a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

Puzzled!, 18 Feb 2008
After reading all the reviews, I am confused. I listened to the Isis Audio CD of this novel and the story details seem different. The hero's name is Alexander/Alex with a Dutch surname (van ?) which I cannot remember now. Also the story has him being born in the early 1970s - not the 1950s to which some reviewers refer. Very odd. However, an enjoyable story.

Disappointing, 18 Aug 2007
I ordered the paperback in January but ended up cancelling my order after returning from the bookshop empty handed for several weeks. I finally found one copy in an airport bookshop in August. The reason I mention this is that the eight months wait left me with very high expectations (maybe impossibly high expectations?)

My initial disappointment was that it was only 189 pages. Although it was important for Jeremy to get across how difficult and frustrating his search for his mother was, I found the granula detail of the research tedious. There are several mentions of an infamous character living in London at that time, which lead the reader to make a connection.

Photographs would have helped me to identify with the characters and places a little more. I really wanted to like this book - it was a great subject and someone's remarkable life story - but it didn't play on my mind at all after I had read it, which sadly makes it very forgetable.


Dull and chaotic, 20 Mar 2007
Here was an opportunity to write a slightly different book on adoption and the members of this exclusive club.The triangle in social worker speak.As an adoptee myself I expected to identify in some way with Jeremy....unfortunately the book was written in a haphazard ,rather disjointed style and made it hard to follow in places.It switched from one family to another without warning and was filled with Jeremy's ad lib thoughts and ponderings that appeared to be part of the discovery until you realised he was just hypothesising .An overly self indulgent book which left me disappointed and wary of reading further adoption books.

An emotive and topical issue, 11 Mar 2007
Adoption and the search for birth mothers is very topical at the moment and there are a lot of books on the market dealing with this sensitive subject. Jeremy Harding's deeply personal and moving journey towards his nirvana of 'truth' is a variation on a theme of discovery and loss, of sweet realisation and bitter regret. But his quest to find his birth mother is a by-line for another voyage of discovery: his adoptive parents are as unknown to him as his birth mother and in his voyage into his fifties childhood, and his attempts to make sense of his place in the world, Harding discovers more than he is perhaps prepared to accept. This is a remarkable, affecting account that will leave lingering emotions long after the last page has been turned. I am recommending it to my half-sister, who was adopted at birth and who has only just discovered her birth family (our mother and my five siblings) at the age of 47.

Mother Country, 16 Jun 2005
I have never read a book by Purves before but boy was I in for a treat. Once I started reading the book, I just could not put it down. One chapter lead to another chapter and before I knew it the book had come to a poignant and satisfying conclusion. Obviously, having not read any books by this author before, I did not know what to expect. The book took an unexpected twist in the middle and continued to keep the reader absorbed until the very last page. This is the best book I've read in ages and I will certainly be reading more of Purves work.

Henry James's 1898 novella In the Cage (written in the same year as the more well-known The Turn of the Screw) is a sly, slight, vaguely sentimental work but one that acts as a fine introduction to this most convoluted of writers. Exact ("exacting" yet with a pointillist's precision) is the word most often used to describe James's prose but very often the modern reader will find his hesitant, pedantic, clause-heavy sentences difficult to follow, overlong and tortuously complex. But the key to reading and enjoying James is in succumbing to those very sentences, allowing his perfect ear and fine metre to establish its own rhythm, letting it guide one's response to his beautiful, matchless use of language.

In the Cage tells the story of a young women, the "betrothed of Mr Mudge", who works at a post-office counter sending telegrams mostly from the "idle rich" to their fellows to arrange their meetings, parties and other affairs. Concerned, as ever, with the plight of the not so well-to-do--and particularly the role and circumstances of women--James finely delineates our heroine's increasing preoccupation with Captain Everard for whom she sends a considerable number of messages and about whom she has increasingly warm thoughts: "people of her sort... didn't count as infidelity, counted only as something else: she might have been curious, since it came to that, to see exactly as what".

Caught between the modern (this is a tale of communications as well as of communication) and the Victorian (this is a tale of manners and repression; class and its debilitating strictures) In the Cage may well be James-lite but it is not any the less charming, compelling, wry and intelligent for that; and this ultimately very amusing book is a wonderful gift for the right kind of reader. --Mark Thwaite

a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

Puzzled!, 18 Feb 2008
After reading all the reviews, I am confused. I listened to the Isis Audio CD of this novel and the story details seem different. The hero's name is Alexander/Alex with a Dutch surname (van ?) which I cannot remember now. Also the story has him being born in the early 1970s - not the 1950s to which some reviewers refer. Very odd. However, an enjoyable story.

Disappointing, 18 Aug 2007
I ordered the paperback in January but ended up cancelling my order after returning from the bookshop empty handed for several weeks. I finally found one copy in an airport bookshop in August. The reason I mention this is that the eight months wait left me with very high expectations (maybe impossibly high expectations?)

My initial disappointment was that it was only 189 pages. Although it was important for Jeremy to get across how difficult and frustrating his search for his mother was, I found the granula detail of the research tedious. There are several mentions of an infamous character living in London at that time, which lead the reader to make a connection.

Photographs would have helped me to identify with the characters and places a little more. I really wanted to like this book - it was a great subject and someone's remarkable life story - but it didn't play on my mind at all after I had read it, which sadly makes it very forgetable.


