how did he ?, 21 Nov 2008
Hey guys , I read the book but from my own experience in learning a foreign language i found it a bit too strange for Lev to learn english
so quickly as he learned . I mean , at first he couldnt even speak but after a short time he was fluent in the language already ?

A gripping story but sometimes inauthentic, 21 Nov 2008
This is a gripping story with lots of great characters and motivations bubbling under the surface. I thought the beginning, when Lev first arrives in the UK, was cleverly balanced - I was constantly surprised by him, and wondering what characters to trust and what on earth was going to happen next, and the same could be said of the ending: it's exactly what you want to happen, but still comes as a surprise.

In criticism, I'm not sure the male narration always comes across as authentic - for the most part its done well, but there are a few sections when some facets of Lev's thinking just screamed female to me.

All in all an excellent read, highly recommended as good escapism.

Entertaining Read, But Unoriginal and Easily Forgotten, 10 Nov 2008
I'm stuck between giving this book a 2 star rating (because, I know that in a few hours time I'll never think about it, or any of the characters again), or a 4 star rating (because, despite it's faults, it did provide me with entertainment for the past few days). So I think I'll settle with a cowardly 3/5, though, if I'm honest, it probably deserves less.

I feel that Tremain had all the foundations for a brilliant, life altering, inspiring + revitilasing novel, but realised none of these opportunites and instead decided to tell a stereotyped story with no originality or new depths, purely a piece of toss-away fiction. All the characters had been done 1000000000 times before, there was no originaliy to be drawn from anywhere. Lev, the hard workng immigrant sending money home to his family. Ina, the mother set in her old ways. Christy, the irish drunk. Marina, the perfect, beautiful wife etc. The only character to really intrigue me was Lev's best friend Rudi, but we didn't see or hear enough of him for his personality to save the day.

And the stereotypes don't end there either. London is described in it's worst possible light (why do writers think that being negative about everything is the only way to be original?!), why almost every single person Lev meets is fat I don't know, for, as a Londoner myself I can undoubtlebly say that though though there over-weight people in this country, there are far more people of healthy weight walking the streets of London as well. And it's not as if only the UK and US have over-weight citizens either, and I also say this as someone who's parents immigrated from the middle-east 20 years ago and have returned there on holidays every few years since I was born.

Then theres the fact that Lev seems to be a girl (and guy)-magnet, though he is certainly not the youngest or fittest spanner in the box, and has grey hair. Yes, a handsome face does wonders but does not mean that every woman you meet (specially younger ones) want to sleep with you. Jeez! And then theres the fact that people from different cultures all, every single one of them, seem to embody the stereotypes of their cultures rather than be characters in their own right. I've already mentioned Christy, the irish heavy drinker. There are two indian women in this book, both of who wear sari's on a constant basis (as if once you move to another country you can't buy a new change of clothes), Sophie, the typical brit chick who is easy to bed and only after a famous boyfriend, then Simone, a young black girl who writes menus with 'street' language as if she doesn't know how to talk otherwise. It's actually quite insulting to analyse and makes me think that perhaps I should have given the book a 2 star rating.

The plot can't be taken all that seriously either (I am especially peeved with how Tremain treated Lev and the two chinese boys relationship), with Lev getting far more than his fair share of good luck with regards to chances, moeny, jobs, friends etc. But what can I say, perhaps that's how Tremain meant the novel to feel like, a feel-good book, not to be taken seriously at all. Then why pick such an emotive, interesting backdrop to set her story upon?! Who knows.

As I've said, the books ok, it's entertaining, it sweeps you away with the characters, but once you put it down you firget about Lev, Christy, Rudi etc immediately and I don't think I;ll be re-reading this one again. Not worth my time.

Enjoyable read but not my favourite Rose Tremain novel, 09 Nov 2008
I enjoyed this book, however, out of the four Rose Tremain novels that I've read, this is my least favourite.

I couldn't understand why Levs' home country was fictional, and felt that the only reason could be was that Tremain couldn't be bothered to do her research this time, and did she feel obliged to bang a story out quickly simply to please her agent and readers?

The approach taken with 'The Road Home' is in stark contrast to, for example, 'Music and Silence' which, in my view, was so well researched, and well written that whilst immersed in it's pages I almost felt as if I were a part of the story.

Like I said though, I found 'The Road Home' to be an enjoyable read, just more on a par with the chick-lit style holiday novels one usually finds in the airport departure lounge book shops.

A surprisingly good read, 09 Nov 2008
Having never read a Rose Tremain book before, I was slightly off put by the title and cover of the book - but as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. I was truly caught up in the trials and tribulations of Lev, who struggles, and succeeds in some ways to "make it" in London as a Polish migrant worker. Armed with very few English words - "I am legal", "May I help you", he faces many difficult times before he is helped out by people he meets along the way. A great read with a fantastic cast of characters.

how did he ?, 21 Nov 2008
Hey guys , I read the book but from my own experience in learning a foreign language i found it a bit too strange for Lev to learn english
so quickly as he learned . I mean , at first he couldnt even speak but after a short time he was fluent in the language already ?

A gripping story but sometimes inauthentic, 21 Nov 2008
This is a gripping story with lots of great characters and motivations bubbling under the surface. I thought the beginning, when Lev first arrives in the UK, was cleverly balanced - I was constantly surprised by him, and wondering what characters to trust and what on earth was going to happen next, and the same could be said of the ending: it's exactly what you want to happen, but still comes as a surprise.

In criticism, I'm not sure the male narration always comes across as authentic - for the most part its done well, but there are a few sections when some facets of Lev's thinking just screamed female to me.

All in all an excellent read, highly recommended as good escapism.

Entertaining Read, But Unoriginal and Easily Forgotten, 10 Nov 2008
I'm stuck between giving this book a 2 star rating (because, I know that in a few hours time I'll never think about it, or any of the characters again), or a 4 star rating (because, despite it's faults, it did provide me with entertainment for the past few days). So I think I'll settle with a cowardly 3/5, though, if I'm honest, it probably deserves less.

I feel that Tremain had all the foundations for a brilliant, life altering, inspiring + revitilasing novel, but realised none of these opportunites and instead decided to tell a stereotyped story with no originality or new depths, purely a piece of toss-away fiction. All the characters had been done 1000000000 times before, there was no originaliy to be drawn from anywhere. Lev, the hard workng immigrant sending money home to his family. Ina, the mother set in her old ways. Christy, the irish drunk. Marina, the perfect, beautiful wife etc. The only character to really intrigue me was Lev's best friend Rudi, but we didn't see or hear enough of him for his personality to save the day.

And the stereotypes don't end there either. London is described in it's worst possible light (why do writers think that being negative about everything is the only way to be original?!), why almost every single person Lev meets is fat I don't know, for, as a Londoner myself I can undoubtlebly say that though though there over-weight people in this country, there are far more people of healthy weight walking the streets of London as well. And it's not as if only the UK and US have over-weight citizens either, and I also say this as someone who's parents immigrated from the middle-east 20 years ago and have returned there on holidays every few years since I was born.

Then theres the fact that Lev seems to be a girl (and guy)-magnet, though he is certainly not the youngest or fittest spanner in the box, and has grey hair. Yes, a handsome face does wonders but does not mean that every woman you meet (specially younger ones) want to sleep with you. Jeez! And then theres the fact that people from different cultures all, every single one of them, seem to embody the stereotypes of their cultures rather than be characters in their own right. I've already mentioned Christy, the irish heavy drinker. There are two indian women in this book, both of who wear sari's on a constant basis (as if once you move to another country you can't buy a new change of clothes), Sophie, the typical brit chick who is easy to bed and only after a famous boyfriend, then Simone, a young black girl who writes menus with 'street' language as if she doesn't know how to talk otherwise. It's actually quite insulting to analyse and makes me think that perhaps I should have given the book a 2 star rating.

The plot can't be taken all that seriously either (I am especially peeved with how Tremain treated Lev and the two chinese boys relationship), with Lev getting far more than his fair share of good luck with regards to chances, moeny, jobs, friends etc. But what can I say, perhaps that's how Tremain meant the novel to feel like, a feel-good book, not to be taken seriously at all. Then why pick such an emotive, interesting backdrop to set her story upon?! Who knows.

As I've said, the books ok, it's entertaining, it sweeps you away with the characters, but once you put it down you firget about Lev, Christy, Rudi etc immediately and I don't think I;ll be re-reading this one again. Not worth my time.

Enjoyable read but not my favourite Rose Tremain novel, 09 Nov 2008
I enjoyed this book, however, out of the four Rose Tremain novels that I've read, this is my least favourite.

I couldn't understand why Levs' home country was fictional, and felt that the only reason could be was that Tremain couldn't be bothered to do her research this time, and did she feel obliged to bang a story out quickly simply to please her agent and readers?

The approach taken with 'The Road Home' is in stark contrast to, for example, 'Music and Silence' which, in my view, was so well researched, and well written that whilst immersed in it's pages I almost felt as if I were a part of the story.

Like I said though, I found 'The Road Home' to be an enjoyable read, just more on a par with the chick-lit style holiday novels one usually finds in the airport departure lounge book shops.

A surprisingly good read, 09 Nov 2008
Having never read a Rose Tremain book before, I was slightly off put by the title and cover of the book - but as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. I was truly caught up in the trials and tribulations of Lev, who struggles, and succeeds in some ways to "make it" in London as a Polish migrant worker. Armed with very few English words - "I am legal", "May I help you", he faces many difficult times before he is helped out by people he meets along the way. A great read with a fantastic cast of characters.

