Customer Reviews

Family Life: Birth, Death and the Whole Damn Thing (A Corgi book)

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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I have read this book about 10 times, and I gave it to 12 of my friends for their birthdays and at Christmas. Elizabeth Luard's writing is so relaxed and lovely, she describes the years she spent bringing up her children in London and in Spain. She tells funny little anecdotes and describes the smells and sights of Spain and France. This is a MUST for any woman of any age, anyone having children or who has ever had a mummy. I cant tell you how much I adore this book, and how much my family and friends have enjoyed it.

This is a great book which makes you realize how much is missing from many families nowadays. Elisabeth's re-telling of raising her family while traipsing through Europe makes one wonder how much richer one's own childhood would have been if our own parents had done the same.

If at times a little idealistic (whosoever heard of such near-perfect children?) it is still a wonderfully written, heart-warming book great for every occassion where an easy read is wanted. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. I found it in a second hand lending library and couldn't bear to give it back!

The recipes throughout also sound wonderful and complement the story perfectly, although I haven't had the chance to try any out.

The last couple of chapters dealing with the author's daughter's death is a sobering touch which brings the novel back to earth - bad things do happen. It is a bit of a shock after such a pleasant jaunt to have a death drop in your lap - but I suppose real life is like that!

If you're willing to put your cynicism aside (patches of minor pomposity and smugness in places) and take the book for what it is - a rosy view of how the author raised her family, you are guaranteed to enjoy this thoroughly.

It took me a while to warm up to this book...Luard's writing style takes a bit of getting used to-- a sort of posh/bohemian thing that, to me at least, seems unique to British writers.

But Luard's writing about her daughter's illness is amazing. It's loving, moving, beautiful, and terrible. It's also shocking, because the tone of this memoir very abruptly changes from this jovial story about an eccentric family's travels to a different, much more serious, story altogether. I don't think I have ever been so moved by a book.

They call it freelancing because you have the freedom to go wherever you want. This is what both Luards (Elisabeth and Nicholas) did, and managed to live in Spain, France and the English countryside with their children for much of their youth. I have to admit it took me a while to get into the book. Maybe it is the style, slightly purplish. Once the family moved to Spain, though, I read with more interest. When foreigners write about my country or my region, one of two things may happen: they got it or they didn't. I am happy to report that Elisabeth belongs to the former camp. For one thing, her portrayal of life in a small village in Andalucia in the 70's was excellent and veracious. The episode with the donkey had me laughing. One thing that annoys me, however, is how many Spanish words were misspelled. It's not mesa camella, it's mesa camilla, it's not spontaneo (italian?), it's espontáneo! I have encountered this with other English-speaking authors writing about a Spanish-speaking country. Is a Spanish editor so hard to find?

Elisabeth discovered her love for food along the way, and the book is peppered with recipes in every chapter. There are times when the recipe fits in very well, like for example when she is describing a specific dish or mentioning how each of her children demanded a different birthday cake. Then, there are times when the recipe's appearance is somewhat contrived (for example, lentil soup: "It was time for strengthening lentil soup all around"). The recipes are, for the most part, very easy to follow, and although I haven't tried any yet, they do look good.

Nowhere is Elisabeth's writing style more esoteric than when it gets to the chapter about her daughter's death. It was hard at times to follow what she was meaning, and it took a bit of reading and re-reading to figure it out.

This is an interesting book for those of us who come from the South of Spain or the South of France, or the Hebrides, or who enjoy reading about food.

this is an account from Elizabeth Luard of bringing up her family in Spain 40-50 years ago. She was married to one of the co-founders of Private Eye, an exciting man but appalling as a husband. But he is rarely mentioned and she sprinkles the book with delightful recipes and sketches. She seems to have been a lovely mother - tremendous fun - and very good with people. They were always short of money although her idea of poverty maybe not the same as other people's. The book took me back to when my own 3 were little and revived many memories. I couldn't wait to read her most recent book,an autobiography written after her husband died.