The Uncommon Reader: A Novella

See Larger Image	List Price: $12.00 Our Price: $9.60 Your Save: $ 2.40 ( 20% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Picador Written By: Alan Bennett Average Customer Rating:


Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 813 EAN: 9780312427641 ISBN: 0312427646 Label: Picador Manufacturer: Picador Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 128 Publication Date: 2008-09-30 Publisher: Picador Release Date: 2008-09-30 Studio: Picador
Related Items The Clothes They Stood Up In and The Lady in the Van (Today Show Book Club #5) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society The Gathering (Man Booker Prize) Untold Stories The Letters of Noel Coward
Editorial Reviews: *From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winning The History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading* When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: A perfect gift for someone who is a compulsive reader! Comment: This will be a very short synopsis because at only 128 pages, if I give you any more than a couple of sentences, it will end up longer than the book itself. Quite by accident, the Queen of England (yes, that Queen) stumbles upon the bookmobile that visits Buckingham Palace each week. To be polite, she checks a book out from the traveling library and what follows is an adorable story in which HRH develops quite an obsession with books and sends the palace into an uproar. Written from the Queen's perspective, this novella is both charming and witty. Watching the Queen's progress as she begins her literary explorations is, in it's own way, inspiring. She starts out as most of avid readers do, picking and choosing books based on interest. As she becomes more accomplished, she begins taking notes and venturing her own thoughts on reading. Her new hobby becomes a full-time obsession and hilarity ensues as the Queen's reading begins to interfere with her royal duties. But aside from the quaintness of the story, there is also some serious philosophical musings on why we read, why we chose to read what we do, and the myriad of ways reading can determine one's character. There's a lot more to this novella than first meets the eye. And the ending ... well, suffice it to say that the ending is a puzzle-perfect fit. This is a wonderful choice for a gift book for the reader in your life. To be honest, the sticker price somewhat baffled me: I thought the MSRP of $12.00 a bit steep for this small novella, but perhaps I'm out of touch. And of course you can get it for less here at Amazon, too. Very sweet book ... I do recommend it. Customer Rating: Summary: One Has An Interest Comment: This little book is a joy. Always witty and amusing, often laugh-out-loud funny; Alan Bennett brilliantly captures the controlled upset that ensues within and without Buckingham Palace when the Queen pursues the joy of reading to the detriment of her usual routines. Customer Rating: Summary: Uncommonly Good Book! Comment: Alan Bennett's charming, clever, witty The Uncommon Reader is a novella which begs for the accessibilty of a nearby pencil and pad of paper; there are such astute observations on the transformative power of reading that most avid readers will want to ponder and share all the author has woven into the plot of this very funny book. The story is straight and to the point: the Queen of England has developed a love of reading. So what? Well, if you've ever succumbed to the Harry Potter virus - meaning, you've let every last shred of housework, relationships, and personal hygiene fall to the wayside while you plow through another year at Hogwart's with Harry - then you know how reading can both enrich your world and simultaneously pull you out of the reality of it. But what if you weren't the housewife or the co-worker or the school librarian, but the QUEEN OF ENGLAND? What do you suppose would happen while you're holed up in the den, sequestered in your newest adventure? Yes, the stakes are a little higher for a Royal Reader. It's not just the international ripple which results from Her Royal Highness' reading that makes the book so funny - it's also the amazing voice that Bennett has given to the Queen. She is touching and thoughtful; the feeling you get while reading is so microscopic and almost intimate. I couldn't help but imagine Helen Mirren while I read this book, mostly because she did such a fabulous job humaninzing HRH in The Queen. Whomever I was meant to imagine while I read, by the time I finished I could certainly picture this fellow reader as a friend. Customer Rating: Summary: Charming, and very funny. Comment: In this short hilarious novella, Bennett imagines a scenario where, following some errant Corgis, the Queen discovers the mobile library parked in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and feels obliged to borrow a book, out of courtesy. One book leads to another (as books will tend to do), and before long, Elizabeth has developed a serious reading habit. The consequences are far-reaching, and very funny. Within this framework, Bennett provides an incisive (and entertaining) exploration of the power of reading. Despite being one of the planet's most-traveled inhabitants, her majesty's horizons are broadened in ways she could not have imagined. A satisfying, highly entertaining, read. Customer Rating: Summary: Even HRH can love books Comment: A clever little book, as much about the joy and discovery of falling in love with reading and books as it is about the quirks of politics and hangers-on about the throne. (I suppose there's a term for all those folks, but in the relief of having my mother come through surgery with flying colors, my brain is mush.) There were several times that I thought the Queen spot on in her observations about books. I wonder how closely the character of Elizabeth II in this book runs with the real gal. Behind closed doors she may be passionate about her books and a closet BookCrosser! More Reviews