Pass over this book and it's your loss...., 11 Nov 2008
Buy this now! ;-)

I first read this book many years ago, soon after Rose had amazed me when she was on Desert Island Discs - she sounded so intelligent and interesting that I had to see what her books were like. I was stunned by it (and by the fact that's she's still comparatively little known) and lent my copy to several people, but in the end it didn't come back. So, in July I ordered a new copy and read it again - it was even better than I'd remembered - the plot, structure, exquisite use of the language and humour (as well as many other emotions) combine to make it one of my two favourite books. In case you're wondering the other is Last and First Men/Last Men in London by Olaf Stapledon - but that's out of print more often than not.

A great novel., 19 Aug 2005
I loved this novel. I haven't read it recently so some of the details are fuzzy but I do remember being amazed by the story and the author's writing style.

"Sacred Country" is about a young girl, Mary Ward, who, at the age of six, realizes that she should be boy. The book is a chronicle of her life from that point on. I found the detailed descriptions of the odd things that captured Mary's curiosity as a child (and as an adult, in a different way) intriguing. I won't lie, this is a very sad story at times, and is hard to read in some parts because of Mary's loneliness. The loneliness is never stated and packs a harder punch because of it. All in all, this book explained to me in stunning writing, the process of finding all of the right worlds in oneself. And, dealing with them when they don't fit or express into a manageable form to the outside world. It is a coming of age story to the self and to life. I like to read to learn - about happiness, sadness, life - this book delivered in a big way for me.

A melange of characters crocheted to hook the reader., 06 Dec 2001
This is a can't be put down book. At first the topic seems unpromising, an infant girls transexual realisation. However this frame is used as a trellis to support a honeysuckle plot of intertwining tendrils. Not a word is wasted, not a word ommited in demonstrating not ony the wordsmith at work but also the artist. The book is funny, sad, tender and quite vicious all in one.

The most fantastic book ever published., 17 Oct 2000
In the summer of 1996, when I was feeling particularly confused and lonely I picked up a copy of sacred country and read it. Wow is the only word I can think of to summarise how I felt about the book. It gave me insight in to the struggles of others; the dilemas faced by Mary, Timmy, Estelle, Cord, Sonny Walter and the many other characters in the book opened my eyes to the world around me and made me alert to the emotions and insecurities of others. I have read the book 32 times since then and each time I find something else to break my heart or I notice something new in the story I never did before. The last time I read it I cried when Mary/Martin sat at the fountain in London wondering which parts of Mary she would miss when she finally became Martin. The way Rose Tremain creates a world into wich you can steo and find something new time and time again is fascinating. Whether it is Pearl's beauty, mary's struggle or Estelles madness that grips you the first time you read Sacred Country, you will find that it is something else entirely trhat grips you the second time. Fantasic, Tremain's most powerful work yet.

A celebration of human weakness and triumph, 12 Sep 1999
Six year-old Mary stood quietly in the snow, with her family, as they mourned the death of King George VI, and thought "I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I am a boy."

This is an enchanting story of people in a small village in the south of England trying to make sense of their lives.

It is not a book of tragedy. There is sadness, but there is joy. There is death but there is life. There is hopelessness but there is also the urge to become.

In its depiction of the complex network of relationships, there is probably more real truth about the way people are, than in a thousand psychology texts.

Walter with his dream of becoming a singer and songwriter believing that his dreams can never be fulfilled. Jimmy also nearly becoming trapped in a life not of his choosing. Both breaking out in their own special ways. Edward Harker, with his hat held discreetly in front of his trousers, believing that his feelings, at 61, for Irene are improper. And Irene never realising that a man could find her attractive as a woman.

Sonny, withdrawn inside himself occupied only with the farm that provided the family living. Estelle retreating into fantasy to escape a life of emptiness.

But, most of all, Mary who is really Martin, displaced in the family's cognisance by the arrival of the younger brother, despising him for his scrawny weakness, going through school to adulthood, meanwhile finding her true love and losing it, but growing triumphantly in her, then his, own individual way.

Rose Tremain deserves a Hallelujah chorus dedicated just to her: a decade after the appearance of Restoration--and with a range of stunning novels and short story collections before and after it--now comes her glorious and enthralling Music and Silence.

This treasure house of delights, as haunting as it is pleasurable, teems with characters, real and imagined; with intrigues, searches, betrayals, in vivid scene after scene which loop in and out, back and forth, like overlapping and repeated chords.

King Christian IV of Denmark is, in the year of 1630, living in a limbo of fear and rage for his life, his country's ruin, and his wife's not-so-secret adultery. He consoles himself with the weaving of impossible dreams and with music--played by his Royal Orchestra in the freezing cellar at Rosenborg while he listens in his cosy Vinterstue above. Music, he hopes, will create the sublime order he craves. Kirsten, his devious wife, is a continual maker of Beautiful Plans to outwit, avenge, feed her greed. And she detests music.

The awkward duty of assuaging the King's miseries falls to his English lutenist, Peter Claire, his "Angel", whilst Emilia Tilsen must bend to Kirsten's every whim. Yet what Peter and Emilia seek is each other, largely in silence both necessary and cruelly imposed. Other stories, each of them full of fabulous and often joyful and witty invention, intertwine through the Royal Court's machinations: the King's mother who hoards her gold in secret; his boyhood friend, Bror, a tormenting memory; the villagers who suffer and wait in the frozen Numedal; Emilia's mute young brother Marcus. And in Ireland, Johnnie O'Fingal, once a kind father and husband, is driven mad by hearing music of utter divinity in his dreams, but which neither he nor Peter Claire can make earthbound. His devoted but spirited wife has distracted herself with Claire, but now finds herself rejected. Palpable with desire and longing, this extraordinary narrative builds its grand themes in storytelling that is both profound and wonderfully satisfying. --Ruth Petrie

how did he ?, 21 Nov 2008
Hey guys , I read the book but from my own experience in learning a foreign language i found it a bit too strange for Lev to learn english
so quickly as he learned . I mean , at first he couldnt even speak but after a short time he was fluent in the language already ?

A gripping story but sometimes inauthentic, 21 Nov 2008
This is a gripping story with lots of great characters and motivations bubbling under the surface. I thought the beginning, when Lev first arrives in the UK, was cleverly balanced - I was constantly surprised by him, and wondering what characters to trust and what on earth was going to happen next, and the same could be said of the ending: it's exactly what you want to happen, but still comes as a surprise.

In criticism, I'm not sure the male narration always comes across as authentic - for the most part its done well, but there are a few sections when some facets of Lev's thinking just screamed female to me.

All in all an excellent read, highly recommended as good escapism.

Entertaining Read, But Unoriginal and Easily Forgotten, 10 Nov 2008
I'm stuck between giving this book a 2 star rating (because, I know that in a few hours time I'll never think about it, or any of the characters again), or a 4 star rating (because, despite it's faults, it did provide me with entertainment for the past few days). So I think I'll settle with a cowardly 3/5, though, if I'm honest, it probably deserves less.

I feel that Tremain had all the foundations for a brilliant, life altering, inspiring + revitilasing novel, but realised none of these opportunites and instead decided to tell a stereotyped story with no originality or new depths, purely a piece of toss-away fiction. All the characters had been done 1000000000 times before, there was no originaliy to be drawn from anywhere. Lev, the hard workng immigrant sending money home to his family. Ina, the mother set in her old ways. Christy, the irish drunk. Marina, the perfect, beautiful wife etc. The only character to really intrigue me was Lev's best friend Rudi, but we didn't see or hear enough of him for his personality to save the day.

And the stereotypes don't end there either. London is described in it's worst possible light (why do writers think that being negative about everything is the only way to be original?!), why almost every single person Lev meets is fat I don't know, for, as a Londoner myself I can undoubtlebly say that though though there over-weight people in this country, there are far more people of healthy weight walking the streets of London as well. And it's not as if only the UK and US have over-weight citizens either, and I also say this as someone who's parents immigrated from the middle-east 20 years ago and have returned there on holidays every few years since I was born.

Then theres the fact that Lev seems to be a girl (and guy)-magnet, though he is certainly not the youngest or fittest spanner in the box, and has grey hair. Yes, a handsome face does wonders but does not mean that every woman you meet (specially younger ones) want to sleep with you. Jeez! And then theres the fact that people from different cultures all, every single one of them, seem to embody the stereotypes of their cultures rather than be characters in their own right. I've already mentioned Christy, the irish heavy drinker. There are two indian women in this book, both of who wear sari's on a constant basis (as if once you move to another country you can't buy a new change of clothes), Sophie, the typical brit chick who is easy to bed and only after a famous boyfriend, then Simone, a young black girl who writes menus with 'street' language as if she doesn't know how to talk otherwise. It's actually quite insulting to analyse and makes me think that perhaps I should have given the book a 2 star rating.

The plot can't be taken all that seriously either (I am especially peeved with how Tremain treated Lev and the two chinese boys relationship), with Lev getting far more than his fair share of good luck with regards to chances, moeny, jobs, friends etc. But what can I say, perhaps that's how Tremain meant the novel to feel like, a feel-good book, not to be taken seriously at all. Then why pick such an emotive, interesting backdrop to set her story upon?! Who knows.

As I've said, the books ok, it's entertaining, it sweeps you away with the characters, but once you put it down you firget about Lev, Christy, Rudi etc immediately and I don't think I;ll be re-reading this one again. Not worth my time.

Enjoyable read but not my favourite Rose Tremain novel, 09 Nov 2008
I enjoyed this book, however, out of the four Rose Tremain novels that I've read, this is my least favourite.

I couldn't understand why Levs' home country was fictional, and felt that the only reason could be was that Tremain couldn't be bothered to do her research this time, and did she feel obliged to bang a story out quickly simply to please her agent and readers?

