the imagination. Friendship and love appear in unexpected places, and class or social barriers quickly break down. This a strange and moving book, with a strong narrative voice and a believable central character. Both deeply melancholy and strangely optimistic, I enjoyed it.

13alexandra13's review

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

ellemir's review against another edition

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3.0

Das Buch hat mich wirklich fasziniert - allerdings fand ich es nicht einfach zu lesen. Einige der Figuren bleiben eher rätselhaft, weil sie aus dem unzuverlässigen Blickwinkel einer kindlichen Erzählerin beschrieben werden, andere werden einfach zu knapp geschildert.

Ich werde sicher weitere Bücher der Autorin ausprobieren, allerdings habe ich mir von diesem echt mehr versprochen.

belovedsnail's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm giving this book 5 stars, but I am sure it is not really a perfect book. There are too many jagged edges for that. It punched a hole in me, however. I identified with Polly to the point where it hurt, even though our lives have been so different. There was something in her I recognised. If I had read it as a young woman, however, I am sure I would have pushed it away with horror. There is something in here about endings we can never imagine. Stories which never work out as we expect. Promise, unrealised dreams, alcohol. I have only read one other by Gardam before (Old Filth) and while I admired it, it did not have this impact.

bookpossum's review

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4.0

I have discovered Jane Gardam only relatively recently, and love her spare and elegant style.

I enjoyed this book very much. The young orphan cared for very kindly by her comparatively elderly aunts, who knows almost nothing of the real world and shares much of her life with her hero, Robinson Crusoe. Despite her reclusive life, it is for her full of rich incidents as she lives through most of the tumultuous 20th century.

Highly recommended.