Dull and chaotic, 20 Mar 2007
Here was an opportunity to write a slightly different book on adoption and the members of this exclusive club.The triangle in social worker speak.As an adoptee myself I expected to identify in some way with Jeremy....unfortunately the book was written in a haphazard ,rather disjointed style and made it hard to follow in places.It switched from one family to another without warning and was filled with Jeremy's ad lib thoughts and ponderings that appeared to be part of the discovery until you realised he was just hypothesising .An overly self indulgent book which left me disappointed and wary of reading further adoption books.

An emotive and topical issue, 11 Mar 2007
Adoption and the search for birth mothers is very topical at the moment and there are a lot of books on the market dealing with this sensitive subject. Jeremy Harding's deeply personal and moving journey towards his nirvana of 'truth' is a variation on a theme of discovery and loss, of sweet realisation and bitter regret. But his quest to find his birth mother is a by-line for another voyage of discovery: his adoptive parents are as unknown to him as his birth mother and in his voyage into his fifties childhood, and his attempts to make sense of his place in the world, Harding discovers more than he is perhaps prepared to accept. This is a remarkable, affecting account that will leave lingering emotions long after the last page has been turned. I am recommending it to my half-sister, who was adopted at birth and who has only just discovered her birth family (our mother and my five siblings) at the age of 47.

Mother Country, 16 Jun 2005
I have never read a book by Purves before but boy was I in for a treat. Once I started reading the book, I just could not put it down. One chapter lead to another chapter and before I knew it the book had come to a poignant and satisfying conclusion. Obviously, having not read any books by this author before, I did not know what to expect. The book took an unexpected twist in the middle and continued to keep the reader absorbed until the very last page. This is the best book I've read in ages and I will certainly be reading more of Purves work.

Members of a collapsing family seek to rebuild themselves, 26 Nov 2001
At first I didn't enjoy this one as much as Libby Purves' other novels but as always she raises issues and points with very believable characters. The desperate current of underlying sadness in the lives of all the protagonists is heartbreaking and the resolution is not particularly satisfying: which is just like life. I like Libby Purves for her refusal to neatly end her stories: always you are left wondering what happened next. True, this novel (more than the others) has striven for a hard-edged contemporary feel but the feelings expressed by all the characters are timeless and the reader can easily empathise.

Sounds good on paper but ..., 22 Feb 2001
I usually quite enjoy Libby Purve's writing but I thought this book was her poorest so far. (I enjoyed "More lives than one" the best). Somehow I never really felt involved in it the way I have in her previous books - the adult characters seemed so cold and self absorbed and the one child Zachary, was portrayed in a very unrealistic way. (He doesn't mind losing the stability of home and parents and his attitude to his brother Danny's big secret is - well - probably a bit idealistic - children are generally very conventional little people!)

Ms Purves also seems to be striving for a contemporary year-2000 feel - the Tracey Emin-type daughter the son who is a dot-com millionaire - but this actually makes the novel feel somewhat dated in 2001. In my opinion the novel's central emotional focus should the relationship between Roy, Helen and their children - especially Zachary - but the family quickly disintegrates and the later reconcilation between Roy and his older children is meaningless and shallow. It seems that Libby Purves was aiming at social comedy (to go by the cover of the novel) which I suppose is a critic's way of saying the novel starts out with realistic characters with an identificable lifestyle only to degenerate into a farce with more and more eccentric characters being introduced who succeed only in irritating the reader and distracting from what should be the central focus of the book.

An emotional tale for our times., 08 Jan 2001
I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an ounce of humanity in them. It is an extraordinary story of a dysfunctional family, told from each members' perspective. In particular, the youngest child's determination to discover the truth about one his siblings, who ran away from home at 16. The parents never even speak the missing child's name. To reveal any more of the story would be to spoil it for the reader. Libby Purves takes us on an emotional journey, full of pathos, humour, sadness and joy - be sure to have a box of tissues handy!

Perhaps most importantly, this book may come to be regarded as a milestone in people's increasing understanding and tolerance of those who happen to be different. It probably would not have been published even a few years ago, an encouraging sign that society is moving towards a time when it will truly "celebrate diversity".

a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

Puzzled!, 18 Feb 2008
After reading all the reviews, I am confused. I listened to the Isis Audio CD of this novel and the story details seem different. The hero's name is Alexander/Alex with a Dutch surname (van ?) which I cannot remember now. Also the story has him being born in the early 1970s - not the 1950s to which some reviewers refer. Very odd. However, an enjoyable story.

Disappointing, 18 Aug 2007
I ordered the paperback in January but ended up cancelling my order after returning from the bookshop empty handed for several weeks. I finally found one copy in an airport bookshop in August. The reason I mention this is that the eight months wait left me with very high expectations (maybe impossibly high expectations?)

My initial disappointment was that it was only 189 pages. Although it was important for Jeremy to get across how difficult and frustrating his search for his mother was, I found the granula detail of the research tedious. There are several mentions of an infamous character living in London at that time, which lead the reader to make a connection.

Photographs would have helped me to identify with the characters and places a little more. I really wanted to like this book - it was a great subject and someone's remarkable life story - but it didn't play on my mind at all after I had read it, which sadly makes it very forgetable.


Dull and chaotic, 20 Mar 2007
Here was an opportunity to write a slightly different book on adoption and the members of this exclusive club.The triangle in social worker speak.As an adoptee myself I expected to identify in some way with Jeremy....unfortunately the book was written in a haphazard ,rather disjointed style and made it hard to follow in places.It switched from one family to another without warning and was filled with Jeremy's ad lib thoughts and ponderings that appeared to be part of the discovery until you realised he was just hypothesising .An overly self indulgent book which left me disappointed and wary of reading further adoption books.

