SOURCE: Bought with a book voucher.
THE BOOK {According to the back cover}: Cider with Rosie is a wonderfully vivid memoir of childhood in a remote Cotswold village, a village before electricity or cars, a timeless place on the verge of change. Growing up amongst the fields and woods and characters of the place, Laurie Lee depicts a world that is both immediate and real and belongs to a now-distant past.
FIRST SENTENCE {First Light}: I was set down from the carrier's cart at the age of three, and there with a sense of bewilderment and terror my life in the village began.
MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 80}: When I finally became King (I used to think) I would command a parade of grandmas, and drill them, and march them up and down - rank upon rank of hobbling boots, nodding bonnets, flying shawls, and furious chewing faces.
MY THOUGHTS: At last a 'classic' that I did quite enjoy. I say quite enjoy as I'm afraid the somewhat relaxed descriptions of incest and under-age sex (albeit seemingly consenting unlike later events) though told in a very matter of fact and hardly what you'd call explicit didn't sit well with me.
A memoir, the first in a trilogy, of Cotswold village life at the end of World War II, a life that as the author explains ended alongside his childhood with the advent of motor vehicles clanking down the rural lanes. Cider With Rosie is very much a coming of a age story, a series of 'themed' recollections which covers all aspects of Lee's life from schooling, family and celebrations.
A nostalgic read which despite the water-logged cottage walls, almost constant hunger, and deaths/murder/suicide is told with such fondness as to make it sound idyllic, I was drawn into the lives of these people in a way I never expected.
10 comments:
I love the bright, colorful cover on this book.
I'm not sure it's one for my wish list, but if placed in my hands, I feel sure I would enjoy it. Good review!
Just the word "incest" makes me cringe. This sounds like an interesting book though, and I am glad you liked it, Tracy.
A village before electricity or cars, for my grandgrandfather was the reality! Books like this, classic, always remember us a past someone lived and we can't imagine without read!
Tracy, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am not sure how I'd fare with some of the things you mentioned, although it sounds like you enjoyed the book. The cover is very lovely.
This is a classic that I've always meant to try but haven't yet got around to. I'm glad you liked it, I didn't know it had some of those things in it actually! Thanks for reviewing it.
Great commentary on this one Tracy.
I think that some of the best books can show the darker wide of life and well as life's beauty simultaneously.
I had not heard much about Laurie Lee before but I want to read him now.
From the lines you shared, this one sounds good, too. The writing style ("A parade of grandmas" eh ...), the setting, and the story-type are all captivating.
I saw parts of the old film version but have never read it. The cover is very appealing but I'm surprised to hear about the sex as I thought it was a more 'innocent' story.
I love the cover! It's always amazing when characters touch us in ways we don't expect. Thanks for sharing!
~Jess
I like the cover, but the whole incest and under-age sex theme is not one I'd like to read about.
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