|
| Skallagrigg | 
 enlarge | Author: William Horwood
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy Used: £9.00
You Save: £0.99 (10%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 22275
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 736
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0140072063
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140072068
ASIN: 0140072063
Publication Date: November 19, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
Masterwork July 1, 2008
I'm not going to repeat what other reviewers have said; I agree with pretty much all those who also give Skallagrigg 5 stars.
If you want to know the peak of what William Horwood is capable of, read this book. This is, without question, his masterwork.
If you want a life-changing experience, something that goes far beyond simply being great literature, read this book.
But be warned. If you don't want your comfortable world-view or your life rocked, then don't open the covers.
Once read, the Skallagrigg will be part of you forever.
Didn't want to stop reading but didn't want to get to the end. May 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was instantly hooked by this book. I couldn't stop reading it but I didn't want to finish it. It made me cry and smile. It was so real for me that I deliberately didn't watch the film when it came out because I didn't think it could ever get close to the depth of the book. It's one of those books that I will always remember.
 Overrated, Overlong, Overwrought March 11, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Unlike the majority of the readers here I found Skallagrigg to be vastly overrated. Once past the admittedly shocking first chapter it descends into a very dated, very middle class soap opera. It does bravely challenge peoples perceptions of disability but all the characters are so thinly drawn. Their religious views are given for no reason, love is the answer to everything and every couple of pages some character makes or serves tea. This book goes for alot of money on Ebay (and here) and has a kind of cult following, but think about it, if it was really that good, why hasn't it been republished?
Easily makes my top five April 3, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have always been a prolific reader and sometimes have as many as five books on the go at any one time, picking up the one which most suits my mood.
This book is absolutely brilliant and so beautifully touches the emotions of the reader. It made me laugh and it made me cry. I cried often and long and deep.
It is clear that William Horwood has been close to cerebal palsy and his daughter, Rachel, does suffer from this condition.
The central figures are Arthur, a sufferer from the early part of the twentieth century, and Esther, a sufferer from the latter part of the same century. It explores the massive differences between the ways that they were perceived and the ways that they were treated because of those peceptions.
Esther embarks on a quest to find Skallagrigg, without knowing what it is, and you must read the book to find out if she succeeds and what it means.
The reader is drawn into the characters and I found myself living the rollercoaster emotional existance of both of them.
I am constantly recommending this book to friends and family. Many of them find it difficult to get into the story but I encourage them to persevere. Whilst I can understand their difficulty, I had no trouble whatsoever and was captured from the first paragraph.
If you are only ever going to read one more book in your life, it would have to be this one and no other. Trust me!
Probably The Greatest Book Ever Written March 19, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've never written a review of any book before and probably never will again, but this is a book I first read in about 1992 when I was 15 and I honestly believe it is one of, if not the, best book ever.
As someone who has always had a closet ambition to be an author, this book is the reason I've never really tried as I don't think I could match its sheer scope or emotional content.
All I will really say is that I read the first 50 pages, and put the book down as struggled to get into it. 6 months later I tried again, got past page 50 and couldn't put the book down and it is well worth the effort - I have since reread it about 6 times!
Along with the Duncton Chronicles and The stonor Eagles, this book marks out William Horwood as one of the greatest ever writers (even if he has done his best to ruin this reputation with The Willows and The Wolves of Time series!!)
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