An emotive and topical issue, 11 Mar 2007
Adoption and the search for birth mothers is very topical at the moment and there are a lot of books on the market dealing with this sensitive subject. Jeremy Harding's deeply personal and moving journey towards his nirvana of 'truth' is a variation on a theme of discovery and loss, of sweet realisation and bitter regret. But his quest to find his birth mother is a by-line for another voyage of discovery: his adoptive parents are as unknown to him as his birth mother and in his voyage into his fifties childhood, and his attempts to make sense of his place in the world, Harding discovers more than he is perhaps prepared to accept. This is a remarkable, affecting account that will leave lingering emotions long after the last page has been turned. I am recommending it to my half-sister, who was adopted at birth and who has only just discovered her birth family (our mother and my five siblings) at the age of 47.

Mother Country, 16 Jun 2005
I have never read a book by Purves before but boy was I in for a treat. Once I started reading the book, I just could not put it down. One chapter lead to another chapter and before I knew it the book had come to a poignant and satisfying conclusion. Obviously, having not read any books by this author before, I did not know what to expect. The book took an unexpected twist in the middle and continued to keep the reader absorbed until the very last page. This is the best book I've read in ages and I will certainly be reading more of Purves work.

Members of a collapsing family seek to rebuild themselves, 26 Nov 2001
At first I didn't enjoy this one as much as Libby Purves' other novels but as always she raises issues and points with very believable characters. The desperate current of underlying sadness in the lives of all the protagonists is heartbreaking and the resolution is not particularly satisfying: which is just like life. I like Libby Purves for her refusal to neatly end her stories: always you are left wondering what happened next. True, this novel (more than the others) has striven for a hard-edged contemporary feel but the feelings expressed by all the characters are timeless and the reader can easily empathise.

Sounds good on paper but ..., 22 Feb 2001
I usually quite enjoy Libby Purve's writing but I thought this book was her poorest so far. (I enjoyed "More lives than one" the best). Somehow I never really felt involved in it the way I have in her previous books - the adult characters seemed so cold and self absorbed and the one child Zachary, was portrayed in a very unrealistic way. (He doesn't mind losing the stability of home and parents and his attitude to his brother Danny's big secret is - well - probably a bit idealistic - children are generally very conventional little people!)

Ms Purves also seems to be striving for a contemporary year-2000 feel - the Tracey Emin-type daughter the son who is a dot-com millionaire - but this actually makes the novel feel somewhat dated in 2001. In my opinion the novel's central emotional focus should the relationship between Roy, Helen and their children - especially Zachary - but the family quickly disintegrates and the later reconcilation between Roy and his older children is meaningless and shallow. It seems that Libby Purves was aiming at social comedy (to go by the cover of the novel) which I suppose is a critic's way of saying the novel starts out with realistic characters with an identificable lifestyle only to degenerate into a farce with more and more eccentric characters being introduced who succeed only in irritating the reader and distracting from what should be the central focus of the book.

An emotional tale for our times., 08 Jan 2001
I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an ounce of humanity in them. It is an extraordinary story of a dysfunctional family, told from each members' perspective. In particular, the youngest child's determination to discover the truth about one his siblings, who ran away from home at 16. The parents never even speak the missing child's name. To reveal any more of the story would be to spoil it for the reader. Libby Purves takes us on an emotional journey, full of pathos, humour, sadness and joy - be sure to have a box of tissues handy!

Perhaps most importantly, this book may come to be regarded as a milestone in people's increasing understanding and tolerance of those who happen to be different. It probably would not have been published even a few years ago, an encouraging sign that society is moving towards a time when it will truly "celebrate diversity".

Unexpectedly touching and funny, 06 Jul 2004
I am at a loss as to why this book has not had better reviews. Okay, it's not going to change the world, but it is a gentle, fun read that does not pretend to be anything it isn't. The tremendous humour is nicely balanced with pathos. While the plot is too 'neat' in places to be entirely realistic, there are some serious messages that are well put across. As with all Libby Purves's books, this is an enjoyable read without being too facile or the dreaded 'chick-lit'.

Dull and Disappointing, 18 May 2004
Having been on a bit of a reading spree of late, I was disappointed to say the least with "Casting Off". Normally I can read and will enjoy any book. However, I found the main character difficult to empathise with and reading became a chore for the fortnight or so it took me to get through it (compared to my average of 3 days). There was no element of the story line that held my interest. I bought this book in a bargain bin and I can understand why it was there. Harsh, I know, but honest.

Frustrated wife and mother runs away to sea alone., 02 Jun 2000
Even if you have never set foot on a yacht you will enjoy Libby Purves tale of a middle aged woman who leaves all behind in a sudden fit of temper and sets sail on her own . She certainly gets away from a stale marriage and truculent teenage daughter but picks up some other characters on her sails. An easy read which 'sails along' and leaves you with a wry smile. I have never been keen on sailing and this tale confirmed my worst fears! It would make a great little comedy film - it's very visually written.

a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

Puzzled!, 18 Feb 2008
After reading all the reviews, I am confused. I listened to the Isis Audio CD of this novel and the story details seem different. The hero's name is Alexander/Alex with a Dutch surname (van ?) which I cannot remember now. Also the story has him being born in the early 1970s - not the 1950s to which some reviewers refer. Very odd. However, an enjoyable story.

