The touching and wonderfully engaging second novel from the author of CROCODILE SOUP. It is late December and fifteen year old Caris is trying to hang an angel on a Christmas tree in a terraced street in Newcastle upon Tyne. She is interrupted by the arrival of the police who have come to the house to announce that her mother, Louise, has been caught stealing shoes in a department store in town. Caris's father Mac, a taxi driver, struggles to keep the family together as Christmas looks set for disaster, especially when Louise's drunken, dishevelled mother moves in.
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Book Description
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About the Author
Julia Darling's first novel, Crocodile Soup, was published to great attention in 1998 and was on the longlist for the Orange Prize. It will be reissued by Penguin in 2004. Darling has written plays for radio and for the stage and is also a poet. She lives in Newcastle.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling and addictive, with a poor conclusion..,
By Kate (Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Taxi Drivers Daughter (Hardcover)
It is quite a shame that I am first to review this book, because it is a little gem, and Julia Darling is one author that warrants more attention then she may receive. Her first book, 'Crocodile Soup' is also a superb read. While they are both completely different novels, they are unusual and continously border on surrealism.Darling perfectly blends tension and poetry in this piece. The characters are wonderfully intricate and the story is quite addictive, just as the writing is beautifully framed within their little slice of English working class domesticity. Claris is a wonderful teenager and the interactions between her and family and the greater world is quite compelling. Similarly, her grandmother is beautifully wilted and her sister's struggle with her own identity is also intriguing. However, I couldn't help but feel that the ending was a poor departure from the piece. It just seemed too perfect and wonderfully rounded and therefore disjointed from the rest of the tale. I felt that something more in the line of 'Crocodile Soup' would better suit this work. But overall, a fantastic and compelling read.
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