The approach taken with 'The Road Home' is in stark contrast to, for example, 'Music and Silence' which, in my view, was so well researched, and well written that whilst immersed in it's pages I almost felt as if I were a part of the story.

Like I said though, I found 'The Road Home' to be an enjoyable read, just more on a par with the chick-lit style holiday novels one usually finds in the airport departure lounge book shops.

A surprisingly good read, 09 Nov 2008
Having never read a Rose Tremain book before, I was slightly off put by the title and cover of the book - but as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. I was truly caught up in the trials and tribulations of Lev, who struggles, and succeeds in some ways to "make it" in London as a Polish migrant worker. Armed with very few English words - "I am legal", "May I help you", he faces many difficult times before he is helped out by people he meets along the way. A great read with a fantastic cast of characters.

Pass over this book and it's your loss...., 11 Nov 2008
Buy this now! ;-)

I first read this book many years ago, soon after Rose had amazed me when she was on Desert Island Discs - she sounded so intelligent and interesting that I had to see what her books were like. I was stunned by it (and by the fact that's she's still comparatively little known) and lent my copy to several people, but in the end it didn't come back. So, in July I ordered a new copy and read it again - it was even better than I'd remembered - the plot, structure, exquisite use of the language and humour (as well as many other emotions) combine to make it one of my two favourite books. In case you're wondering the other is Last and First Men/Last Men in London by Olaf Stapledon - but that's out of print more often than not.

A great novel., 19 Aug 2005
I loved this novel. I haven't read it recently so some of the details are fuzzy but I do remember being amazed by the story and the author's writing style.

"Sacred Country" is about a young girl, Mary Ward, who, at the age of six, realizes that she should be boy. The book is a chronicle of her life from that point on. I found the detailed descriptions of the odd things that captured Mary's curiosity as a child (and as an adult, in a different way) intriguing. I won't lie, this is a very sad story at times, and is hard to read in some parts because of Mary's loneliness. The loneliness is never stated and packs a harder punch because of it. All in all, this book explained to me in stunning writing, the process of finding all of the right worlds in oneself. And, dealing with them when they don't fit or express into a manageable form to the outside world. It is a coming of age story to the self and to life. I like to read to learn - about happiness, sadness, life - this book delivered in a big way for me.

A melange of characters crocheted to hook the reader., 06 Dec 2001
This is a can't be put down book. At first the topic seems unpromising, an infant girls transexual realisation. However this frame is used as a trellis to support a honeysuckle plot of intertwining tendrils. Not a word is wasted, not a word ommited in demonstrating not ony the wordsmith at work but also the artist. The book is funny, sad, tender and quite vicious all in one.

The most fantastic book ever published., 17 Oct 2000
In the summer of 1996, when I was feeling particularly confused and lonely I picked up a copy of sacred country and read it. Wow is the only word I can think of to summarise how I felt about the book. It gave me insight in to the struggles of others; the dilemas faced by Mary, Timmy, Estelle, Cord, Sonny Walter and the many other characters in the book opened my eyes to the world around me and made me alert to the emotions and insecurities of others. I have read the book 32 times since then and each time I find something else to break my heart or I notice something new in the story I never did before. The last time I read it I cried when Mary/Martin sat at the fountain in London wondering which parts of Mary she would miss when she finally became Martin. The way Rose Tremain creates a world into wich you can steo and find something new time and time again is fascinating. Whether it is Pearl's beauty, mary's struggle or Estelles madness that grips you the first time you read Sacred Country, you will find that it is something else entirely trhat grips you the second time. Fantasic, Tremain's most powerful work yet.

A celebration of human weakness and triumph, 12 Sep 1999
Six year-old Mary stood quietly in the snow, with her family, as they mourned the death of King George VI, and thought "I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I am a boy."

This is an enchanting story of people in a small village in the south of England trying to make sense of their lives.

It is not a book of tragedy. There is sadness, but there is joy. There is death but there is life. There is hopelessness but there is also the urge to become.

In its depiction of the complex network of relationships, there is probably more real truth about the way people are, than in a thousand psychology texts.

Walter with his dream of becoming a singer and songwriter believing that his dreams can never be fulfilled. Jimmy also nearly becoming trapped in a life not of his choosing. Both breaking out in their own special ways. Edward Harker, with his hat held discreetly in front of his trousers, believing that his feelings, at 61, for Irene are improper. And Irene never realising that a man could find her attractive as a woman.

Sonny, withdrawn inside himself occupied only with the farm that provided the family living. Estelle retreating into fantasy to escape a life of emptiness.

But, most of all, Mary who is really Martin, displaced in the family's cognisance by the arrival of the younger brother, despising him for his scrawny weakness, going through school to adulthood, meanwhile finding her true love and losing it, but growing triumphantly in her, then his, own individual way.

stunning, 11 Sep 2008
One of the most absorbing reads this summer. I was completely captivated by this beautifully written historical novel.

An imaginative entry into a little known world, 26 Aug 2007
The book opens in 1629, when Peter Claire, a young English lutenist, arrives to take up his post as a musician at the court of King Christian IV of Denmark. It then moves in a series of flashbacks and forward movements from this moment, both for Claire and for the King; for Kirsten Munk, the King's morganatic second wife; for Emilia Tilsen, one of Kirsten's young maid-servants; for the Countess O'Fingle in Ireland, whose husband is tortured unto madness by a tune he once heard and cannot recapture; for Marcus, Emilia's waif-like little brother; for Johann, her father in Jutland; and for the Rev. James Claire, Peter's father in Suffolk. For each of these characters Rose Tremain has created a distinctive style and voice, each a pleasure to read. She has great descriptive powers of people, place, and atmosphere. The personalities also, and the shifting relationships between them, are very distinctive: there is the huge, restless and tormented king, strangely confiding in Peter Claire; a truly monstrous regiment of women: the termagant and adulterous Kirsten, twenty-two years the King's junior, ruthlessly selfish and bullying all her attendants except for Emilia; Ellen Marsvin, Kirsten's mother; Sofia, the Queen Mother; and Magdalena, Marcus' wicked stepmother. Almost all the characters in the book are unhappy, and an air of sadness suffuses the whole novel.

Christian IV and Kirsten are certainly historical figures, as is the King's later mistress, Vibeke Kruse. Many times one feels sure that descriptions of the Danish court are based on historical research, as probably are the superstitious beliefs held by some of the characters. Personally I would have liked to know which of the other characters are inventions: Bror Brorson, for instance, Christian's boyhood friend and favourite who cannot read or write and who is banished for years from the court during Christian's minority: was there such a person? If he and others are invented, they are a great tribute to the richness of Tremain's imagination.

The energy of the book seems to me to flag somewhat in the second and third part of the novel, and there is some meandering; but it builds up to a tense ending and remains a remarkable achievement.


I am Danish myself, 07 Oct 2004
I am Danish myself, and tremain opened my eyes for many things and exellent details about his reign, things i've never heard before.
I was amazed by the book, it was very intense all the way....

I only one small thing i would like to comment...

Sweden is, in music and silence,placed on the other side of Øresund...
That is incorrect;the other side was danish untill 1658, when it became swedish and never returned to Denmark again!!!

Brilliant, 31 Jan 2004
Probably one of the best books I have read in years. I didnt want it to end. Every page painted a picture and the story kept you clinging to every word.

Let us not forget Eros!, 20 Aug 2003
Whilst I echo the sentiments of other reviews, not one has touched on the way that Tremain weaves a delicious erotic thread through the storyline which tells us just enough to let the imagination soar...

Rose Tremain has long been one of the most vigorous and imaginative of novelists; her sweeping narratives (set against the most vividly realised of canvases) have made her books as dramatic and assured as anything being written today. The Colour represents a further burnishing of her considerable talents; it is a powerful drama of greed and aspiration set in the New Zealand Gold Rush of the mid-19th Century.

Tremain's protagonists are Harriet and Joseph Baxter, who (along with Joseph's mother) leave England for the promise of the new world that New Zealand represents. Needless to say, their relocation comes with many attendant (and nigh-insoluble) problems. But their struggle against the land continues apace until Joseph discovers gold in a nearby creek and ill-advisedly conceals the find from his mother and his wife. Gold fever takes an all-consuming grip upon him, and he leaves the family-owned farm to traverse the gold fields of the Southern Alps. There he will find a strange fate: one that affects those he has left behind as well as him.

As a study of human nature in extremis, this could well be Tremain's most impressive book. Lacking the elegant stylishness of Restoration, The Colour grants us a fastidiously rendered picture of life lived at the sharp edge. And while her characters are confronted with terrifying decisions that few of us are ever likely to encounter, Tremain's narrative gifts make it easy to identify with the decisions (both wise and catastrophic) that her characters take. The sense of period is forcefully conveyed, and while this is not as ingratiating a read as such earlier Tremain books as The Swimming Pool Season, her new level of ambition makes it perhaps the author's most important book yet. --Barry Forshaw

how did he ?, 21 Nov 2008
Hey guys , I read the book but from my own experience in learning a foreign language i found it a bit too strange for Lev to learn english
so quickly as he learned . I mean , at first he couldnt even speak but after a short time he was fluent in the language already ?

A gripping story but sometimes inauthentic, 21 Nov 2008
This is a gripping story with lots of great characters and motivations bubbling under the surface. I thought the beginning, when Lev first arrives in the UK, was cleverly balanced - I was constantly surprised by him, and wondering what characters to trust and what on earth was going to happen next, and the same could be said of the ending: it's exactly what you want to happen, but still comes as a surprise.

In criticism, I'm not sure the male narration always comes across as authentic - for the most part its done well, but there are a few sections when some facets of Lev's thinking just screamed female to me.