Disappointing, 18 Aug 2007
I ordered the paperback in January but ended up cancelling my order after returning from the bookshop empty handed for several weeks. I finally found one copy in an airport bookshop in August. The reason I mention this is that the eight months wait left me with very high expectations (maybe impossibly high expectations?)

My initial disappointment was that it was only 189 pages. Although it was important for Jeremy to get across how difficult and frustrating his search for his mother was, I found the granula detail of the research tedious. There are several mentions of an infamous character living in London at that time, which lead the reader to make a connection.

Photographs would have helped me to identify with the characters and places a little more. I really wanted to like this book - it was a great subject and someone's remarkable life story - but it didn't play on my mind at all after I had read it, which sadly makes it very forgetable.


Dull and chaotic, 20 Mar 2007
Here was an opportunity to write a slightly different book on adoption and the members of this exclusive club.The triangle in social worker speak.As an adoptee myself I expected to identify in some way with Jeremy....unfortunately the book was written in a haphazard ,rather disjointed style and made it hard to follow in places.It switched from one family to another without warning and was filled with Jeremy's ad lib thoughts and ponderings that appeared to be part of the discovery until you realised he was just hypothesising .An overly self indulgent book which left me disappointed and wary of reading further adoption books.

An emotive and topical issue, 11 Mar 2007
Adoption and the search for birth mothers is very topical at the moment and there are a lot of books on the market dealing with this sensitive subject. Jeremy Harding's deeply personal and moving journey towards his nirvana of 'truth' is a variation on a theme of discovery and loss, of sweet realisation and bitter regret. But his quest to find his birth mother is a by-line for another voyage of discovery: his adoptive parents are as unknown to him as his birth mother and in his voyage into his fifties childhood, and his attempts to make sense of his place in the world, Harding discovers more than he is perhaps prepared to accept. This is a remarkable, affecting account that will leave lingering emotions long after the last page has been turned. I am recommending it to my half-sister, who was adopted at birth and who has only just discovered her birth family (our mother and my five siblings) at the age of 47.

Mother Country, 16 Jun 2005
I have never read a book by Purves before but boy was I in for a treat. Once I started reading the book, I just could not put it down. One chapter lead to another chapter and before I knew it the book had come to a poignant and satisfying conclusion. Obviously, having not read any books by this author before, I did not know what to expect. The book took an unexpected twist in the middle and continued to keep the reader absorbed until the very last page. This is the best book I've read in ages and I will certainly be reading more of Purves work.

Members of a collapsing family seek to rebuild themselves, 26 Nov 2001
At first I didn't enjoy this one as much as Libby Purves' other novels but as always she raises issues and points with very believable characters. The desperate current of underlying sadness in the lives of all the protagonists is heartbreaking and the resolution is not particularly satisfying: which is just like life. I like Libby Purves for her refusal to neatly end her stories: always you are left wondering what happened next. True, this novel (more than the others) has striven for a hard-edged contemporary feel but the feelings expressed by all the characters are timeless and the reader can easily empathise.

Sounds good on paper but ..., 22 Feb 2001
I usually quite enjoy Libby Purve's writing but I thought this book was her poorest so far. (I enjoyed "More lives than one" the best). Somehow I never really felt involved in it the way I have in her previous books - the adult characters seemed so cold and self absorbed and the one child Zachary, was portrayed in a very unrealistic way. (He doesn't mind losing the stability of home and parents and his attitude to his brother Danny's big secret is - well - probably a bit idealistic - children are generally very conventional little people!)

Ms Purves also seems to be striving for a contemporary year-2000 feel - the Tracey Emin-type daughter the son who is a dot-com millionaire - but this actually makes the novel feel somewhat dated in 2001. In my opinion the novel's central emotional focus should the relationship between Roy, Helen and their children - especially Zachary - but the family quickly disintegrates and the later reconcilation between Roy and his older children is meaningless and shallow. It seems that Libby Purves was aiming at social comedy (to go by the cover of the novel) which I suppose is a critic's way of saying the novel starts out with realistic characters with an identificable lifestyle only to degenerate into a farce with more and more eccentric characters being introduced who succeed only in irritating the reader and distracting from what should be the central focus of the book.

An emotional tale for our times., 08 Jan 2001
I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an ounce of humanity in them. It is an extraordinary story of a dysfunctional family, told from each members' perspective. In particular, the youngest child's determination to discover the truth about one his siblings, who ran away from home at 16. The parents never even speak the missing child's name. To reveal any more of the story would be to spoil it for the reader. Libby Purves takes us on an emotional journey, full of pathos, humour, sadness and joy - be sure to have a box of tissues handy!

Perhaps most importantly, this book may come to be regarded as a milestone in people's increasing understanding and tolerance of those who happen to be different. It probably would not have been published even a few years ago, an encouraging sign that society is moving towards a time when it will truly "celebrate diversity".

Unexpectedly touching and funny, 06 Jul 2004
I am at a loss as to why this book has not had better reviews. Okay, it's not going to change the world, but it is a gentle, fun read that does not pretend to be anything it isn't. The tremendous humour is nicely balanced with pathos. While the plot is too 'neat' in places to be entirely realistic, there are some serious messages that are well put across. As with all Libby Purves's books, this is an enjoyable read without being too facile or the dreaded 'chick-lit'.

