It's All Right Now: A Novel [Hardcover]

Charles Chadwick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

It's All Right Now is the tale of Tom Ripple, an ordinary man living an ordinary life, and one of the most brilliantly realised characters in recent fiction. Beginning in a suburb of North London in the 1970s we follow his life to the present day, seeing through Tom's own eyes his rich and complex relationships with his wife and children, his neighbours, girlfriends, colleagues and friends, and his continuous search for certainties - both moral and practical. But what Tom gains in wisdom over the years, he loses in love as his marriage disintegrates, his children disappoint him and then in turn are disappointed. Tom's insights into the human condition bring great poignancy yet give us a sense of transcendence, while his story brilliantly dramatizes the profound changes that have taken place in this country in the last 30 years.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The most remarkable thing about this extraordinary debut novel is not that the author is 72 years old; it is in the risks Chadwick, a retired civil servant, takes and brings off with astute craftsmanship and touching sincerity. The narrator, Tom Ripple, whose life we follow from the 1970s into the 21st century, is a lower-middle-class Englishman devoid of charm, intellectual curiosity and emotional warmth. Only gradually does the reader come to understand why Ripple's responses are stunted, why his preferred mode of communication is through excruciatingly bad puns and double entendres and why he subsists on a steady diet of television action films and paperback thrillers. When his wife leaves him, taking their two children, he is resigned to loneliness. As the years pass, Ripple cautiously engages in new relationships; he acquires the knack for tender paternal love and true friendship, and he develops an appreciation of music and books that brings him joy. Throughout, he continues to seek meaning in a postmodern world. Chadwick's almost seamlessly subtle portrait of Ripple gathers depth and momentum as the narrative progresses. In the end, Ripple concludes, with typical modesty, that it is "the basic experiences [of life], the ordinary moments of affection and beauty and common kindness that are infinitely precious." It's not an earthshaking thought, but it signifies the metamorphosis of an empty, soulless man into a hero for our times. Agent, Zoe Pagnamenta. (June 1)
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From The New Yorker

Returning from a trip abroad, Tom Ripple, the diarist narrator of this lengthy début, reflects, "I seem mainly to have recorded trivia, like someone who witnesses an epic battle and sees only the surrounding scenery." Trivia, indeed, consumes many of Tom's musings, but Chadwick's achievement is such that Ripple's small thoughts—slight observations, petty miseries, daily regrets—come to seem worthy of center stage. From young parenthood to early retirement and beyond, Tom gives a painstaking, and often profoundly unflattering, account of his inner life. He loathes his wife and his boss, feels baffled by his children, and lusts after almost every female form. As time passes, however, his understanding is deepened by both loss and success. Following him on this journey may require more stamina than some readers can spare, but, as in life, to reach the end is to complete a story at once ordinary and unique.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060742860
• ISBN-13: 978-0060742867
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,673,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Lovely, July 10, 2005

By 

Elizabeth Hendry (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's All Right Now: A Novel (Hardcover)

Charles Chadwick's It's All Right Now is simply a lovely novel, a beautiful read that I was sorry to see end. The narrator, Tom Ripple, begins writing down his thoughts on his life in the early 1970s, essentially so he can look a little more busy at his dull job. He seems to be about thirty at this point and is frankly not a very likeable protagonist. He is married with two children and eventually his wife leaves him. At the start of the novel, his main pasttime seems to be watching television. He keeps writing, however, and as his life progresses, he grows into a likeable, thoughtful man, a good friend, a loving father. There really isn't much of a plot in the novel, no one thing other than Ripple's character development as he searches for meaning in his life, in any life. But with the way Chadwick writes, for some reason, I found I didn't miss the plot. Ripple is a remarkable character and I found myself truly enjoying this novel. It is a rich, highly satisfying work, one that I believe will stay with me for quite some time. Enjoy.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the impatient - but a wonderful novel by a mature -as in "not young"- writer, June 24, 2005

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: It's All Right Now: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ever grow sick of hearing about the next great writer, usually young, usually an enfant terrible?
Then you may be plesasntly delighted to find the book which (I'll admit) takes some time to grow on you....but oh, the rewards are great!
Written by a British civil servant, Charles Chadwick, this book took 28 years to complete(!) and the result is a finely nuanced plot that unfolds slowly, not in the brief snippets of sound bites that we've gotten so used to in real life. This is a book to savor, as Chadwick unfurls the life of Tom Ripple, a man who simply records his perceptions about life.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reward Yourself With This Book, August 17, 2005

By 

Arch Stanton (Bondurant, WY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's All Right Now: A Novel (Hardcover)

Let me start by saying it is 100 degrees around here, my air conditioning is broken, and I am sweating like Patrick Ewing.
Yet I am still going to give this book the VERY RARE 5 Stars. I love the glacial pacing of the character development, the deliberate advancing of the plot, and the way Chadwick does sadness. It will make you ache.

Perhaps those who don't care for this book prefer the leaden dialogue and Must See TV pacing of foul crap like "Angels and Demons." Who knows? Put on some Ahmad Jamal, pour a glass or ten of wine, and get lost in the world of Tom Ripple.