Book facts
The uncommon reader
Alan Bennett
121 pages
Rating: 4/5
One of my plans for 2012 - nooo, I don't have resolutions! - is reading more. A book a week is the goal though I'm sure that it is not going to work as a lot of my books take more than a week to read.
Last week I started "Winter solstice" by Rosamunde Pilcher but when I found out that it is not fitting into my bag I turned to "Homecoming" by Cathy Kelly without coming far... Yesterday I noticed that I haven't read a book in the first week of the year and rushed to my bookshelfe in order to change this fact. There it was.... Red, tiny and almost shy. Alan Bennetts "The uncommon reader" I tried to read it various times over the past three years, the last time giving up on round page 90.... But now I read it... Within a bit more than two hours from the first to the last page. And I like it! Alan Bennett paints a wonderful picture of queen Elizabeth II and a special one as well.
The story is told quickly. The queen comes across a travelling library, borrows a book and finds out that reading is great. Going back to the library the next week she gets another book and also decides to make Norman, a kitchen help to her reading secretary. Her family and first and foremost her secretary, Sir Kevin dissaproove her new hobby and once, one of her books is even removed as a possible bomb. But the queen continues to read, one book after the other and finds out how to read and wave at the crouds the same time. And when she is in the middle of reading, she turns to writing.
The book is written in a very amusing way and in a clear language that makes it an ideal read for a Sunday afternoon bathing tube session - noooo, I wasn't in the tube for 2 hours but went there after I've read the first half of the book on the sofa.
No comments:
Post a Comment