Dull and Disappointing, 18 May 2004
Having been on a bit of a reading spree of late, I was disappointed to say the least with "Casting Off". Normally I can read and will enjoy any book. However, I found the main character difficult to empathise with and reading became a chore for the fortnight or so it took me to get through it (compared to my average of 3 days). There was no element of the story line that held my interest. I bought this book in a bargain bin and I can understand why it was there. Harsh, I know, but honest.

Frustrated wife and mother runs away to sea alone., 02 Jun 2000
Even if you have never set foot on a yacht you will enjoy Libby Purves tale of a middle aged woman who leaves all behind in a sudden fit of temper and sets sail on her own . She certainly gets away from a stale marriage and truculent teenage daughter but picks up some other characters on her sails. An easy read which 'sails along' and leaves you with a wry smile. I have never been keen on sailing and this tale confirmed my worst fears! It would make a great little comedy film - it's very visually written.

A Long Walk In Wintertime, 25 Feb 2008
I have only given this book a one star rating because there was nothing lower on the scale. This is, without doubt, the worst novel I have ever read. I persevered just to discover whether it could get worse, and it did. Purves was way out of her depth in these emotional seas. The story itself (which is well outlined in the amazon synopsis) could have been worth telling, but the writing is trite, hackneyed, clichéd, stereotyped and ordinary. The only quality which makes it worthy of note is the stamina exhibited in its awfulness. Shortly into the story (p.4), Purves uses the phrase, 'a text of appalling banality by a celebrity author': an apt review of her own novel.

Various family members must redefine their lives and hopes., 25 Nov 2001
In this, Libby Purves' second novel, we begin with the happy, slightly chaotic but merry family life of Alice McDonald, her husband and two very different children. This is all comprehensively shattered when she discovers that her perfect husband has made one of his young students pregnant. The family is rocked but maybe would have recovered but Alice, trying to make things right, visits the girl's parents and finds out that Lisha is a younger version of herself. Furious with her husband and herself (for making the mistake abandoning her dreams of cut-them-dead high powered journalism for the joys of family life and a happy dead-end job at the Opera House) the family is shattered into separate fragments. Their clever talented daughter goes off to her dream of a sports boarding school; husband Dan is forced to take a new job at a lesser college far away; Alice tries to pick up the pieces of her old pre-marriage life with her cynical friend Jasmin and Jamie, the sad, lonely, artistic son, acts on impulse one day to run from the train that shuttles him between his estranged parents.
What happens to him, his sister, parents, honorary grandmother (along with her admirer with whom she shares a secret), his father's ex-girlfriend plus various other friends of the family makes for a terrific read. One can easily identify with every single character and one aches with their sadnesses, rejoices with the successes and ultimately wish for their courage and steadfastness in the light of real life.
Libby Purves is one of the best writers around: the 'There but for the grace of God go I' quality of her stories make you grateful and humble for your own happinesses and at the same time aware of the fragility of life.

a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

Puzzled!, 18 Feb 2008
After reading all the reviews, I am confused. I listened to the Isis Audio CD of this novel and the story details seem different. The hero's name is Alexander/Alex with a Dutch surname (van ?) which I cannot remember now. Also the story has him being born in the early 1970s - not the 1950s to which some reviewers refer. Very odd. However, an enjoyable story.

Disappointing, 18 Aug 2007
I ordered the paperback in January but ended up cancelling my order after returning from the bookshop empty handed for several weeks. I finally found one copy in an airport bookshop in August. The reason I mention this is that the eight months wait left me with very high expectations (maybe impossibly high expectations?)

My initial disappointment was that it was only 189 pages. Although it was important for Jeremy to get across how difficult and frustrating his search for his mother was, I found the granula detail of the research tedious. There are several mentions of an infamous character living in London at that time, which lead the reader to make a connection.

Photographs would have helped me to identify with the characters and places a little more. I really wanted to like this book - it was a great subject and someone's remarkable life story - but it didn't play on my mind at all after I had read it, which sadly makes it very forgetable.


Dull and chaotic, 20 Mar 2007
Here was an opportunity to write a slightly different book on adoption and the members of this exclusive club.The triangle in social worker speak.As an adoptee myself I expected to identify in some way with Jeremy....unfortunately the book was written in a haphazard ,rather disjointed style and made it hard to follow in places.It switched from one family to another without warning and was filled with Jeremy's ad lib thoughts and ponderings that appeared to be part of the discovery until you realised he was just hypothesising .An overly self indulgent book which left me disappointed and wary of reading further adoption books.

An emotive and topical issue, 11 Mar 2007
Adoption and the search for birth mothers is very topical at the moment and there are a lot of books on the market dealing with this sensitive subject. Jeremy Harding's deeply personal and moving journey towards his nirvana of 'truth' is a variation on a theme of discovery and loss, of sweet realisation and bitter regret. But his quest to find his birth mother is a by-line for another voyage of discovery: his adoptive parents are as unknown to him as his birth mother and in his voyage into his fifties childhood, and his attempts to make sense of his place in the world, Harding discovers more than he is perhaps prepared to accept. This is a remarkable, affecting account that will leave lingering emotions long after the last page has been turned. I am recommending it to my half-sister, who was adopted at birth and who has only just discovered her birth family (our mother and my five siblings) at the age of 47.

