Sunday, September 15, 2013

The Ghost of Thomas Kempe - Penelope Lively

This is the Fifty-third in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.


After my short run of Australian classics I thought I'd have a run of rather English children's books. I wouldn't say this was such a novelty as books set in England tend to dominate my bookshelf. For me, growing up in Australia, a Cornish village or a London street were interesting, exotic locations.

There are lots of things to like about Penelope Lively, especially her blending of historical and contemporary settings - a technique used by Ruth Park in Playing Beatie Bow. In this award winning novel I particularly like the way she has captured the exuberant joy of a boy's world and the low key use of fantasy.

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