All in all an excellent read, highly recommended as good escapism.

Entertaining Read, But Unoriginal and Easily Forgotten, 10 Nov 2008
I'm stuck between giving this book a 2 star rating (because, I know that in a few hours time I'll never think about it, or any of the characters again), or a 4 star rating (because, despite it's faults, it did provide me with entertainment for the past few days). So I think I'll settle with a cowardly 3/5, though, if I'm honest, it probably deserves less.

I feel that Tremain had all the foundations for a brilliant, life altering, inspiring + revitilasing novel, but realised none of these opportunites and instead decided to tell a stereotyped story with no originality or new depths, purely a piece of toss-away fiction. All the characters had been done 1000000000 times before, there was no originaliy to be drawn from anywhere. Lev, the hard workng immigrant sending money home to his family. Ina, the mother set in her old ways. Christy, the irish drunk. Marina, the perfect, beautiful wife etc. The only character to really intrigue me was Lev's best friend Rudi, but we didn't see or hear enough of him for his personality to save the day.

And the stereotypes don't end there either. London is described in it's worst possible light (why do writers think that being negative about everything is the only way to be original?!), why almost every single person Lev meets is fat I don't know, for, as a Londoner myself I can undoubtlebly say that though though there over-weight people in this country, there are far more people of healthy weight walking the streets of London as well. And it's not as if only the UK and US have over-weight citizens either, and I also say this as someone who's parents immigrated from the middle-east 20 years ago and have returned there on holidays every few years since I was born.

Then theres the fact that Lev seems to be a girl (and guy)-magnet, though he is certainly not the youngest or fittest spanner in the box, and has grey hair. Yes, a handsome face does wonders but does not mean that every woman you meet (specially younger ones) want to sleep with you. Jeez! And then theres the fact that people from different cultures all, every single one of them, seem to embody the stereotypes of their cultures rather than be characters in their own right. I've already mentioned Christy, the irish heavy drinker. There are two indian women in this book, both of who wear sari's on a constant basis (as if once you move to another country you can't buy a new change of clothes), Sophie, the typical brit chick who is easy to bed and only after a famous boyfriend, then Simone, a young black girl who writes menus with 'street' language as if she doesn't know how to talk otherwise. It's actually quite insulting to analyse and makes me think that perhaps I should have given the book a 2 star rating.

The plot can't be taken all that seriously either (I am especially peeved with how Tremain treated Lev and the two chinese boys relationship), with Lev getting far more than his fair share of good luck with regards to chances, moeny, jobs, friends etc. But what can I say, perhaps that's how Tremain meant the novel to feel like, a feel-good book, not to be taken seriously at all. Then why pick such an emotive, interesting backdrop to set her story upon?! Who knows.

As I've said, the books ok, it's entertaining, it sweeps you away with the characters, but once you put it down you firget about Lev, Christy, Rudi etc immediately and I don't think I;ll be re-reading this one again. Not worth my time.

Enjoyable read but not my favourite Rose Tremain novel, 09 Nov 2008
I enjoyed this book, however, out of the four Rose Tremain novels that I've read, this is my least favourite.

I couldn't understand why Levs' home country was fictional, and felt that the only reason could be was that Tremain couldn't be bothered to do her research this time, and did she feel obliged to bang a story out quickly simply to please her agent and readers?

The approach taken with 'The Road Home' is in stark contrast to, for example, 'Music and Silence' which, in my view, was so well researched, and well written that whilst immersed in it's pages I almost felt as if I were a part of the story.

Like I said though, I found 'The Road Home' to be an enjoyable read, just more on a par with the chick-lit style holiday novels one usually finds in the airport departure lounge book shops.

A surprisingly good read, 09 Nov 2008
Having never read a Rose Tremain book before, I was slightly off put by the title and cover of the book - but as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. I was truly caught up in the trials and tribulations of Lev, who struggles, and succeeds in some ways to "make it" in London as a Polish migrant worker. Armed with very few English words - "I am legal", "May I help you", he faces many difficult times before he is helped out by people he meets along the way. A great read with a fantastic cast of characters.

Pass over this book and it's your loss...., 11 Nov 2008
Buy this now! ;-)

I first read this book many years ago, soon after Rose had amazed me when she was on Desert Island Discs - she sounded so intelligent and interesting that I had to see what her books were like. I was stunned by it (and by the fact that's she's still comparatively little known) and lent my copy to several people, but in the end it didn't come back. So, in July I ordered a new copy and read it again - it was even better than I'd remembered - the plot, structure, exquisite use of the language and humour (as well as many other emotions) combine to make it one of my two favourite books. In case you're wondering the other is Last and First Men/Last Men in London by Olaf Stapledon - but that's out of print more often than not.

A great novel., 19 Aug 2005
I loved this novel. I haven't read it recently so some of the details are fuzzy but I do remember being amazed by the story and the author's writing style.

"Sacred Country" is about a young girl, Mary Ward, who, at the age of six, realizes that she should be boy. The book is a chronicle of her life from that point on. I found the detailed descriptions of the odd things that captured Mary's curiosity as a child (and as an adult, in a different way) intriguing. I won't lie, this is a very sad story at times, and is hard to read in some parts because of Mary's loneliness. The loneliness is never stated and packs a harder punch because of it. All in all, this book explained to me in stunning writing, the process of finding all of the right worlds in oneself. And, dealing with them when they don't fit or express into a manageable form to the outside world. It is a coming of age story to the self and to life. I like to read to learn - about happiness, sadness, life - this book delivered in a big way for me.

A melange of characters crocheted to hook the reader., 06 Dec 2001
This is a can't be put down book. At first the topic seems unpromising, an infant girls transexual realisation. However this frame is used as a trellis to support a honeysuckle plot of intertwining tendrils. Not a word is wasted, not a word ommited in demonstrating not ony the wordsmith at work but also the artist. The book is funny, sad, tender and quite vicious all in one.

The most fantastic book ever published., 17 Oct 2000
In the summer of 1996, when I was feeling particularly confused and lonely I picked up a copy of sacred country and read it. Wow is the only word I can think of to summarise how I felt about the book. It gave me insight in to the struggles of others; the dilemas faced by Mary, Timmy, Estelle, Cord, Sonny Walter and the many other characters in the book opened my eyes to the world around me and made me alert to the emotions and insecurities of others. I have read the book 32 times since then and each time I find something else to break my heart or I notice something new in the story I never did before. The last time I read it I cried when Mary/Martin sat at the fountain in London wondering which parts of Mary she would miss when she finally became Martin. The way Rose Tremain creates a world into wich you can steo and find something new time and time again is fascinating. Whether it is Pearl's beauty, mary's struggle or Estelles madness that grips you the first time you read Sacred Country, you will find that it is something else entirely trhat grips you the second time. Fantasic, Tremain's most powerful work yet.

A celebration of human weakness and triumph, 12 Sep 1999
Six year-old Mary stood quietly in the snow, with her family, as they mourned the death of King George VI, and thought "I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I am a boy."

This is an enchanting story of people in a small village in the south of England trying to make sense of their lives.

It is not a book of tragedy. There is sadness, but there is joy. There is death but there is life. There is hopelessness but there is also the urge to become.

In its depiction of the complex network of relationships, there is probably more real truth about the way people are, than in a thousand psychology texts.

Walter with his dream of becoming a singer and songwriter believing that his dreams can never be fulfilled. Jimmy also nearly becoming trapped in a life not of his choosing. Both breaking out in their own special ways. Edward Harker, with his hat held discreetly in front of his trousers, believing that his feelings, at 61, for Irene are improper. And Irene never realising that a man could find her attractive as a woman.

Sonny, withdrawn inside himself occupied only with the farm that provided the family living. Estelle retreating into fantasy to escape a life of emptiness.

But, most of all, Mary who is really Martin, displaced in the family's cognisance by the arrival of the younger brother, despising him for his scrawny weakness, going through school to adulthood, meanwhile finding her true love and losing it, but growing triumphantly in her, then his, own individual way.

stunning, 11 Sep 2008
One of the most absorbing reads this summer. I was completely captivated by this beautifully written historical novel.

An imaginative entry into a little known world, 26 Aug 2007
The book opens in 1629, when Peter Claire, a young English lutenist, arrives to take up his post as a musician at the court of King Christian IV of Denmark. It then moves in a series of flashbacks and forward movements from this moment, both for Claire and for the King; for Kirsten Munk, the King's morganatic second wife; for Emilia Tilsen, one of Kirsten's young maid-servants; for the Countess O'Fingle in Ireland, whose husband is tortured unto madness by a tune he once heard and cannot recapture; for Marcus, Emilia's waif-like little brother; for Johann, her father in Jutland; and for the Rev. James Claire, Peter's father in Suffolk. For each of these characters Rose Tremain has created a distinctive style and voice, each a pleasure to read. She has great descriptive powers of people, place, and atmosphere. The personalities also, and the shifting relationships between them, are very distinctive: there is the huge, restless and tormented king, strangely confiding in Peter Claire; a truly monstrous regiment of women: the termagant and adulterous Kirsten, twenty-two years the King's junior, ruthlessly selfish and bullying all her attendants except for Emilia; Ellen Marsvin, Kirsten's mother; Sofia, the Queen Mother; and Magdalena, Marcus' wicked stepmother. Almost all the characters in the book are unhappy, and an air of sadness suffuses the whole novel.

Christian IV and Kirsten are certainly historical figures, as is the King's later mistress, Vibeke Kruse. Many times one feels sure that descriptions of the Danish court are based on historical research, as probably are the superstitious beliefs held by some of the characters. Personally I would have liked to know which of the other characters are inventions: Bror Brorson, for instance, Christian's boyhood friend and favourite who cannot read or write and who is banished for years from the court during Christian's minority: was there such a person? If he and others are invented, they are a great tribute to the richness of Tremain's imagination.