Mother Country, 16 Jun 2005
I have never read a book by Purves before but boy was I in for a treat. Once I started reading the book, I just could not put it down. One chapter lead to another chapter and before I knew it the book had come to a poignant and satisfying conclusion. Obviously, having not read any books by this author before, I did not know what to expect. The book took an unexpected twist in the middle and continued to keep the reader absorbed until the very last page. This is the best book I've read in ages and I will certainly be reading more of Purves work.

Members of a collapsing family seek to rebuild themselves, 26 Nov 2001
At first I didn't enjoy this one as much as Libby Purves' other novels but as always she raises issues and points with very believable characters. The desperate current of underlying sadness in the lives of all the protagonists is heartbreaking and the resolution is not particularly satisfying: which is just like life. I like Libby Purves for her refusal to neatly end her stories: always you are left wondering what happened next. True, this novel (more than the others) has striven for a hard-edged contemporary feel but the feelings expressed by all the characters are timeless and the reader can easily empathise.

Sounds good on paper but ..., 22 Feb 2001
I usually quite enjoy Libby Purve's writing but I thought this book was her poorest so far. (I enjoyed "More lives than one" the best). Somehow I never really felt involved in it the way I have in her previous books - the adult characters seemed so cold and self absorbed and the one child Zachary, was portrayed in a very unrealistic way. (He doesn't mind losing the stability of home and parents and his attitude to his brother Danny's big secret is - well - probably a bit idealistic - children are generally very conventional little people!)

Ms Purves also seems to be striving for a contemporary year-2000 feel - the Tracey Emin-type daughter the son who is a dot-com millionaire - but this actually makes the novel feel somewhat dated in 2001. In my opinion the novel's central emotional focus should the relationship between Roy, Helen and their children - especially Zachary - but the family quickly disintegrates and the later reconcilation between Roy and his older children is meaningless and shallow. It seems that Libby Purves was aiming at social comedy (to go by the cover of the novel) which I suppose is a critic's way of saying the novel starts out with realistic characters with an identificable lifestyle only to degenerate into a farce with more and more eccentric characters being introduced who succeed only in irritating the reader and distracting from what should be the central focus of the book.

An emotional tale for our times., 08 Jan 2001
I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an ounce of humanity in them. It is an extraordinary story of a dysfunctional family, told from each members' perspective. In particular, the youngest child's determination to discover the truth about one his siblings, who ran away from home at 16. The parents never even speak the missing child's name. To reveal any more of the story would be to spoil it for the reader. Libby Purves takes us on an emotional journey, full of pathos, humour, sadness and joy - be sure to have a box of tissues handy!

Perhaps most importantly, this book may come to be regarded as a milestone in people's increasing understanding and tolerance of those who happen to be different. It probably would not have been published even a few years ago, an encouraging sign that society is moving towards a time when it will truly "celebrate diversity".

Unexpectedly touching and funny, 06 Jul 2004
I am at a loss as to why this book has not had better reviews. Okay, it's not going to change the world, but it is a gentle, fun read that does not pretend to be anything it isn't. The tremendous humour is nicely balanced with pathos. While the plot is too 'neat' in places to be entirely realistic, there are some serious messages that are well put across. As with all Libby Purves's books, this is an enjoyable read without being too facile or the dreaded 'chick-lit'.

Dull and Disappointing, 18 May 2004
Having been on a bit of a reading spree of late, I was disappointed to say the least with "Casting Off". Normally I can read and will enjoy any book. However, I found the main character difficult to empathise with and reading became a chore for the fortnight or so it took me to get through it (compared to my average of 3 days). There was no element of the story line that held my interest. I bought this book in a bargain bin and I can understand why it was there. Harsh, I know, but honest.

Frustrated wife and mother runs away to sea alone., 02 Jun 2000
Even if you have never set foot on a yacht you will enjoy Libby Purves tale of a middle aged woman who leaves all behind in a sudden fit of temper and sets sail on her own . She certainly gets away from a stale marriage and truculent teenage daughter but picks up some other characters on her sails. An easy read which 'sails along' and leaves you with a wry smile. I have never been keen on sailing and this tale confirmed my worst fears! It would make a great little comedy film - it's very visually written.

A Long Walk In Wintertime, 25 Feb 2008
I have only given this book a one star rating because there was nothing lower on the scale. This is, without doubt, the worst novel I have ever read. I persevered just to discover whether it could get worse, and it did. Purves was way out of her depth in these emotional seas. The story itself (which is well outlined in the amazon synopsis) could have been worth telling, but the writing is trite, hackneyed, clichéd, stereotyped and ordinary. The only quality which makes it worthy of note is the stamina exhibited in its awfulness. Shortly into the story (p.4), Purves uses the phrase, 'a text of appalling banality by a celebrity author': an apt review of her own novel.

Various family members must redefine their lives and hopes., 25 Nov 2001
In this, Libby Purves' second novel, we begin with the happy, slightly chaotic but merry family life of Alice McDonald, her husband and two very different children. This is all comprehensively shattered when she discovers that her perfect husband has made one of his young students pregnant. The family is rocked but maybe would have recovered but Alice, trying to make things right, visits the girl's parents and finds out that Lisha is a younger version of herself. Furious with her husband and herself (for making the mistake abandoning her dreams of cut-them-dead high powered journalism for the joys of family life and a happy dead-end job at the Opera House) the family is shattered into separate fragments. Their clever talented daughter goes off to her dream of a sports boarding school; husband Dan is forced to take a new job at a lesser college far away; Alice tries to pick up the pieces of her old pre-marriage life with her cynical friend Jasmin and Jamie, the sad, lonely, artistic son, acts on impulse one day to run from the train that shuttles him between his estranged parents.
What happens to him, his sister, parents, honorary grandmother (along with her admirer with whom she shares a secret), his father's ex-girlfriend plus various other friends of the family makes for a terrific read. One can easily identify with every single character and one aches with their sadnesses, rejoices with the successes and ultimately wish for their courage and steadfastness in the light of real life.
Libby Purves is one of the best writers around: the 'There but for the grace of God go I' quality of her stories make you grateful and humble for your own happinesses and at the same time aware of the fragility of life.

