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Kissing Alice by Jacqueline Yallop (view source)
Revision as of 09:54, 17 September 2020
, 09:54, 17 September 2020no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Kissing Alice
|author=Jacqueline Yallop
|date=September 2010
|isbn=978-1848870345
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>1848870345</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=1848870345|aznus=<amazonus>1848870345</amazonus>
}}
Arthur Claythorne, a decorator by trade finds himself out of work and back home in Plymouth as the First World War begins, along with a stolen copy of William Blake's ''Songs of Innocence and Experience'', a book full of powerful imagery. After being injured in the war Arthur returns home to his wife Queenie May and two daughters, Florrie and Alice, a changed man, deeply affected by his experiences in the trenches and desperate to find religion. Despite Florrie's interest in following her father into Catholicism, it is Alice who suddenly finds herself the object of her father's unusual and inappropriate attention.
I also found the use of William Blake's ''Songs of Innocence and Experience'', which is present throughout the novel in various states, a rather unusual and at times confusing motif. Yallop barely describes the images or poems contained in the book, so I found it hard to imagine the massive impact it has on each member of the Claythorne family. Part of me wonders if it is meant to represent Alice in some way, as the book is destroyed and put back together.
As for a plot, well I wasn't sure where the book was going and to be honest , if I wasn't reviewing this book I would have given up after about fifty pages, as I found the skimming of time and what appear to be important events threw me out of the narrative just too much. I also found it a distinctly uncomfortable read, particularly with Alice's sexual experiences, the dysfunctional nature of the Claythornes and a host of odd characters that don't really seem to be able to find their place in the world.
I'd like to thank the publisher for sending a copy to The Bookbag. We also have a review of [[Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop]].
Further Reading Suggestion: For a more satisfying story based around a dysfunctional family try [[The Gathering by Anne Enright]] or [[Floundering by Romy Ash]].
{{amazontext|amazon=1848870345}}