The energy of the book seems to me to flag somewhat in the second and third part of the novel, and there is some meandering; but it builds up to a tense ending and remains a remarkable achievement.


I am Danish myself, 07 Oct 2004
I am Danish myself, and tremain opened my eyes for many things and exellent details about his reign, things i've never heard before.
I was amazed by the book, it was very intense all the way....

I only one small thing i would like to comment...

Sweden is, in music and silence,placed on the other side of Øresund...
That is incorrect;the other side was danish untill 1658, when it became swedish and never returned to Denmark again!!!

Brilliant, 31 Jan 2004
Probably one of the best books I have read in years. I didnt want it to end. Every page painted a picture and the story kept you clinging to every word.

Let us not forget Eros!, 20 Aug 2003
Whilst I echo the sentiments of other reviews, not one has touched on the way that Tremain weaves a delicious erotic thread through the storyline which tells us just enough to let the imagination soar...

a beautiful work.........., 02 Aug 2008

I read this book on holiday, so was able to relax and fully appreciate Tremains subtle yet dramatic writing. Having never read her books before, I am now a convert and so glad I picked up this book which held me from paged first to last with ease. A beautifully written and compelling story.

excellent read, 22 Nov 2007
I loved this engrossing historical novel - highly reccomended. If you can do please read 'Music and Silence' by the same author - absolutely outstanding.

Panning for gold and being disappointed., 04 Mar 2007
I have previously read and loved "Restoration" by Rose Tremain. The main character was incredible; flawed and yet I cared so much what happened in his life. This book was SO different. Like other reviewers, I did not know there had been a gold rush in New Zealand, so that part of the story was interesting, as was the insight into the world and imagination of the Maori nanny. However, I did not like any of the characters. There was nothing much to admire about them and their motives for reacting in certain ways were at times unconvincing. All in all I found this book cold and sadly lacking. At the book's most depressing moments, and there were quite a few of those, I found myself like the characters, cold and miserable, searching for a glimmer of gold which would make it all worthwhile. Sadly I found none. Maybe Rose should be given credit for her ability to make us feel as her characters feel, but I would rather be warmed and entertained by a book.

Descriptive writing, 24 Nov 2006
Set in the New Zealand Gold Rush of the mid-19th century Harriet and Joseph Baxter, along with Joseph's mother, leave England for the promise of the new world that New Zealand represents. Their new home comes with incredible problems and hardships. Their struggle against the land continues until one day Joseph discovers gold in their nearby creek and hides the find from his mother and his wife. Gold fever takes grip of him, and he leaves the family-owned farm and journeys to the gold fields of the Southern Alps. Left alone with his mother Harriet discovers that Joseph had found a little gold on their land. When Joseph's mother dies Harriet bravely decides to cross the mountains in an attempt to find her husband. But she isn't prepared for at the squalor and confusion at the gold-diggings.
Tremain has written a novel that is full of beautifully written prose and engaging characters. It's a tale of greed and hope amongst people who have everything to gain and nothing to lose.


Tedious characters and insufficient plot., 28 May 2006
What a disappointment. When you strip away some of the eloquent prose you are left with characters that do not engage you on any level.The main male character was so dull and such a loser you felt he deserved everything that happened to him. The only time I felt any sympathy for him was when he embarked on an abusive and homosexual relationship with a young, manipulative man rather than endure any more loneliness. The plot is sparse and in the main predictable, though coupled with one or two inexplicable courses of action by the central characters.Why would you put yourself through great hardship to track a husband you despise to tell him his elderly mother had died!
This novel needed humour, pace and action! Instead you were left with characters you did not care about and pages of beautifully written prose which ultimately became tedious.

how did he ?, 21 Nov 2008
Hey guys , I read the book but from my own experience in learning a foreign language i found it a bit too strange for Lev to learn english
so quickly as he learned . I mean , at first he couldnt even speak but after a short time he was fluent in the language already ?

A gripping story but sometimes inauthentic, 21 Nov 2008
This is a gripping story with lots of great characters and motivations bubbling under the surface. I thought the beginning, when Lev first arrives in the UK, was cleverly balanced - I was constantly surprised by him, and wondering what characters to trust and what on earth was going to happen next, and the same could be said of the ending: it's exactly what you want to happen, but still comes as a surprise.

In criticism, I'm not sure the male narration always comes across as authentic - for the most part its done well, but there are a few sections when some facets of Lev's thinking just screamed female to me.

All in all an excellent read, highly recommended as good escapism.

Entertaining Read, But Unoriginal and Easily Forgotten, 10 Nov 2008
I'm stuck between giving this book a 2 star rating (because, I know that in a few hours time I'll never think about it, or any of the characters again), or a 4 star rating (because, despite it's faults, it did provide me with entertainment for the past few days). So I think I'll settle with a cowardly 3/5, though, if I'm honest, it probably deserves less.

I feel that Tremain had all the foundations for a brilliant, life altering, inspiring + revitilasing novel, but realised none of these opportunites and instead decided to tell a stereotyped story with no originality or new depths, purely a piece of toss-away fiction. All the characters had been done 1000000000 times before, there was no originaliy to be drawn from anywhere. Lev, the hard workng immigrant sending money home to his family. Ina, the mother set in her old ways. Christy, the irish drunk. Marina, the perfect, beautiful wife etc. The only character to really intrigue me was Lev's best friend Rudi, but we didn't see or hear enough of him for his personality to save the day.

And the stereotypes don't end there either. London is described in it's worst possible light (why do writers think that being negative about everything is the only way to be original?!), why almost every single person Lev meets is fat I don't know, for, as a Londoner myself I can undoubtlebly say that though though there over-weight people in this country, there are far more people of healthy weight walking the streets of London as well. And it's not as if only the UK and US have over-weight citizens either, and I also say this as someone who's parents immigrated from the middle-east 20 years ago and have returned there on holidays every few years since I was born.

Then theres the fact that Lev seems to be a girl (and guy)-magnet, though he is certainly not the youngest or fittest spanner in the box, and has grey hair. Yes, a handsome face does wonders but does not mean that every woman you meet (specially younger ones) want to sleep with you. Jeez! And then theres the fact that people from different cultures all, every single one of them, seem to embody the stereotypes of their cultures rather than be characters in their own right. I've already mentioned Christy, the irish heavy drinker. There are two indian women in this book, both of who wear sari's on a constant basis (as if once you move to another country you can't buy a new change of clothes), Sophie, the typical brit chick who is easy to bed and only after a famous boyfriend, then Simone, a young black girl who writes menus with 'street' language as if she doesn't know how to talk otherwise. It's actually quite insulting to analyse and makes me think that perhaps I should have given the book a 2 star rating.

The plot can't be taken all that seriously either (I am especially peeved with how Tremain treated Lev and the two chinese boys relationship), with Lev getting far more than his fair share of good luck with regards to chances, moeny, jobs, friends etc. But what can I say, perhaps that's how Tremain meant the novel to feel like, a feel-good book, not to be taken seriously at all. Then why pick such an emotive, interesting backdrop to set her story upon?! Who knows.

As I've said, the books ok, it's entertaining, it sweeps you away with the characters, but once you put it down you firget about Lev, Christy, Rudi etc immediately and I don't think I;ll be re-reading this one again. Not worth my time.

Enjoyable read but not my favourite Rose Tremain novel, 09 Nov 2008
I enjoyed this book, however, out of the four Rose Tremain novels that I've read, this is my least favourite.

I couldn't understand why Levs' home country was fictional, and felt that the only reason could be was that Tremain couldn't be bothered to do her research this time, and did she feel obliged to bang a story out quickly simply to please her agent and readers?

The approach taken with 'The Road Home' is in stark contrast to, for example, 'Music and Silence' which, in my view, was so well researched, and well written that whilst immersed in it's pages I almost felt as if I were a part of the story.

Like I said though, I found 'The Road Home' to be an enjoyable read, just more on a par with the chick-lit style holiday novels one usually finds in the airport departure lounge book shops.

A surprisingly good read, 09 Nov 2008
Having never read a Rose Tremain book before, I was slightly off put by the title and cover of the book - but as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. I was truly caught up in the trials and tribulations of Lev, who struggles, and succeeds in some ways to "make it" in London as a Polish migrant worker. Armed with very few English words - "I am legal", "May I help you", he faces many difficult times before he is helped out by people he meets along the way. A great read with a fantastic cast of characters.

Pass over this book and it's your loss...., 11 Nov 2008
Buy this now! ;-)

I first read this book many years ago, soon after Rose had amazed me when she was on Desert Island Discs - she sounded so intelligent and interesting that I had to see what her books were like. I was stunned by it (and by the fact that's she's still comparatively little known) and lent my copy to several people, but in the end it didn't come back. So, in July I ordered a new copy and read it again - it was even better than I'd remembered - the plot, structure, exquisite use of the language and humour (as well as many other emotions) combine to make it one of my two favourite books. In case you're wondering the other is Last and First Men/Last Men in London by Olaf Stapledon - but that's out of print more often than not.

A great novel., 19 Aug 2005
I loved this novel. I haven't read it recently so some of the details are fuzzy but I do remember being amazed by the story and the author's writing style.