Dull cliche ridden prose in need of a good editor, 16 May 2008
What made me read this novel was the good reviews and critical acclaim it had recieved. I have not read any other works by this author and I can safely say I won't seek her out again in the future.

The plot is of an Eastern European young woman travelling to the UK in search of her school age pen pal whom instead finds employment with said pen pals parents as a housekeeper. This employment comes at a time when the wife is spreading her wings in a new job while the husband (an ex tory MP) seems to be in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Every character in this story is a well trodden cliche and most of the relationships explored require a massive suspension of disbelief. However these are not the worst things about this novel.

There are a number of contradictions in the text that seem to have slipped by the author and the editing process. Has she been working 2yrs or 5? Who was she talking about, Marianne or Marie? How many Sundays are there in a weekend? Being in your fifties is young these days because most people have done masses of things with their life by the time they are forty? it's very sloppy writing.

And Finally what annoys me the most about this novel is the apparent need of the author to convince herself that she is a good writer with a fantastic vocabulary. Whenever there is an opportunity to replace a simple well known and suitable word with a long, archaic, complex word that is never used by normal people, she jumps at the chance. This writer should read George Orwell's '6 Rules for Writing' with particular attention paid to rule 2.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

"Long words don't make you sound intelligent unless used skillfully. In the wrong situation they'll have the opposite effect, making you sound pretentious and arrogant. They're also less likely to be understood and more awkward to read."

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Oceans apart, 04 Jul 2004
'Oceans apart' could have been an alternative title for 'Continental Drift', as the two worlds of Eastern Europe and 21st century UK are so different as almost to defy comparison. Poland, recovering from decades of communist rule, is poor; freedom has not brought prosperity or an easier lifestyle - yet there is a buoyancy and optimism in the characters there, introduced to us in Libby Purves' minimalist style that never fails to be evocative. (It always amazes me that she can convey so much in so few words - a sign of a very skilled writer!) Conversely, the characters we meet in England are affluent and materially comfortable - ostensibly, they have easy lives. But Libby Purves shows us the true people that live beneath the masks: the failed MP, the failing marriage, the levelling tragedy of cancer, the pain of a young father parted by a failed relationship from his child. So much failure amongst such apparent success! When the young Polish backpacker, trusting and naive, turns up uninvited, she brings with her a clash of culture, ideology, ideals and character that tear off the conventional masks once and for all. As she learns English, learns about herself and those around her, so they too learn about themselves - rediscovering lost dreams, lost values and daring to love again. Libby Purves always writes realistically and with great understanding and compassion for the human condition. She pricks the reader into thought, perhaps into re-evaluating lifestyles previously taken for granted. The ending of this book was my only criticism: it felt, at first read, just too neat and tidy! On reflection, I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way! And 'Continental Drft' is the right title - not drifting apart but together; there are after all more similarities than differences. An excellent, well-crafted book, beautifully written.

Continental Drift - slightly askew, 01 Dec 2003
Libby Purves' Continental Drift is, like all her books, a pleasure to read with skilled characterisation and place settings. Those who like me enjoyed Radio Days will see how her background in radio is used in this book. There are always ideas in her books over and above the basic plot - here difference in frames of reference between UK and E. Europe is a theme. Likewise the way someone can change in character if given a chance to do something they enjoy - Diana with her job in radio, her husband when given a chance to teach and share something he enjoys. But i was irritated by the fact that the book did not seem to have received even basic copy-editing - the weekend on which much of the plot hinges has two Sundays in it and at one point one of the characters - suffering from cancer and counting her blessings - seems to muddle the names of a friend - Marianne - and her daughter Marie. Even established authors need not to lose the plot.

a tale of unrequited love, 08 Aug 2008
As always, Libby Purves demonstrates deep insights into the behaviour of human beings and decisions taken that not only change the direction of their own lives but often have quite disasterous repercussions on those of other people. When I started to read 'Love Songs and Lies' I thought this one wouldn't match up to some of the others I've read such as 'More Lives than One', but after the 3rd or 4th chapter I was hooked.
The predictament of being young in the early 1970's is realistically, nostalgically and at times, heart-rendingly recaptured. Today, parents through their own experience of having grown up with the 'rock' generation, are able to speak the same language as their offspring. However, despite decades of enlightenment, there will always be girls ready to idolise some undeserving man, even to the extent of almost compromising their Eng Lit degrees!
The characters are well drawn and believable, even the most minor. No one, except perhaps Sally's final love, is without fault. (Given her particular history, she was extraordinarlily lucky to get him.) All have their strengths and weaknesses, many in uneven quantities. All have their secrets, some of which are taken to the grave and this gives the novel its poignancy. Because the story is related by a now middle aged Sally, you straightaway realise this is going to be a 'rites of passage' read and you keep picking up the clues - where she scorns and cringes at the innocent girl she once was. Why can't she see through the souless Max? Why does she retain her romantic obsession with a man who certainly doesn't love her and why can't she save Marty who obviously does love her?
Many themes found throughout English Literature are interlaced with the novel, from plagarising fun with Shakespeare, Donne, Shelley etc, for the purpose of writing rock lyrics, and unrequited love, to the much used devices of devious deceptions and - oh no!- the undelivered letter.
This book made me laugh and cry in places and I'm still thinking about it in the few days since I finished it.


