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| Wise Children (Vintage Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Angela Carter
Publisher: Vintage Classics
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.77
You Save: £7.22 (90%)
New (21) Collectible (4) from £3.06
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 6559
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0099981106
EAN: 9780099981107
ASIN: 0099981106
Publication Date: January 3, 1998
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: SUPER FAST SHIPPING, DISPATCHED SAME DAY FROM UK WAREHOUSE. NO NEED TO WAIT FOR BOOKS FROM USA. GREAT BOOK IN GOOD OR BETTER CONDITION. MORE GREAT BARGAINS IN OUR ZSHOP. amazon.co.uk/shops/awesome_books_001
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| Customer Reviews:
 Best read for pure pleasure. April 3, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A beautiful, charming book. Angela Carter gently takes you on an exquisite journey into the nature of human desires and familial relationships.
Fantastic Theatrical Literature March 19, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Again, like many others I had to study this at A level English Literature. At first I loathed this, the narrator was everywhere like an old woman, which she is, and I was unabe to comprehend any of the content. However, as I progressed through the course and annotated this text I picked the style up and was able to look deeper into it and really get to grips with Carter's messages which are vivid throughout. I love this witty and bawdy tale and its approach to life, it has inspired me. So,you must read this more than once to really appreciate the novel, go on i recommend it highly.
And the show began... February 3, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I had to read this book for my A level english lit course. The first time i read it I hated it and couldn't wit until I saw the back of it. But as I had to study it I had to read it a few times first. The second time I read it I fell in love with it and I still read it now and see new things in it I hadn't picked up on before. Wise Children is now like a security blanket for me but I don't think many others from my class would've agreed with me and still think it's dull. So basically I'd say it's not for everyone but give the book a chance and it really does get better the second time around because you pick up on so much more.
 Suspend your disbelief and go with the flow January 17, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I had to read Several Perceptions a few years ago at uni and found it a torment - I like my books grounded in reality and have an aversion to features like magic realism and dream sequences. However, I know Angela Carter has many devoted fans and thought maybe I was missing something, so decided to give her a second chance with Wise Children.
I certainly found this book more enjoyable than Several Perceptions, notably because it does at least try to follow some kind of linear narrative and has more developed characters. Also, I liked the theatrical world it evoked, ranging from sordid goings-on in draughty local theatres to big-budget Hollywood glitz. The narrator, Dora Chance, is wickedly funny, she may be an old lady but I often found myself smiling at her wry and sometimes crude observations on life. I also warmed to the characters of Grandma and Uncle Perry, though twins Saskia and Imogen were like pantomime ugly sisters and Melchior wasn't particularly likeable. I did find myself getting quite confused and having to refer to the "cast of characters" at the back of the book to remember who everyone was (so many twins and uncertain paternities, they could keep Trisha busy for a year) - you really can't let your attention wander when reading this book.
Yes, this book is full of crazy coincidences and some of the "set piece" scenes are quite ridiculous, but if you can suspend your disbelief and silence the little voice in your head saying "that would never happen", it's quite an enjoyable read and I will probably try out some of her other novels.
It's worth adding that, although it's about 15 years old, this book is quite topical in many ways, particularly the satire of celebrity culture and people living their lives in public (the demise of Tristram and Tiffany's relationship on live TV, for example), while the image of Saskia as a TV chef suggestively licking spoons should strike a chord with today's readers!
A love or hate sort of book November 10, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Your probably reading this book for As Level literature, all I can say is good luck, and you'll be glad to know that if theres one good quality to this book, its that it certainly doesn't lack content.
If you find this book boring, it wont be because of the plot. To describe the Hazards/Chances the book is based around in a phrase it would be thus: messed up. One brother manages to have an affair with all 3 of his brother's wives, twin sisters swap boyfriends, and the youngest Hazard is having an affair with his half sister- old ebough to be his mother. Basically, the book is the autobiography of Dora Chance, her life on the 'bad side' of theatre. In current affairs however, that night just happened to be the night of their father's 100th birthday patry, and their goddaughter had just commited suicide after one amazing preformance on public television.
Through all this Angela Carter focuses on several main themes, fatherhood, responsability, fame, illigitamacy and a few more. If the book seems surrial to you, its supposed to be. Angela Carter's love of shakespeare, the surreal and fairy tales shines through in this very interesting novel.
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