"Sacred Country" is about a young girl, Mary Ward, who, at the age of six, realizes that she should be boy. The book is a chronicle of her life from that point on. I found the detailed descriptions of the odd things that captured Mary's curiosity as a child (and as an adult, in a different way) intriguing. I won't lie, this is a very sad story at times, and is hard to read in some parts because of Mary's loneliness. The loneliness is never stated and packs a harder punch because of it. All in all, this book explained to me in stunning writing, the process of finding all of the right worlds in oneself. And, dealing with them when they don't fit or express into a manageable form to the outside world. It is a coming of age story to the self and to life. I like to read to learn - about happiness, sadness, life - this book delivered in a big way for me.

A melange of characters crocheted to hook the reader., 06 Dec 2001
This is a can't be put down book. At first the topic seems unpromising, an infant girls transexual realisation. However this frame is used as a trellis to support a honeysuckle plot of intertwining tendrils. Not a word is wasted, not a word ommited in demonstrating not ony the wordsmith at work but also the artist. The book is funny, sad, tender and quite vicious all in one.

The most fantastic book ever published., 17 Oct 2000
In the summer of 1996, when I was feeling particularly confused and lonely I picked up a copy of sacred country and read it. Wow is the only word I can think of to summarise how I felt about the book. It gave me insight in to the struggles of others; the dilemas faced by Mary, Timmy, Estelle, Cord, Sonny Walter and the many other characters in the book opened my eyes to the world around me and made me alert to the emotions and insecurities of others. I have read the book 32 times since then and each time I find something else to break my heart or I notice something new in the story I never did before. The last time I read it I cried when Mary/Martin sat at the fountain in London wondering which parts of Mary she would miss when she finally became Martin. The way Rose Tremain creates a world into wich you can steo and find something new time and time again is fascinating. Whether it is Pearl's beauty, mary's struggle or Estelles madness that grips you the first time you read Sacred Country, you will find that it is something else entirely trhat grips you the second time. Fantasic, Tremain's most powerful work yet.

A celebration of human weakness and triumph, 12 Sep 1999
Six year-old Mary stood quietly in the snow, with her family, as they mourned the death of King George VI, and thought "I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I am a boy."

This is an enchanting story of people in a small village in the south of England trying to make sense of their lives.

It is not a book of tragedy. There is sadness, but there is joy. There is death but there is life. There is hopelessness but there is also the urge to become.

In its depiction of the complex network of relationships, there is probably more real truth about the way people are, than in a thousand psychology texts.

Walter with his dream of becoming a singer and songwriter believing that his dreams can never be fulfilled. Jimmy also nearly becoming trapped in a life not of his choosing. Both breaking out in their own special ways. Edward Harker, with his hat held discreetly in front of his trousers, believing that his feelings, at 61, for Irene are improper. And Irene never realising that a man could find her attractive as a woman.

Sonny, withdrawn inside himself occupied only with the farm that provided the family living. Estelle retreating into fantasy to escape a life of emptiness.

But, most of all, Mary who is really Martin, displaced in the family's cognisance by the arrival of the younger brother, despising him for his scrawny weakness, going through school to adulthood, meanwhile finding her true love and losing it, but growing triumphantly in her, then his, own individual way.

stunning, 11 Sep 2008
One of the most absorbing reads this summer. I was completely captivated by this beautifully written historical novel.

An imaginative entry into a little known world, 26 Aug 2007
The book opens in 1629, when Peter Claire, a young English lutenist, arrives to take up his post as a musician at the court of King Christian IV of Denmark. It then moves in a series of flashbacks and forward movements from this moment, both for Claire and for the King; for Kirsten Munk, the King's morganatic second wife; for Emilia Tilsen, one of Kirsten's young maid-servants; for the Countess O'Fingle in Ireland, whose husband is tortured unto madness by a tune he once heard and cannot recapture; for Marcus, Emilia's waif-like little brother; for Johann, her father in Jutland; and for the Rev. James Claire, Peter's father in Suffolk. For each of these characters Rose Tremain has created a distinctive style and voice, each a pleasure to read. She has great descriptive powers of people, place, and atmosphere. The personalities also, and the shifting relationships between them, are very distinctive: there is the huge, restless and tormented king, strangely confiding in Peter Claire; a truly monstrous regiment of women: the termagant and adulterous Kirsten, twenty-two years the King's junior, ruthlessly selfish and bullying all her attendants except for Emilia; Ellen Marsvin, Kirsten's mother; Sofia, the Queen Mother; and Magdalena, Marcus' wicked stepmother. Almost all the characters in the book are unhappy, and an air of sadness suffuses the whole novel.

Christian IV and Kirsten are certainly historical figures, as is the King's later mistress, Vibeke Kruse. Many times one feels sure that descriptions of the Danish court are based on historical research, as probably are the superstitious beliefs held by some of the characters. Personally I would have liked to know which of the other characters are inventions: Bror Brorson, for instance, Christian's boyhood friend and favourite who cannot read or write and who is banished for years from the court during Christian's minority: was there such a person? If he and others are invented, they are a great tribute to the richness of Tremain's imagination.

The energy of the book seems to me to flag somewhat in the second and third part of the novel, and there is some meandering; but it builds up to a tense ending and remains a remarkable achievement.


I am Danish myself, 07 Oct 2004
I am Danish myself, and tremain opened my eyes for many things and exellent details about his reign, things i've never heard before.
I was amazed by the book, it was very intense all the way....

I only one small thing i would like to comment...

Sweden is, in music and silence,placed on the other side of Øresund...
That is incorrect;the other side was danish untill 1658, when it became swedish and never returned to Denmark again!!!

Brilliant, 31 Jan 2004
Probably one of the best books I have read in years. I didnt want it to end. Every page painted a picture and the story kept you clinging to every word.

Let us not forget Eros!, 20 Aug 2003
Whilst I echo the sentiments of other reviews, not one has touched on the way that Tremain weaves a delicious erotic thread through the storyline which tells us just enough to let the imagination soar...

a beautiful work.........., 02 Aug 2008

I read this book on holiday, so was able to relax and fully appreciate Tremains subtle yet dramatic writing. Having never read her books before, I am now a convert and so glad I picked up this book which held me from paged first to last with ease. A beautifully written and compelling story.

excellent read, 22 Nov 2007
I loved this engrossing historical novel - highly reccomended. If you can do please read 'Music and Silence' by the same author - absolutely outstanding.

Panning for gold and being disappointed., 04 Mar 2007
I have previously read and loved "Restoration" by Rose Tremain. The main character was incredible; flawed and yet I cared so much what happened in his life. This book was SO different. Like other reviewers, I did not know there had been a gold rush in New Zealand, so that part of the story was interesting, as was the insight into the world and imagination of the Maori nanny. However, I did not like any of the characters. There was nothing much to admire about them and their motives for reacting in certain ways were at times unconvincing. All in all I found this book cold and sadly lacking. At the book's most depressing moments, and there were quite a few of those, I found myself like the characters, cold and miserable, searching for a glimmer of gold which would make it all worthwhile. Sadly I found none. Maybe Rose should be given credit for her ability to make us feel as her characters feel, but I would rather be warmed and entertained by a book.

Descriptive writing, 24 Nov 2006
Set in the New Zealand Gold Rush of the mid-19th century Harriet and Joseph Baxter, along with Joseph's mother, leave England for the promise of the new world that New Zealand represents. Their new home comes with incredible problems and hardships. Their struggle against the land continues until one day Joseph discovers gold in their nearby creek and hides the find from his mother and his wife. Gold fever takes grip of him, and he leaves the family-owned farm and journeys to the gold fields of the Southern Alps. Left alone with his mother Harriet discovers that Joseph had found a little gold on their land. When Joseph's mother dies Harriet bravely decides to cross the mountains in an attempt to find her husband. But she isn't prepared for at the squalor and confusion at the gold-diggings.
Tremain has written a novel that is full of beautifully written prose and engaging characters. It's a tale of greed and hope amongst people who have everything to gain and nothing to lose.


Tedious characters and insufficient plot., 28 May 2006
What a disappointment. When you strip away some of the eloquent prose you are left with characters that do not engage you on any level.The main male character was so dull and such a loser you felt he deserved everything that happened to him. The only time I felt any sympathy for him was when he embarked on an abusive and homosexual relationship with a young, manipulative man rather than endure any more loneliness. The plot is sparse and in the main predictable, though coupled with one or two inexplicable courses of action by the central characters.Why would you put yourself through great hardship to track a husband you despise to tell him his elderly mother had died!
This novel needed humour, pace and action! Instead you were left with characters you did not care about and pages of beautifully written prose which ultimately became tedious.

Completely engrossing, 01 Jun 2004
This book is an excellent read and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit more challenging and out of the ordinary. The thirteen year old Lewis Little is a great pair of eyes through which to view the world of the story and the ending was completely unexpected and very effective.

On a side note the writing is excellent and a great antidote to the tube! Definitely worth a bit of time & effort.

A detective story written by a poet, 14 Jan 2004
The book is narrated by Lewis Little, a 13-year-old boy staying in Paris over the summer holidays whilst his mother, a translator, works on a book by Valentina Gavrilovich, a beautiful Russian author who writes popular Medeival romances.

Lewis and his mother stay in Valentina's spacious luxury apartment in the centre of Paris. Lewis kills time by taking Valentina's dog Sergei for walks, playing computer chess and reading. Lewis also develops a crush on Valentina, which grows as he turn's 14 and events escalate into full blown love.

One day Valentina dissapears mysteriously and Lewis sets his chess mind to unravelling the mystery and beating the police at finding her.The novel ends dramatically but I won't give it away in case you have not read it yet.

The novel's strong points are its evocation of a Parisian summer, its poetic, sparkling prose which succesfully transports; its luxurious theme, its occasional humour and as always with Rose Tremain a, sort of, deep symbolic poetry that opens, resonates and illuminates the readers understanding of the charcters and their emotions, and through them, the human condition in general.