Better than expected, 05 Sep 2007
This is not normally the sort of book I go for, but I was attracted by the cover and thought it would be a good book to take on holiday.
I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be much more than the old-fashioned yarn I was expecting.
Purves' writing is effortless - the style alone is enough to carry the flow of the book. The characters, who appear a little stereotypical at first, grow with the story and all have depth. I found myself identifying with Sally, despite her own admitions that she is naive and pathetic at times.
Sally's university years are particularly interesting, with comparisons between the 1970s and today highlighting extreme differences but also amusing similarities.
The plot of 'Love Songs and Lies' is somewhat unbelievable - everything that could possibly happen does. However, the narration makes it real, particularly as the story is recounted with hindsight by Sally much later in her life. I couldn't put the book down, I just wanted to know what happened next. At the end, it feels as though you've been riding along with the characters for so much of their lives that it's hard to close the cover and forget about them.
My criticism of the book, as mentioned above, is that sometimes elements of the plot are not entirely necessary and seem to have been included simply to add another 'twist'.
My advice is to just take it all with a pinch of salt and enjoy the story for what it is. Read it - you'll be staring at the back cover long after you've finished.

Beautiful writing which pulled me into the story, 07 Jul 2007
I've read a few of Libby Purves' books and really enjoyed them all - this one was no exception.
It started well in that I found myself liking Sally very quickly and was able to understand how she had found herself in her various awkward situations.
The style of the narrative is very self deprecating which gave me a huge feeling of empathy towards Sally.
The book is written from a retrospective point of view as if writing memoires later in life. I found it very interesting how Sally described her feelings about events at the time and then added information that she had found out since and her feelings now whilst writing (sometimes very different).
The family situation is impossible and seemingly over-complicated but written in a way to make it completely believeable.

Her best yet, 04 Jul 2007
I can't decide whether this is her best book yet or whether I am particularly susceptible to a novel written looking back on the narrator's university life from a mature mid-life perspective. But I am inclined to the former and look forward even more eagerly than usual to her next. The characters and the different way the narrator perceives them at different ages of her life are true to life, likewise the way funerals reflect the reality of the family. The changing sexual mores between now and the 70s are handled with skill.

Not her best offering....., 01 Jul 2007
I've been an avid reader of all Libby Purves' books (with exception of Mother Country, which I've twice abandoned after a couple of pages) but didn't enjoy this one very much. The characters are generally dreary, wearily predictable and the plot even more so. My desire to slap the narrator increased as the book wore on - what a dismal and daft creature she is. It certainly didn't recreate the Oxford of the 70s as I knew it, or indeed the London of that period.

Puzzled!, 18 Feb 2008
After reading all the reviews, I am confused. I listened to the Isis Audio CD of this novel and the story details seem different. The hero's name is Alexander/Alex with a Dutch surname (van ?) which I cannot remember now. Also the story has him being born in the early 1970s - not the 1950s to which some reviewers refer. Very odd. However, an enjoyable story.

Disappointing, 18 Aug 2007
I ordered the paperback in January but ended up cancelling my order after returning from the bookshop empty handed for several weeks. I finally found one copy in an airport bookshop in August. The reason I mention this is that the eight months wait left me with very high expectations (maybe impossibly high expectations?)

My initial disappointment was that it was only 189 pages. Although it was important for Jeremy to get across how difficult and frustrating his search for his mother was, I found the granula detail of the research tedious. There are several mentions of an infamous character living in London at that time, which lead the reader to make a connection.

Photographs would have helped me to identify with the characters and places a little more. I really wanted to like this book - it was a great subject and someone's remarkable life story - but it didn't play on my mind at all after I had read it, which sadly makes it very forgetable.


Dull and chaotic, 20 Mar 2007
Here was an opportunity to write a slightly different book on adoption and the members of this exclusive club.The triangle in social worker speak.As an adoptee myself I expected to identify in some way with Jeremy....unfortunately the book was written in a haphazard ,rather disjointed style and made it hard to follow in places.It switched from one family to another without warning and was filled with Jeremy's ad lib thoughts and ponderings that appeared to be part of the discovery until you realised he was just hypothesising .An overly self indulgent book which left me disappointed and wary of reading further adoption books.

An emotive and topical issue, 11 Mar 2007
Adoption and the search for birth mothers is very topical at the moment and there are a lot of books on the market dealing with this sensitive subject. Jeremy Harding's deeply personal and moving journey towards his nirvana of 'truth' is a variation on a theme of discovery and loss, of sweet realisation and bitter regret. But his quest to find his birth mother is a by-line for another voyage of discovery: his adoptive parents are as unknown to him as his birth mother and in his voyage into his fifties childhood, and his attempts to make sense of his place in the world, Harding discovers more than he is perhaps prepared to accept. This is a remarkable, affecting account that will leave lingering emotions long after the last page has been turned. I am recommending it to my half-sister, who was adopted at birth and who has only just discovered her birth family (our mother and my five siblings) at the age of 47.

Mother