Ghost Children [Paperback]

Sue Townsend (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Arrow (1970)
• ASIN: B000PDARQ4
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,283,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes one experience joy and despair simultaneously., April 24, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Bloomington, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Children (Hardcover)

Sue Townsend takes on a morbid subject with style. Christopher is a sad character, but has a new beginning with Angela. To read of a reunited couple after so many years was a joy, even if they were brought together under morbid circumstances. Sue made me hate Crackle and feel deeply sorry for Tamara. I just wanted to take Storme in my arms and protect her from her parents. I am so glad I found this book in Amsterdam. I am not sure where the relationship to the Adrian Mole series comes from...could not be more different characters. Regardless, another delightful read from Sue Townsend!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's more to Townsend that Adrian Mole, April 17, 2006

By 

NedNedNed "Ned3" (Scotland UK Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Children (Paperback)

In Ghost Children, Sue Townsend creates believable characters that are recognisable and multi-faceted. The humour for which she's known is absent from this book - the fine prose style is present (although I do find some of her comma splices a distraction!) The book never demands of its readers that they should decode complex syntaxes: it is easy to read but no less powerful in its characterisation because of this.

The story is down-beat; set in the reality of everyday life. It sets out to explore the frailties of human existence: love, longing and loneliness. The four main characters are all damaged in some way, and although their actions seem reprehensible, they are created in a way that we can at least understand their motivations, even if we can't condone them.

This book is more like "Rebuilding Coventry" rather than Adrian Mole. Like RC, the book explores relationships and discovery. Like Adrian Mole, the book speaks of life's disappointments and vulnerabilities. But the truth is that this book is like none of her other novels - but it is well worth reading.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ, October 29, 2002

By 

Jon-Jon Piasecki (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Children (Hardcover)

I acquired the above book from my local bookshop, thinking that as it had been writen by Sue Townsend, it would be an extremly humourous tale. It is not a comedy - very much an entralling drama. It is a shocking book, at times one has to stop, put the book down and run over the events in your mind in order to grasp the overall picture. The characters are so real - i think that this is what makes this book so great. This book identifies abortion as what it truely is - and double-edged sword.