It has been argued that Tremain failed in her ambitious attempt to successfully 'get under the skin' of an adolescent boy. Having been one myself I think this is too harsh a judgement. She understands male obsession very well and the narration is beleivable enough to work. Lewis's precocity is a little exagerated, perhaps. I found myself questioning whether a 13-14 year-old boy could be that wise or emotionally developed and thinking he would be rare individual, remebering how I and my peers behaved. Nevertheless, this did not spoil the story for me.

The novel's weekest point is its ending. It is almost as if Tremain lost her nerve. Once again I have to be careful or I will spoil it but all I will say is that it could have been 'better'.

Disappointing, 09 Apr 2003
Though very well written and extremely accurate and vivid in its descriptions of Paris, the book is disappointing. The reader can not identify with any of the central characters of the story, not even sympathize with them. They are too strongly characterised (the eccentric writer, the precocious teenager...)or simply no characterised at all to be believable. Lewis Little is even disgusting, sometimes, with his superior attitude and pedantic manners. The plot is intriguing, but the author has given to the criminal side of the story less interest than to the wild thoughts of Lewis. This leads to a rather precipitated denoument which leaves the reader unsatisfied.

A page-turner, but flawed, 08 Jan 2003
I enjoyed this book, but at the same time it frustrated and annoyed me. It's a thriller, with ample suspense and a thoroughly satisfying story and ending, a proper 'denouement' where all the loose ends come together in a satisfactory if not satisfying way.
But what annoys me is the way this female writer has tried to write about a young male teenager's thoughts, about his masturbation, physical stimulation, and his fantasies. Much of the detail just doesn't feel right. Am I the first person to review this book who is brave enough to say so? Or am I the first male reviewer?

However, it is a good read nevertheless, but not as good as Music & Silence which is my favourite book of recent years.

Spellbinding, 20 Aug 2002
Wow. I am completely bowled over by the beauty, humour and sometimes disturbing narrative of this book. So beautifully written, I was enthralled from page 1, and quickly found myself in the heat of a Parisian summer, as a silent observer of Lewis Little and his quirky, funny and occasionally worryingly psychotic observations of life around him.
A great read.

how did he ?, 21 Nov 2008
Hey guys , I read the book but from my own experience in learning a foreign language i found it a bit too strange for Lev to learn english
so quickly as he learned . I mean , at first he couldnt even speak but after a short time he was fluent in the language already ?

A gripping story but sometimes inauthentic, 21 Nov 2008
This is a gripping story with lots of great characters and motivations bubbling under the surface. I thought the beginning, when Lev first arrives in the UK, was cleverly balanced - I was constantly surprised by him, and wondering what characters to trust and what on earth was going to happen next, and the same could be said of the ending: it's exactly what you want to happen, but still comes as a surprise.

In criticism, I'm not sure the male narration always comes across as authentic - for the most part its done well, but there are a few sections when some facets of Lev's thinking just screamed female to me.

All in all an excellent read, highly recommended as good escapism.

Entertaining Read, But Unoriginal and Easily Forgotten, 10 Nov 2008
I'm stuck between giving this book a 2 star rating (because, I know that in a few hours time I'll never think about it, or any of the characters again), or a 4 star rating (because, despite it's faults, it did provide me with entertainment for the past few days). So I think I'll settle with a cowardly 3/5, though, if I'm honest, it probably deserves less.

I feel that Tremain had all the foundations for a brilliant, life altering, inspiring + revitilasing novel, but realised none of these opportunites and instead decided to tell a stereotyped story with no originality or new depths, purely a piece of toss-away fiction. All the characters had been done 1000000000 times before, there was no originaliy to be drawn from anywhere. Lev, the hard workng immigrant sending money home to his family. Ina, the mother set in her old ways. Christy, the irish drunk. Marina, the perfect, beautiful wife etc. The only character to really intrigue me was Lev's best friend Rudi, but we didn't see or hear enough of him for his personality to save the day.

And the stereotypes don't end there either. London is described in it's worst possible light (why do writers think that being negative about everything is the only way to be original?!), why almost every single person Lev meets is fat I don't know, for, as a Londoner myself I can undoubtlebly say that though though there over-weight people in this country, there are far more people of healthy weight walking the streets of London as well. And it's not as if only the UK and US have over-weight citizens either, and I also say this as someone who's parents immigrated from the middle-east 20 years ago and have returned there on holidays every few years since I was born.

Then theres the fact that Lev seems to be a girl (and guy)-magnet, though he is certainly not the youngest or fittest spanner in the box, and has grey hair. Yes, a handsome face does wonders but does not mean that every woman you meet (specially younger ones) want to sleep with you. Jeez! And then theres the fact that people from different cultures all, every single one of them, seem to embody the stereotypes of their cultures rather than be characters in their own right. I've already mentioned Christy, the irish heavy drinker. There are two indian women in this book, both of who wear sari's on a constant basis (as if once you move to another country you can't buy a new change of clothes), Sophie, the typical brit chick who is easy to bed and only after a famous boyfriend, then Simone, a young black girl who writes menus with 'street' language as if she doesn't know how to talk otherwise. It's actually quite insulting to analyse and makes me think that perhaps I should have given the book a 2 star rating.

The plot can't be taken all that seriously either (I am especially peeved with how Tremain treated Lev and the two chinese boys relationship), with Lev getting far more than his fair share of good luck with regards to chances, moeny, jobs, friends etc. But what can I say, perhaps that's how Tremain meant the novel to feel like, a feel-good book, not to be taken seriously at all. Then why pick such an emotive, interesting backdrop to set her story upon?! Who knows.

As I've said, the books ok, it's entertaining, it sweeps you away with the characters, but once you put it down you firget about Lev, Christy, Rudi etc immediately and I don't think I;ll be re-reading this one again. Not worth my time.

Enjoyable read but not my favourite Rose Tremain novel, 09 Nov 2008
I enjoyed this book, however, out of the four Rose Tremain novels that I've read, this is my least favourite.

I couldn't understand why Levs' home country was fictional, and felt that the only reason could be was that Tremain couldn't be bothered to do her research this time, and did she feel obliged to bang a story out quickly simply to please her agent and readers?

The approach taken with 'The Road Home' is in stark contrast to, for example, 'Music and Silence' which, in my view, was so well researched, and well written that whilst immersed in it's pages I almost felt as if I were a part of the story.

Like I said though, I found 'The Road Home' to be an enjoyable read, just more on a par with the chick-lit style holiday novels one usually finds in the airport departure lounge book shops.

A surprisingly good read, 09 Nov 2008
Having never read a Rose Tremain book before, I was slightly off put by the title and cover of the book - but as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. I was truly caught up in the trials and tribulations of Lev, who struggles, and succeeds in some ways to "make it" in London as a Polish migrant worker. Armed with very few English words - "I am legal", "May I help you", he faces many difficult times before he is helped out by people he meets along the way. A great read with a fantastic cast of characters.

Pass over this book and it's your loss...., 11 Nov 2008
Buy this now! ;-)

I first read this book many years ago, soon after Rose had amazed me when she was on Desert Island Discs - she sounded so intelligent and interesting that I had to see what her books were like. I was stunned by it (and by the fact that's she's still comparatively little known) and lent my copy to several people, but in the end it didn't come back. So, in July I ordered a new copy and read it again - it was even better than I'd remembered - the plot, structure, exquisite use of the language and humour (as well as many other emotions) combine to make it one of my two favourite books. In case you're wondering the other is Last and First Men/Last Men in London by Olaf Stapledon - but that's out of print more often than not.

A great novel., 19 Aug 2005
I loved this novel. I haven't read it recently so some of the details are fuzzy but I do remember being amazed by the story and the author's writing style.

"Sacred Country" is about a young girl, Mary Ward, who, at the age of six, realizes that she should be boy. The book is a chronicle of her life from that point on. I found the detailed descriptions of the odd things that captured Mary's curiosity as a child (and as an adult, in a different way) intriguing. I won't lie, this is a very sad story at times, and is hard to read in some parts because of Mary's loneliness. The loneliness is never stated and packs a harder punch because of it. All in all, this book explained to me in stunning writing, the process of finding all of the right worlds in oneself. And, dealing with them when they don't fit or express into a manageable form to the outside world. It is a coming of age story to the self and to life. I like to read to learn - about happiness, sadness, life - this book delivered in a big way for me.

A melange of characters crocheted to hook the reader., 06 Dec 2001
This is a can't be put down book. At first the topic seems unpromising, an infant girls transexual realisation. However this frame is used as a trellis to support a honeysuckle plot of intertwining tendrils. Not a word is wasted, not a word ommited in demonstrating not ony the wordsmith at work but also the artist. The book is funny, sad, tender and quite vicious all in one.

The most fantastic book ever published., 17 Oct 2000
In the summer of 1996, when I was feeling particularly confused and lonely I picked up a copy of sacred country and read it. Wow is the only word I can think of to summarise how I felt about the book. It gave me insight in to the struggles of others; the dilemas faced by Mary, Timmy, Estelle, Cord, Sonny Walter and the many other characters in the book opened my eyes to the world around me and made me alert to the emotions and insecurities of others. I have read the book 32 times since then and each time I find something else to break my heart or I notice something new in the story I never did before. The last time I read it I cried when Mary/Martin sat at the fountain in London wondering which parts of Mary she would miss when she finally became Martin. The way Rose Tremain creates a world into wich you can steo and find something new time and time again is fascinating. Whether it is Pearl's beauty, mary's struggle or Estelles madness that grips you the first time you read Sacred Country, you will find that it is something else entirely trhat grips you the second time. Fantasic, Tremain's most powerful work yet.

