Alone

Alone, by Pip Granger is a gripping book, giving highlights of the ( mostly early ) life of Pip, who came to live not far from me with her husband , not long before she died. Being very interested in children, I found it a most fascinating read.

This is indeed a sad tale, but it is the opposite of dreary - I found it very hard to put the book down. Pip Granger evidently came out of her unenviable childhood equipped with compassion, a lot of grit and above all the ability to see the funny side of a situation. She writes fluently, and the characters we encounter are even more vivid than those found in her novels.

It was very evocative of a childhood in the l940s with a wonderful wide range of 'characters' in the Soho area. It had a warm feeling.

Very moving, but as Pip has gone on to become a prolific writer the often scary events in her life haven't done her too much harm and provided her with endless details to use in her book. Great read.

good

I wanted to give this book 3.5, as there were just a couple of things that left me confused and frustrated, but I've rounded it up to 4 as 3 seemed too low. (NB Don't read if you don't want any of the book spoiling) Firstly, I did like it. I read in in 2 sittings. I'm always drawn to this kind of book because of my own family background (I too have spent most of my life living with an alcoholic family member, and still am). Overall it was well written, but there were just a few things that bugged me : 1. I couldn't quite comprehend the wild extremes of the financial situation of the family. From penniless and homeless to fast cars, airplanes and ponies, back to penniless, then back to fast cars again. I'm not saying it wasn't all true, but it just didn't quite seem right to me. Even with brief explanations it just made me doubt if EVERY part was 100% genuine. 2. I felt frustrated at how Peter was so important at the beginning of the story, then pretty much disappeared after he went to public school. I understand that this must have been how it felt for Pip, but at one point he literally disappears, then later there's mention of a wife, kids, moving abroad and death. I wanted to know more about how HIS life developed, how HE coped as an adult etc. I'm not even sure if we are told the genders of his children, and what kind of father does he turn out to be ? How often did he come home ? If at all ? What exactly happens to the realtionship with him ? I like to know how things turn out for EVERYONE in the book, so this was very frustrating for me. 3. As above. What happens to Gaby and the Nikki ? I don't know if there's a follow up book, but I WOULD like to know what happens to them. 4. There was just a couple of occassions (I think usually at the end of a chapter), where I feel that we are openly invited to pity her - things like "it was the done thing; mother said so" after being told to pull herself together. Little things like this just didn't sit right with me. Overall I DID really enjoy the book, I just wanted to knnow more about what happened to to others (was it rushed towards the end or was this intentional ?)

I have just finished reading this book. I agree with the other reveiws that you can not put it down as you are trying to get to the end when you know everthing ends alright. But boy what a rocky journey. And thank you Pip for your lovely books well done indeed.

Pip writes her memoirs incorporating a significant amount of background of life in the 50s and 60s with an emphasis on post-war Britain which gives an inkling of the hardships of that time. However her father and mother appear to be extremely selfish people even after they both bettered themselves (ie. you can't equate their behaviour to the poverty they initially suffered). Pip and her brother both come across as thoroughly decent people (despite their parents' lack of morals and honesty). Life in Soho and subsequently Dagenham in Essex was fascinating bearing in mind that extreme bad language appeared to be the norm (I was brought up well over a decade later in Surrey and can never remember anybody using any swear word worse than "bugger" and "bloody").

I read this book primarily because I had enjoyed `Up West' so much. A harrowing story at times but well worth reading.