A celebration of human weakness and triumph, 12 Sep 1999
Six year-old Mary stood quietly in the snow, with her family, as they mourned the death of King George VI, and thought "I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I am a boy."

This is an enchanting story of people in a small village in the south of England trying to make sense of their lives.

It is not a book of tragedy. There is sadness, but there is joy. There is death but there is life. There is hopelessness but there is also the urge to become.

In its depiction of the complex network of relationships, there is probably more real truth about the way people are, than in a thousand psychology texts.

Walter with his dream of becoming a singer and songwriter believing that his dreams can never be fulfilled. Jimmy also nearly becoming trapped in a life not of his choosing. Both breaking out in their own special ways. Edward Harker, with his hat held discreetly in front of his trousers, believing that his feelings, at 61, for Irene are improper. And Irene never realising that a man could find her attractive as a woman.

Sonny, withdrawn inside himself occupied only with the farm that provided the family living. Estelle retreating into fantasy to escape a life of emptiness.

But, most of all, Mary who is really Martin, displaced in the family's cognisance by the arrival of the younger brother, despising him for his scrawny weakness, going through school to adulthood, meanwhile finding her true love and losing it, but growing triumphantly in her, then his, own individual way.

stunning, 11 Sep 2008
One of the most absorbing reads this summer. I was completely captivated by this beautifully written historical novel.

An imaginative entry into a little known world, 26 Aug 2007
The book opens in 1629, when Peter Claire, a young English lutenist, arrives to take up his post as a musician at the court of King Christian IV of Denmark. It then moves in a series of flashbacks and forward movements from this moment, both for Claire and for the King; for Kirsten Munk, the King's morganatic second wife; for Emilia Tilsen, one of Kirsten's young maid-servants; for the Countess O'Fingle in Ireland, whose husband is tortured unto madness by a tune he once heard and cannot recapture; for Marcus, Emilia's waif-like little brother; for Johann, her father in Jutland; and for the Rev. James Claire, Peter's father in Suffolk. For each of these characters Rose Tremain has created a distinctive style and voice, each a pleasure to read. She has great descriptive powers of people, place, and atmosphere. The personalities also, and the shifting relationships between them, are very distinctive: there is the huge, restless and tormented king, strangely confiding in Peter Claire; a truly monstrous regiment of women: the termagant and adulterous Kirsten, twenty-two years the King's junior, ruthlessly selfish and bullying all her attendants except for Emilia; Ellen Marsvin, Kirsten's mother; Sofia, the Queen Mother; and Magdalena, Marcus' wicked stepmother. Almost all the characters in the book are unhappy, and an air of sadness suffuses the whole novel.

Christian IV and Kirsten are certainly historical figures, as is the King's later mistress, Vibeke Kruse. Many times one feels sure that descriptions of the Danish court are based on historical research, as probably are the superstitious beliefs held by some of the characters. Personally I would have liked to know which of the other characters are inventions: Bror Brorson, for instance, Christian's boyhood friend and favourite who cannot read or write and who is banished for years from the court during Christian's minority: was there such a person? If he and others are invented, they are a great tribute to the richness of Tremain's imagination.

The energy of the book seems to me to flag somewhat in the second and third part of the novel, and there is some meandering; but it builds up to a tense ending and remains a remarkable achievement.


I am Danish myself, 07 Oct 2004
I am Danish myself, and tremain opened my eyes for many things and exellent details about his reign, things i've never heard before.
I was amazed by the book, it was very intense all the way....

I only one small thing i would like to comment...

Sweden is, in music and silence,placed on the other side of Øresund...
That is incorrect;the other side was danish untill 1658, when it became swedish and never returned to Denmark again!!!

Brilliant, 31 Jan 2004
Probably one of the best books I have read in years. I didnt want it to end. Every page painted a picture and the story kept you clinging to every word.

Let us not forget Eros!, 20 Aug 2003
Whilst I echo the sentiments of other reviews, not one has touched on the way that Tremain weaves a delicious erotic thread through the storyline which tells us just enough to let the imagination soar...

a beautiful work.........., 02 Aug 2008

I read this book on holiday, so was able to relax and fully appreciate Tremains subtle yet dramatic writing. Having never read her books before, I am now a convert and so glad I picked up this book which held me from paged first to last with ease. A beautifully written and compelling story.

excellent read, 22 Nov 2007
I loved this engrossing historical novel - highly reccomended. If you can do please read 'Music and Silence' by the same author - absolutely outstanding.

Panning for gold and being disappointed., 04 Mar 2007
I have previously read and loved "Restoration" by Rose Tremain. The main character was incredible; flawed and yet I cared so much what happened in his life. This book was SO different. Like other reviewers, I did not know there had been a gold rush in New Zealand, so that part of the story was interesting, as was the insight into the world and imagination of the Maori nanny. However, I did not like any of the characters. There was nothing much to admire about them and their motives for reacting in certain ways were at times unconvincing. All in all I found this book cold and sadly lacking. At the book's most depressing moments, and there were quite a few of those, I found myself like the characters, cold and miserable, searching for a glimmer of gold which would make it all worthwhile. Sadly I found none. Maybe Rose should be given credit for her ability to make us feel as her characters feel, but I would rather be warmed and entertained by a book.

Descriptive writing, 24 Nov 2006
Set in the New Zealand Gold Rush of the mid-19th century Harriet and Joseph Baxter, along with Joseph's mother, leave England for the promise of the new world that New Zealand represents. Their new home comes with incredible problems and hardships. Their struggle against the land continues until one day Joseph discovers gold in their nearby creek and hides the find from his mother and his wife. Gold fever takes grip of him, and he leaves the family-owned farm and journeys to the gold fields of the Southern Alps. Left alone with his mother Harriet discovers that Joseph had found a little gold on their land. When Joseph's mother dies Harriet bravely decides to cross the mountains in an attempt to find her husband. But she isn't prepared for at the squalor and confusion at the gold-diggings.
Tremain has written a novel that is full of beautifully written prose and engaging characters. It's a tale of greed and hope amongst people who have everything to gain and nothing to lose.


Tedious characters and insufficient plot., 28 May 2006
What a disappointment. When you strip away some of the eloquent prose you are left with characters that do not engage you on any level.The main male character was so dull and such a loser you felt he deserved everything that happened to him. The only time I felt any sympathy for him was when he embarked on an abusive and homosexual relationship with a young, manipulative man rather than endure any more loneliness. The plot is sparse and in the main predictable, though coupled with one or two inexplicable courses of action by the central characters.Why would you put yourself through great hardship to track a husband you despise to tell him his elderly mother had died!
This novel needed humour, pace and action! Instead you were left with characters you did not care about and pages of beautifully written prose which ultimately became tedious.

Completely engrossing, 01 Jun 2004
This book is an excellent read and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit more challenging and out of the ordinary. The thirteen year old Lewis Little is a great pair of eyes through which to view the world of the story and the ending was completely unexpected and very effective.

On a side note the writing is excellent and a great antidote to the tube! Definitely worth a bit of time & effort.

A detective story written by a poet, 14 Jan 2004
The book is narrated by Lewis Little, a 13-year-old boy staying in Paris over the summer holidays whilst his mother, a translator, works on a book by Valentina Gavrilovich, a beautiful Russian author who writes popular Medeival romances.

Lewis and his mother stay in Valentina's spacious luxury apartment in the centre of Paris. Lewis kills time by taking Valentina's dog Sergei for walks, playing computer chess and reading. Lewis also develops a crush on Valentina, which grows as he turn's 14 and events escalate into full blown love.

One day Valentina dissapears mysteriously and Lewis sets his chess mind to unravelling the mystery and beating the police at finding her.The novel ends dramatically but I won't give it away in case you have not read it yet.

The novel's strong points are its evocation of a Parisian summer, its poetic, sparkling prose which succesfully transports; its luxurious theme, its occasional humour and as always with Rose Tremain a, sort of, deep symbolic poetry that opens, resonates and illuminates the readers understanding of the charcters and their emotions, and through them, the human condition in general.

It has been argued that Tremain failed in her ambitious attempt to successfully 'get under the skin' of an adolescent boy. Having been one myself I think this is too harsh a judgement. She understands male obsession very well and the narration is beleivable enough to work. Lewis's precocity is a little exagerated, perhaps. I found myself questioning whether a 13-14 year-old boy could be that wise or emotionally developed and thinking he would be rare individual, remebering how I and my peers behaved. Nevertheless, this did not spoil the story for me.

The novel's weekest point is its ending. It is almost as if Tremain lost her nerve. Once again I have to be careful or I will spoil it but all I will say is that it could have been 'better'.

Disappointing, 09 Apr 2003
Though very well written and extremely accurate and vivid in its descriptions of Paris, the book is disappointing. The reader can not identify with any of the central characters of the story, not even sympathize with them. They are too strongly characterised (the eccentric writer, the precocious teenager...)or simply no characterised at all to be believable. Lewis Little is even disgusting, sometimes, with his superior attitude and pedantic manners. The plot is intriguing, but the author has given to the criminal side of the story less interest than to the wild thoughts of Lewis. This leads to a rather precipitated denoument which leaves the reader unsatisfied.

A page-turner, but flawed, 08 Jan 2003
I enjoyed this book, but at the same time it frustrated and annoyed me. It's a thriller, with ample suspense and a thoroughly satisfying story and ending, a proper 'denouement' where all the loose ends come together in a satisfactory if not satisfying way.
But what annoys me is the way this female writer has tried to write about a young male teenager's thoughts, about his masturbation, physical stimulation, and his fantasies. Much of the detail just doesn't feel right. Am I the fir